CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 18 janvier 2024

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SWEDEN (Application no. 12510/18)   JUDGMENT   Art 8 • Positive obligations • Family life • Refusal of family reunification request of refugee who failed to fulfil maintenance requirement and applied outside the three-month exemption period • Wide margin of appreciation to be afforded to member States in deciding to implement such a condition • No issues in the case as to the calculation of the exemption period nor whether its application was sufficiently flexible • Applicant could lodge fresh request for family reunification at any time and had good prospects of being able to fulfil maintenance requirement in the future • Individualised assessment • Legal amendments allowing full or partial exemptions from maintenance requirement on “special grounds” • Fair balance struck between competing interests at stake • Margin of appreciation not overstepped   Prepared by the Registry. Does not bind the Court.   STRASBOURG 18 January 2024   FINAL   18/04/2024   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Dabo v. Sweden, The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Marko Bošnjak , President ,   Alena Poláčková,   Lətif Hüseynov,   Péter Paczolay,   Gilberto Felici,   Erik Wennerström,   Raffaele Sabato , judges , and Liv Tigerstedt, Deputy Section Registrar, Having regard to: the application (no.   12510/18) against the Kingdom of Sweden lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Syrian national, Mr Abdelnaser Dabo (“the applicant”), on 6 March 2018; the decision to give notice to the Swedish Government (“the Government”) of the complaint under Article 8 of the Convention, and to declare the remainder of the application inadmissible; the parties’ observations; the comments submitted by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, who exercised her right under Article 36 § 3 of the Convention to submit written observations; Having deliberated in private on 12 December 2023, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: INTRODUCTION 1.     The application concerns a refusal to grant family reunification. The applicant was granted asylum in Sweden on 8 March 2016. On 20 July 2016 Law 2016:752 concerning temporary restrictions on the granting of permanent residence permits for asylum seekers in Sweden entered into force. It introduced, among other things, a maintenance requirement for family reunification, unless an application had been lodged within three months after the sponsor in Sweden had been granted asylum. The applicant’s first wife and five children applied in November 2016 for residence permits on the basis of family reunification. Their applications were refused because the applicant, at that time, could not fulfil the maintenance requirement. The applicant relied on Article 8 of the Convention. THE FACTS 2.     The applicant was born in 1961 and lives in Timmersdala. He was represented by Ms Johanna Eriksson Ahlen, a senior legal adviser with the Swedish Red Cross in Stockholm. 3.     The Government were represented by their Agent, Mrs   Helen   Lindquist, of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 4.     The facts of the case may be summarised as follows. 5.     The applicant is a doctor. He left Syria for Jordan in the summer of 2013. 6.     The applicant’s first wife and their five children (born in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2009) appear to have left Syria for Jordan some months later. They still reside there under UNHCR protection. 7.     After the summer of 2013, the applicant returned to Syria to work at a hospital. In November 2013, he left Syria again, and arrived in Greece in April 2014, having travelled via Turkey. In November 2014 he married his second wife (also a Syrian national) in a ceremony performed by an Imam in Greece. 8 .     On 12 December 2014, the applicant and his second wife entered Sweden and requested asylum. They were granted permanent residence permits as refugees on 8 March 2016 (pursuant to Chapter 4, Section 1 of the Aliens Act ( Utlänningslagen , 2005:716)). 9.     On 20 July 2016, the Law concerning temporary restrictions on the granting of permanent residence permits for asylum seekers   ( Lag om tillfälliga begränsningar av möjligheten att få uppehållstillstånd i Sverige ,   2016:752 – henceforth “the Temporary Restrictions Act”) entered into force (remaining in force until 19 July 2019).         The request for family reunification 10 .     On 24 November 2016, at the Swedish Embassy in Amman, Jordan, the applicant’s first wife and five children applied for Swedish residence permits based on their family ties with the applicant. In April 2017 the applications were supported with further documentation. 11 .     The applicant stated to the Migration Agency ( Migrationsverket ) that he intended to live in Sweden with both his wives and all of his children, although it is unclear whether this statement was made on a form submitted on 27 April 2017 or at an interview. The last time he had seen his children and his first wife had been in July 2013. The applicant’s second wife had had a miscarriage and was pregnant again. 