Facts
The complainant, a Macedonian national, married a fellow countryman with a settlement permit in Switzerland in 2002 and was granted a residence permit. After separating from her husband in 2013, she lived in Switzerland with her two sons, who have a settlement permit. The Migration Office of the Canton of Solothurn rejected her applications for extension of the residence permit, as she was dependent on social assistance and could not demonstrate integration into Switzerland. The lower court confirmed this decision.
The complainant and her sons apply to the Federal Court to overturn the decision and extend her residence permit. They argue that she has since found a job and is no longer dependent on social assistance.
Considerations
The Federal Court examines the complaint and finds that the lower court correctly reproduced the case law on Art. 43 and Art. 50 FNIA, as well as the reverse family reunification of third-country nationals under Art. 8 ECHR. The complainant has been supported by social assistance since 2006 and has not been able to free herself from welfare. The lower court was therefore entitled to assume that the complainant cannot be considered sufficiently integrated within the meaning of Art. 50 para. 1 lit. a FNIA.
The Federal Court also finds that the non-renewal of the complainant's residence permit is proportionate. The complainant lived in Macedonia until the age of 22 and spent her formative childhood and youth years there. She is familiar with…