In three separate rulings ECtHR finds Greece in violation of the ECHR with regard to family reunification

On 23 June 2026, the ECtHR issued three decisions on cases concerning matters of family reunification for beneficiaries of protection in Greece. In the first case, the ECtHR found a violation of Article 8 of the Convention in respect of a Burundian national whose application for family reunification remained undecided by the Greek Asylum Service for over 5 years. The court held that the authorities had failed to carry out an individualised assessment and to ensure the flexibility, speed, and effectiveness required by the Family Reunification Directive; and further found that the applicant had not been afforded an effective remedy in breach of Article 8 in conjunction with Article 13.

In the second case, the ECtHR ruled unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 8, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 13 of the ECHR, in a family reunification case concerning an Afghan refugee due to the Greek authorities’ requirement of document certification by the Greek consular office, which was rendered impossible in practice as the consular office did not issue such certifications owing to the situation in Afghanistan and the Greek authorities’ non-recognition of the Taliban regime. The ECtHR held that the Greek authorities failed to strike a fair balance between the applicant’s interest in family reunification and the interests of the State.

In the third case, the ECtHR ruled that there had been a violation of Article 8, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 13 of the ECHR, in a case concerning a Rohingya refugee from Myanmar because the Greek Asylum Service required that the applicant provide the required supporting documents, despite this being impossible due to his and his family's statelessness, and failed for 4 years to decide his application for family reunification. The court found that authorities failed to conduct an individualised assessment of whether the applicant's inability to submit those documents was justified.