12 .     On 17 May 2017, the Migration Agency rejected the applications for family reunification for the following reasons. 13 .     Under Chapter 5, Section 3, subsection 1(1) and (2) of the Aliens Act, a residence permit may be granted to a foreign national who was the spouse or child of a person who was resident in Sweden. However, by virtue of Section 9, subsection 1 of the Temporary Restrictions Act a residence permit could be granted only if the sponsor resident in Sweden could show sufficient income to maintain him- or herself and any person being sponsored (henceforth “the income requirement”) and had accommodation of a sufficient size and standard for him- or herself and those being sponsored (henceforth “the accommodation requirement” these requirements together being henceforth “the maintenance requirement”). If the sponsor resident in Sweden had been granted refugee status, as had the applicant, or subsidiary protection, the maintenance requirement only applied if the application for a residence permit was submitted more than three months after the sponsor had been granted refugee or subsidiary protection status (see Section 10, subsection 3(1) of the Temporary Restrictions Act). 14.     The applications for residence permits submitted by the applicant’s first wife and his children were registered with the Migration Agency on 24   November 2016, eight months after the applicant had been granted refugee status. The exemption from the maintenance requirement in Section 10, subsection 3(1) of the Temporary Restrictions Act therefore did not apply. 15 .   The applicant was living on “introduction benefits” (etableringsersättning ), which was not considered a work-related benefit comparable to a salary. 16 .   He had rented an apartment consisting of one and a half rooms and a kitchenette, which could not be considered accommodation of a sufficient size and standard for them all to live there together. 17 .     The Migration Agency found that the applicant had failed to fulfil the maintenance requirement. His first wife and children could not therefore be granted a residence permit under Section 3, subsection 1(1) and (2) of the Aliens Act. That decision was not contrary to Sweden’s commitment under an international convention and was made under Section 13 of the Temporary Restrictions Act. 18 .     The applicant appealed against the Migration Agency’s decision to the Migration Court ( Migrationsdomstolen ), where he maintained that his first wife and children had contacted the Swedish Embassy in Jordan in April 2016 to make an appointment for an interview. The applicant asserted that this constituted a sufficient manifestation of intention for the application to be considered to have been made on that date. 19 .     On 1 August 2017 the Migration Court found against the applicant. It held first of all that the applicant had failed to substantiate his assertion that his first wife and children had been in contact with the Swedish Embassy on the date alleged. In view of this, and in the absence of any other evidence to the contrary, the court found the applications to have been received when they were filed with the Migration Agency on 24 November 2016. Accordingly, the requirements set out in Section 9 of the Temporary Restrictions Act applied. The Migration Court did not dispute that the applicant had good prospects of obtaining a larger apartment and employment that would meet the accommodation and income requirements. At the time of its assessment, however, there was no reliable evidence to substantiate that the maintenance requirement had been met, and there was therefore at that time no basis for granting the applicant’s first wife and children residence permits on the grounds of family reunification. The Migration Court found that the decision was not in violation of Article 8 of the Convention. 20 .   On 14 September 2017 the Migration Court of Appeal ( Migrationsöverdomstolen ) refused leave to appeal.       The applicant and the maintenance requirement 21 . On 16 January 2017 the applicant submitted an application to the National Board of Health and Welfare ( Socialstyrelsen ) for an assessment of his overseas qualifications in order to obtain a licence to practise medicine in Sweden. In its decision of 14 March 2017, the Board found that the applicant’s foreign training was comparable to the level, length and content of similar training in Sweden. Nevertheless, it decided that the applicant had to show that his knowledge and skills corresponded to those required for a Swedish medical degree. The applicant was informed that this could be done by taking one of the Board’s proficiency tests. However, as this test had to be taken in Swedish, it required the applicant to have a good knowledge of the Swedish language. In this regard, the applicant provided the Migration Court with a copy of a certificate dated 1   February 2017 showing that he had taken a course in Swedish as a second language with a medical specialisation. 22 .     