Facts
X., a Kosovar national born in 1967, remarried a Swiss national on August 20, 2004. He was granted a residence permit for family reunification, and then a settlement permit starting from September 2, 2009.
On April 27, 2010, X. filed an application for family reunification of his son Y., born on November 1, 1993 and living in Kosovo. The Population Service of the Canton of Vaud rejected this application on the grounds that the application had not been made within the 12-month deadline provided by law for children over 12 years of age. The Cantonal Court confirmed this decision.
X. and Y. filed a public law appeal to the Federal Tribunal against this judgment.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal to the extent that it was admissible. It considered that, in accordance with the transitional provision of Art. 126 para. 3 of the Foreign Nationals Act (FNA), the 12-month deadline provided for in Art. 47 para. 3 let. b FNA for submitting a family reunification application had expired on December 31, 2008, i.e. before the application was filed on April 27, 2010.
Although the father had obtained a settlement permit on September 2, 2009, this did not give rise to a new deadline, as no previous family reunification application had been filed. Furthermore, the father had already been entitled…