The government is “favorable” to amendments in its immigration bill which would introduce measures to limit family reunification, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Tuesday during a parliamentary hearing. . As it stands, the text presented on February 1 in the Council of Ministers and which must be examined from the end of March in the Senate – controlled by the right – does not provide for any provision on the subject, “but I have heard a lot of senators (…) to propose restrictions”, noted the Minister of the Interior, heard by the Senate Law Commission.
Three tracks of “restrictions”
“I would be in favor (…) of provisions which could limit family reunification without being contrary to the Constitution”, he declared, listing three tracks of “restrictions” of this right. The first, he explained, could consist of re-discussing the reception conditions (size of accommodation, income, length of stay on the territory, etc.) required of foreigners who wish to bring their family to France.
“Is 1,800 euros for two people enough?” Asked Gérald Darmanin. “So if the Senate went towards modifications” which would impose “larger accommodation, higher remuneration and above all a longer condition of presence on national territory, that would seem to me to be common sense”, he continued.
Imposing language tests
The other track concerns refugees who are entitled to “family reunification”, which he wishes to restrict to the strict family unit. “When we give asylum to someone, that we give it to his family that (does not) seem shocking to me. But should it be given to his family in the broad sense”, he still questioned , referring to “half-brothers” and “half-sisters” sometimes included. “There are abuses, undoubtedly,” he insisted, calling for this reunification to be limited “to the strict family, by defining what the family is in the French sense of the term”.
Finally, Gérald Darmanin said he was open to imposing language tests and “values of the Republic” on family members applying for a family reunification visa. If such measures were adopted by the law entitled “To control immigration, improve integration”, this would “limit for the first time in French law” family reunification, the minister’s entourage assured AFP. . In 2022, France issued 33,735 first residence permits on the grounds of family reunification or family reunification.