A document from the Swedish Public Employment Service ( Arbetsförmedlingen ) dated 29 May 2017 was submitted to the Migration Court which certified that one of the Service’s duties was to establish a fast-track procedure ( snabbspår ) for admission to certain professions requiring a licence to practise, because of the severe labour shortage in these professions. The applicant had been participating in the Public Employment Service’s introduction measures since 21 April 2016. The aim of the project was to identify medical practitioners at an early stage in the asylum process and to offer them courses in Swedish and an introduction to health care in Sweden in order to shorten the process of obtaining a licence to practise. Each participant was offered one year of participation in the project, accompanied by additional measures to meet the requirements set by the National Board of Health and Welfare for applying for a licence to practise as a doctor. On 1   February 2017, the applicant completed his participation in the project, and subsequently studied Swedish in order to reach the level required and became eligible to take a proficiency test and to then apply for a licence.     The applicant and the accommodation requirement 23.     The applicant’s landlord stated in a letter submitted to the Migration Court that he would make an effort to arrange for a larger apartment for the applicant if his family arrived in Sweden. RELEVANT LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND PRACTICE         DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE    The Aliens Act (2005:716) 24.     Chapter 1, Section 1a of the Aliens Act states that if there are provisions in the Temporary Restrictions Act that deviate from this Act, those provisions should apply. 25.     Chapter 1, Section 3 of the Aliens Act states that where a foreign national is granted “asylum” within the meaning of that Act, a residence permit should be granted to him or her as a refugee or person eligible for subsidiary protection. 26.     Chapter 1, Section 10 states that in cases involving a child, particular attention must be given to the child’s health and development and to the best interests of the child. 27.     Under Chapter 4, Section 1 of the Aliens Act a “refugee” means a foreign national who is outside the country of his or her nationality because he or she has a well-founded fear of persecution on the grounds of race, nationality, religious or political belief, or on the grounds of his or her gender, sexual orientation or membership of some other particular social group and is unable (or because of his or her fear is unwilling) to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country. This applies irrespective of whether it is the authorities of the country that are responsible for the risk of persecution or whether the alien risks being subjected to persecution from private individuals and it cannot be assumed that the alien will be offered effective protection that is not of a temporary nature. When making an assessment of whether adequate protection is being offered, only protection that is provided by the State or by parties or organisations that control all or a significant part of the State’s territory will be taken into account. 28.     Chapter 5, Section 1, subsection 1 states that refugees, persons eligible for subsidiary protection and persons otherwise in need of protection who are in Sweden are entitled to a residence permit. 29.     Under Chapter 5, Section 1a, subsection 3, a residence permit granted under Chapter 5, Section 1a, subsection 1, will be permanent or valid for at least three years. If a new temporary residence permit is granted to an alien who has previously been granted a temporary residence permit, the new permit will be valid for at least two years. This does not apply if compelling considerations of national security or public order require a shorter period of validity. However, the period of validity may not be shorter than one year. 30.     Under   Chapter 5, Section 3, subsection 1 of the Aliens Act, a residence permit will, unless otherwise provided in Sections 17-17b, be granted to an alien who is the spouse or cohabiting partner of someone who is resident or has been granted a residence permit to settle in Sweden. It should be noted that polygamy is not recognised in Sweden. 31.     Under Chapter 5, Section 3, subsection 1(2) of the Aliens Act, unless otherwise provided for in Sections 17-17b of Chapter 5, a residence permit is to be granted to a child who is an alien, is unmarried and has a parent who is resident in or has been granted a residence permit to settle in Sweden. 32.     Under Chapter 5, Section 3a, of the Aliens Act, unless otherwise provided in Chapter 5, Section 17, subsection 2, a residence permit may be granted to an alien who is, other than through the relationships referred to in Section 3 or in this Section, a close relative of someone who is resident in or who has been granted a residence permit to settle in Sweden, if he or she has been a member of the same household as that person and there exists a special relationship of dependence between the relatives that previously existed in the country of origin.    