Family reunification

Contents

• visa and funding
• assistance of IOM
• application for IOM assistance
• follow-up on the assistance request

Right to family life

Everyone is entitled to respect for his family life and for the unity of his family - this has been endorsed by international treaties such as the European Convention on Human Rights. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is protecting migrants rights and has programmes to help migrants to enjoy this right to family life. IOM is able to assist globally, through its worldwide network of missions, in more then 120 countries.

The IOM missions have the expertise and experience to give guidance and practical assistance to migrants preceding and during their journey. IOM can provide in an escort for those children that are not allowed or able to travel alone. With a number of airline companies, IOM has contracts on reduced fares for one-way movements and favourable conditions as far as date change and cancellations are concerned.

In The Netherlands, the programme Family Reunification is being implemented since 1995. In the context of this programme, IOM helps families that received authorization for their family members to join their relatives in The Netherlands. Up to 1 January 2008, IOM has assisted 10.802 persons realising their coming into The Netherlands in the context of family reunification.

Visa and funding

Before the actual family reunification can take place, the Visadienst (Visa Office) of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Services (IND) has to approve the visa application of the family members wanting to join their relatives.

What is the assistance of IOM about?

IOM can assist the family members bound to leave to The Netherlands and the families in The Netherlands in the following ways:

• consultation with the family members, before their departure, during which IOM provides information and advice about the proceedings and performs a check on the travel documents;
• advice and, if necessary and possible, practical support in obtaining the required exit visa from the competent authorities;
• assistance in the communication with the (local) authorities and the Dutch embassy;
• assistance in the medical field to assure that the passengers are able to travel;
• booking of a flight and making available of the ticket;
• making arrangement (reservation) of accommodation during limited time of transit, necessary to apply for and collect the Dutch entry visa;
• assistance at airport of assistance by IOM staff, including request of transit visa waver if required, and assistance upon arrival at the airport of destination (in most cases: Amsterdam Schiphol airport).

In The Netherlands IOM assures the contact with the families, through the sponsor or with the families themselves; IOM keeps the families updated during the process and instructs them on the arrival date and time and the proceedings at Amsterdam Schiphol airport.

IOM is seeing also on the financial aspects - the cost estimate and the actual costs of each movement.

How to make an application for IOM assistance?

The application form by which (partial) funding of the costs of a family reunification can be asked, is to be found on Vluchtweb (only for local departments of VluchtelingenWerk). This form has an option to indicate that the family wishes IOM to assist. If this option is answered by yes, the national office of the Refugee Council will send the data of the file to IOM, to the care of the Program Family Reunification.

After having received the application form, the officer in charge of the Family Reunification programme will confirm the reception of the assistance request and, within 3 weeks, send a budget of costs to be prepaid.

Note: If you already applied for the financial contribution of the Diakonaal Fonds, via the local department of the Refugee Council (VluchtelingenWerk), your file will be automatically forwarded to IOM if you have confirmed wanting IOM assistance. Double sending of an assistance request to IOM will cause delay in the handling of the request.

How does IOM proceed after reception of your assistance request?

1. IOM will send to the applicant, within a days (outside weekend), confirmation of reception of the assistance request.
2. IOM sends an estimate of budgeted costs* to applicant (sponsor), of which the total sum has to be prepaid to IOM. This cost estimate is valid during 1 month. Sponsor remits the total sum to the bank account of IOM.
3. IOM confirms to sponsor the reception of the prepaid sum and provides applicant with the contact details of the IOM mission nearest to the family members bound to leave (migrants).
4. IOM in The Netherlands sends the file to the IOM office in charge of buying of the tickets and, if this is another office, also to the office that will give the actual assistance before departure.
5. The IOM office in the country of departure checks the travel documents of migrants and advises migrants about the flight details as soon as tickets have been bought.
6. IOM advises sponsor about the progress, sends the flight details to and gives instructions where and when the family will meet the relatives at the airport.
7. IOM establishes the actual costs and informs sponsor if a reimbursement will be made.

* If, during the process, services not included in the budget are required, IOM will establish an additional budget, to be prepaid on top of the first budget.