Belgium must give visa to Syrian family, says advocate-general

The federal government cannot refuse a visa to a Syrian family that is intent on applying for asylum once in Belgium, according to the advocate-general of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The advocate-general’s advice is not binding on the ruling of the full court, but judgements are more often followed than not.

A couple applied for a visa having arrived in Beirut from Aleppo last October. The Foreigners’ Office in Brussels suspected that the couple and their three young children intended to remain in Belgium past the 90-day duration of the visa, and turned down the request.

When the couple appealed the case to the European Court (pictured). The advocate-general said the refusal of the visa was against EU law; the charter of fundamental rights says that member states must issue a visa in cases where a refusal would place the applicant “at risk of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment”.

“One of the applicants claims to have been taken by an armed group, beaten and tortured and finally released on payment of a ransom,” the advocate-general’s advice reads. “The couple maintains that the security situation in Syria in general, and in Aleppo in particular, has deteriorated and point out that, as Orthodox Christians, they are at risk of persecution on account of their religious beliefs.”

The Belgian authorities had claimed that member states were not obliged to admit everyone who found themselves in a “catastrophic situation”. In his advice, the advocate-general said that there was “no doubt that the applicants were exposed at the very least to a genuine risk of extremely serious inhuman treatment,” and that as a result, the Belgian authorities were obliged to issue a visa.

The Belgian government has yet to respond, other than to point out that the opinion is not binding. The full court will deliver a final judgement at a later date.

Photo courtesy EUropa.S