The Temporary Restrictions Act (2016:752) 33.     During 2015 Sweden experienced a record increase in asylum-seekers, whose numbers rose to almost 163,000 (see M.T. and Others v. Sweden , no. 22105/18, § 28, 20 October 2022). 34.     Consequently, the Aliens Act was amended by the Temporary Restrictions Act (the Law concerning temporary restrictions on the granting of permanent residence permits for asylum seekers), in force from 20   July   2016 to 19 July 2019 in order to bring the Swedish legislation into line with the minimum level of provision under European Union Law. The Temporary Restrictions Act adjusted the validity of residence permits to the minimum level provided by the recast Qualification Directive (Council Directive 2004/83/EC, later repealed and replaced by Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and the Council) and adjusted the available grounds for family reunification to the minimum level provided for by the Family Reunification Directive (Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22   September 2003 – see paragraphs 52-60 below). The Temporary Restrictions Act also limited the right to family reunification for both refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. Essentially, between 20   July 2016 and 19 July 2019 the right to family reunification for refugees was limited to immediate family, and the right to family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection was suspended. Moreover, and of specific relevance for the present case, the maintenance requirement was introduced, but it did not apply in certain cases, including where a request for family reunification was submitted within three months after the person in Sweden had been granted refugee status. 35.     As set out in the preparatory works to the Temporary Restrictions Act (proposal to temporarily restrict grants of a residence permit in Sweden, prop. 2015/16:174), Sweden had to temporarily amend its migration-related legislation in order to reduce the number of people seeking asylum there, while at the same time improving the capacity of its reception and integration arrangements. The Temporary Restrictions Act enabled it to operate in line with the minimum level of provision required under EU law and international conventions. 36.     Under Section 9 of the Temporary Restrictions Act, a residence permit under Chapter 5, Section 3 or 3a of the Aliens Act may be granted if the sponsor can support the family and has accommodation of an adequate size and standard for them all. 37.     The Government or a public authority designated by the Government may, by virtue of Chapter 8, Article 7 of the Instrument of Government ( Regeringsformen ), issue more detailed regulations concerning the resources required to support oneself and one’s family and what constituted accommodation of adequate size and standard. 38.     Section 10 of the Temporary Restrictions Act specifies that, if the sponsor has been granted a residence permit inter alia as a refugee, the requirements of Section 9 only apply if (1) the application for a family reunification residence permit is made more than three months after the sponsor was granted a residence permit as a refugee, (2) family reunification is possible in a country outside the EU to which the family has special ties, or (3) the applicant and the sponsor have not cohabited for a substantial period in another country and it cannot be shown by other means that the relationship is well-established. 39.     Under Section 13 of the Act, if a family reunification residence permit cannot be granted on any other basis, such a permit is to be granted to a foreign national who is outside Sweden if a decision to refuse a residence permit would be contrary to Sweden’s international obligations.    Legislative history of the Temporary Restrictions Act 40.     The legislative history of the maintenance requirement set out in the Temporary Act (see Government Bill 2015/15:174, pp. 46 and 47) shows that the provisions were designed to temporarily align the right to family reunification with the minimum level required under the Family Reunification Directive, and that the changes were justified partly because, from an integration point of view, it is beneficial if a sponsor has adequate employment and accommodation when his or her family members arrive. 41.     As a starting point a maintenance requirement should apply as a condition for granting a residence permit and exceptions to this general rule should only be possible in cases where this appears inappropriate or contrary to EU law or international conventions. 42.     It was stated that for obvious reasons children cannot be treated on the same basis as adults when it comes to maintenance requirements. Under the Temporary Restrictions Act, there was thus an exemption from the maintenance requirement if the sponsor was a child. 43.     Another exemption specified in Section 10 of the Temporary Restrictions Act was that of requests for family reunification submitted within three months from the date on which the sponsor had been granted refugee status. It was observed that this exemption would make considerable demands on the service to be provided by Swedish missions abroad. It meant, for example, that it would be unacceptable for a mission not to register an application for a residence permit promptly. An application had to be registered as soon as it was received by the mission, whether submitted on paper or electronically, and that date should not be affected by the fact that the application subsequently had to be supplemented.    Ordinance on temporarily restricting on the possibility to obtain residence permits in Sweden (2016:850) 44.     Under Section 1 of the Ordinance on temporarily restricting on the possibility to obtain residence permits in Sweden (“the Temporary Restrictions Ordinance”) the maintenance requirement set out in Section 9 of the Temporary Restrictions Act is met if the sponsor has a salary that, after deductions for preliminary tax, amounts to the reserve amount for attachment of earnings purposes under Chapter 7, Section 5 of the Dept Enforcement Code ( Utsökningsbalken ). When calculating the amount, however, account is also taken of what is needed to support the family members. Benefits from an unemployment insurance scheme and other similar work-related benefits are treated as comparable to a salary. Insurance benefits are, however, not to be treated as comparable to a salary. The requirement is also met if the sponsor has income from business activities or capital that enables them to support the family. The Swedish Migration Agency may issue more detailed regulations concerning the ability to support oneself.     Regulations of the Swedish Migration Agency on the Maintenance Requirement for Family Members (MIGRFS 02/2017) 45.     The requirement of accommodation of an adequate size and standard set out in Chapter 5, Section 3b of the Aliens Act and Section 9, subsection 1 of the Temporary Restrictions Act are met if, no later than when the family member arrives in Sweden, the sponsor has at their disposal accommodation that is owned, rented as a tenant or subtenant, or occupied as a secured tenant of a housing association. The sponsor must submit written proof of their accommodation arrangements, for example a tenancy agreement or a certificate from a property owner, landlord or accommodation agency confirming that a tenancy will be available. If the accommodation is rented as a subtenant, the subtenancy must be approved by the landlord, housing association or regional tenancy tribunal. The accommodation must be of a reasonable standard and of a suitable size for the number of people who are to reside in it. Accommodation for two adults without children must have at least one room and a kitchen or kitchenette. If children are to reside in the accommodation, it must have more rooms. Two minor children can share a bedroom.     The maintenance requirement in the Aliens Act after 19 July 2021 46.     On 20 July 2021 the Temporary Restrictions Act ceased to apply. At the same time, new provisions were introduced into the Aliens Act regarding the maintenance requirement for family reunification. 47.     The amended Chapter 5, Section 3b of the Aliens Act provides that a residence permit should be granted under Chapter 5, Section 3 or 3a of the same Act only if the sponsor is able to support the family and has accommodation of adequate size and standard for them all. 48.     Under Chapter 5, Section 3d, subsection 1 of the Aliens Act, if the sponsor has been granted a residence permit as inter alia a refugee, the requirements of Section 3b only apply if (1) the application for a residence permit is made more than three months after the sponsor was granted a residence permit as a refugee, (2) family reunification is possible in a country outside the EU to which the family has special ties, or (3) if the applicant and the sponsor have not cohabited for a substantial period in another country and it is not clear in some other way that the relationship is well-established. 49 .     Under Chapter 5, Section 3f of the Aliens Act, full or partial exemptions from the maintenance requirement can be granted if there are “exceptional reasons” to do so. The provision allows such exemptions where it would be unreasonable to enforce the requirement. This could apply to, for example, retired people who do not have an income at the required level or people who are unable to earn an income because of a permanent disability. There may also be other situations where it seems unreasonable to apply a maintenance requirement, inter alia , if in the individual case it would conflict with Sweden’s convention obligations. An overall assessment of circumstances has to be made in the individual case (see Government Bill 2020/21:191, p. 112).   RELEVANT EUROPEAN UNION LAW    The Charter of Fundamental Rights 50.     The right to family life is set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, OJ 2007/C   313/01   (hereinafter “the Charter”) and a number of EU legislative acts. Article 7 of the Charter reads as follows: Respect for private and family life “Everyone has the right to respect for his or her private and family life, home and communications.” 51.     The Explanations relating to the Charter of Fundamental Rights (2007/C 303/02) contain the following guidance in the interpretation of Article   7: Explanation on Article 7 – Respect for private and family life “The rights guaranteed in Article 7 correspond to those guaranteed by Article 8 of the ECHR. ... In accordance with Article 52(3), the meaning and scope of this right are the same as those of the corresponding article of the ECHR. Consequently, the limitations which may legitimately be imposed on this right are the same as those allowed by Article 8 of the ECHR ...”    Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003 on the right to family reunification (“the Family Reunification Directive”) 52.     Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003 on the right to family reunification, OJ 2003 L   251, p. 12 (hereinafter “the Family Reunification Directive”) is the main EU secondary legislation dealing with the family reunification rights of third-country nationals (that is those who are not nationals of an EU member State). The purpose of the Family Reunification Directive is to determine the conditions for the exercise of the right to family reunification by third country nationals residing lawfully in the territory of the member States. 53     Paragraph 11 of the Preamble to the Family Reunification Directive requires that right to be exercised in compliance with the values and principles recognised by the member States, in particular with respect to the rights of women and of children; such compliance justifies the possible taking of restrictive measures against applications for the reunification of polygamous households. 54 .     Article 7 of the Family Reunification Directive sets out the following: “1. When the application for family reunification is submitted, the Member State concerned may require the person who has submitted the application to provide evidence that the sponsor has: (a) accommodation regarded as normal for a comparable family in the same region and which meets the general health and safety standards in force in the Member State concerned; (b) sickness insurance in respect of all risks normally covered for its own nationals in the Member State concerned for himself/herself and the members of his/her family; (c) stable and regular resources which are sufficient to maintain himself/herself and the members of his/her family, without recourse to the social assistance system of the Member State concerned. Member States shall evaluate these resources by reference to their nature and regularity and may take into account the level of minimum national wages and pensions as well as the number of family members. 2. Member States may require third country nationals to comply with integration measures, in accordance with national law. With regard to the refugees and/or family members of refugees referred to in Article 12 the integration measures referred to in the first subparagraph may only be applied once the persons concerned have been granted family reunification.” 55. Article 9 § 2 of the Family Reunification Directive provides that Member States may confine the application of Chapter V to refugees whose family relationships predate their entry into the country. 56 .     Article 12 of the Directive is worded as follows: “1. By way of derogation from Article 7, the Member States shall not require the refugee and/or family member(s) to provide, in respect of applications concerning those family members referred to in Article 4(1), the evidence that the refugee fulfils the requirements set out in Article 7. Without prejudice to international obligations, where family reunification is possible in a third country with which the sponsor and/or family member has special links, Member States may require provision of the evidence referred to in the first subparagraph. Member States may require the refugee to meet the conditions referred to in Article 7(1) if the application for family reunification is not submitted within a period of three months after the granting of the refugee status. 2. ...” 57.     Under Article 10 § 1, refugees’ family members are defined using the definition in Article 4, which excludes any more stringent definitions or additional requirements: the third subparagraph of Article 4 § 1 does not apply to the children of refugees. Article 4 § 4 requires that, in the event of a polygamous marriage, where the sponsor already has a spouse living with him in the territory of a member State, the member State concerned shall not authorise the entry for family reunification of a further spouse. 58. The communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on guidance for application of Directive 2003/86/EC on the right to family reunification (COM/2014/0210) requires a sponsor’s resources to be sufficiently stable and regular and reasonably expected to be available for the foreseeable future, so that the applicant will not need to seek recourse to the social assistance system, and an applicant for a residence permit on the basis of family reunification may provide evidence of that. In general, a permanent employment contract should therefore be sufficient. Article 7 § 1 (a) provides that member States may require evidence that the sponsor has accommodation of the standard usual for a comparable family in the same region and which meets the general health and safety standards in force in the member State concerned. The evaluation of the accommodation is left to the discretion of the member State, but the criteria adopted may not be discriminatory and the provision defines the upper limit of what may be required as to size, hygiene and safety in terms of number of family members and social status. 59.     Chakroun (C-578/08, EU:C:2010:117, 4 March 2010), concerned the refusal of an application for family reunification made in 2006 by Mr   Chakroun for his wife. He had held an indefinite residence permit in the Netherlands since 1972, but the application was refused because he was in receipt of unemployment benefit and his income fell below the applicable income standard. The Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”)   ruled as follows:   “The phrase ‘recourse to the social assistance system’ in Article 7(1)(c) of Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22   September 2003 on the right to family reunification must be interpreted as precluding a Member State from adopting rules in respect of family reunification which result in such reunification being refused to a sponsor who has proved that he has stable and regular resources which are sufficient to maintain himself and the members of his family, but who, given the level of his resources, will nevertheless be entitled to claim special assistance in order to meet exceptional, individually determined, essential living costs, tax refunds granted by local authorities on the basis of his income, or income-support measures in the context of local-authority minimum-income policies.” It further stated: “41 Article   4(1) of the Directive imposes precise positive obligations, with corresponding clearly defined individual rights, on the Member States, since it requires them, in the cases determined by the Directive, to authorise family reunification of certain members of the sponsor’s family, without being left a margin of appreciation (Case C-540/03 Parliament v Council [2006] ECR I-5769, paragraph   60). 42 However, that provision is subject to compliance with the conditions referred to, in particular, in Chapter IV of the Directive. Article   7(1)(c) of the Directive forms part of those conditions and allows Member States to require evidence that the sponsor has stable and regular resources which are sufficient to maintain himself and the members of his family without recourse to the social assistance system of the Member State concerned. That provision also states that Member States are to evaluate those resources by reference to their nature and regularity and may take into account the level of minimum national wages and pensions as well as the number of family members. 43 Since authorisation of family reunification is the general rule, the faculty provided for in Article   7(1)(c) of the Directive must be interpreted strictly. Furthermore, the margin for manoeuvre which the Member States are recognised as having must not be used by them in a manner which would undermine the objective of the Directive, which is to promote family reunification, and the effectiveness thereof. 44 In that regard, it follows from recital 2 in the preamble to the Directive that measures concerning family reunification should be adopted in conformity with the obligation to protect the family and respect family life enshrined in many instruments of international law. The Directive respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular in Article   8 of the ECHR and in the Charter. It follows that the provisions of the Directive, particularly Article   7(1)(c) thereof, must be interpreted in the light of the fundamental rights and, more particularly, in the light of the right to respect for family life enshrined in both the ECHR and the Charter. It should be added that, under the first subparagraph of Article   6(1) TEU, the European Union recognises the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter, as adapted at Strasbourg on 12   December 2007 (OJ 2007 C   303, p.   1), which has the same legal value as the Treaties. 45 As Mrs   Chakroun pointed out at the hearing, the concept of ‘social assistance system of the Member State’ is a concept which has its own independent meaning in European Union law and cannot be defined by reference to concepts of national law. In the light, in particular, of the differences existing between the Member States in the management of social assistance, that concept must be understood as referring to social assistance granted by the public authorities, whether at national, regional or local level. 46 The first sentence of Article   7(1)(c) of the Directive sets up, on the one hand, the concept of ‘stable and regular resources which are sufficient to maintain [the applicant]’ against, on the other, that of ‘social assistance’. It follows from this contrast that the concept of ‘social assistance’ in the Directive refers to assistance granted by the public authorities, whether at national, regional or local level, which can be claimed by an individual, in this case the sponsor, who does not have stable and regular resources which are sufficient to maintain himself and the members of his family and who, by reason of that fact, is likely to become a burden on the social assistance system of the host Member State during his period of residence (see, by way of analogy, Case C-291/05 Eind [2007] ECR I-10719, paragraph   29). 47 The second sentence of Article   7(1)(c) of the Directive allows Member States to take into account the level of minimum national wages and pensions as well as the number of family members when evaluating the sponsor’s resources. As has been pointed out in paragraph   43 of the present judgment, that faculty must be exercised in a manner which avoids undermining the objective of the Directive, which is to promote family reunification, and the effectiveness thereof. 48 Since the extent of needs can vary greatly depending on the individuals, that authorisation must, moreover, be interpreted as meaning that the Member States may indicate a certain sum as a reference amount, but not as meaning that they may impose a minimum income level below which all family reunifications will be refused, irrespective of an actual examination of the situation of each applicant. That interpretation is supported by Article   17 of the Directive, which requires individual examination of applications for family reunification. 49 ... The concept of ‘social assistance’ in Article   7(1)(c) of the Directive must be interpreted as referring to assistance which compensates for a lack of stable, regular and sufficient resources, and not as referring to assistance which enables exceptional or unforeseen needs to be addressed. ...” 60 .     K and B (C-380/17, EU:C:2018:877, 7 November 2018), was about a request for family reunification with a third country national who had been granted subsidiary protection. The CJEU found that Article 12 § 1 of the Family Reunification Directive did not preclude national legislation under which an application for family reunification lodged on behalf of a member of a refugee’s family on the basis of the more favourable provisions for refugees of Chapter V of that Directive could be rejected on the ground that the application was lodged more than three months after the sponsor had been granted refugee status, where it was possible to lodge a fresh application under a different set of rules [notably those laid down in Article 7 § 1 of the Directive], provided that the relevant legislation: (i) laid down that those grounds for rejection could not apply where particular circumstances made the late submission of the initial application objectively excusable; (ii) laid down that the persons concerned must be fully informed of the consequences of the decision rejecting their initial application and of the measures which they could take to make an effective application for family reunification; and (iii) ensured that sponsors who had been recognised as refugees continued to benefit from the more favourable conditions for the exercise of the right to family reunification applicable to refugees, as specified in Articles 10 and 11 or in Article 12(2) of the Directive. The CJEU further stated:   “44 The first subparagraph of Article 12(1) of Directive 2003/86 provides that, by way of derogation from Article 7 thereof, the Member States are not to require the refugee or his family members to provide, in respect of applications concerning those family members referred to in Article 4(1) of that directive, the evidence that the sponsor fulfils the requirements set out in Article 7 thereof. 45 However, whilst it is stated in recital 8 of Directive 2003/86 that that directive lays down more favourable conditions for refugees’ exercise of the right to family reunification, including the rules set out in the first subparagraph of Article 12(1) of that directive, the fact remains that the Member States have the possibility to subject granting the benefits afforded by those rules to the condition that an application be lodged within a certain period of time. 46 Thus, the third subparagraph of Article 12(1) of the directive states that Member States may require the refugee to meet the conditions referred to in Article 7(1) of that directive if the application for family reunification is not submitted within a period of three months after the granting of refugee status. ... 48 The third subparagraph of Article   12(1) of Directive 2003/86 cannot be interpreted as requiring the Member States to regard failure, without any valid reason, to comply with the time limit for lodging an application for family reunification submitted on the basis of the more favourable rules set out in the first subparagraph of Article   12(1) of that directive as forming only one factor to be taken into consideration for the overall assessment of the merits of that application and as capable of being offset by other factors. ... 52 The decision of a member State to require that the conditions set out in Article 7(1) of the Directive are satisfied does not prevent the