Facts
The proceedings concern the family reunification of a Sri Lankan national ([A.] ) with her husband ([B.] ) who is established in Switzerland. [B.] entered Switzerland in 1989 and was granted a settlement permit in 2009. The couple has four adult children and has been living apart since the husband's entry into Switzerland. In March 2013, they filed an application for family reunification, which was rejected by the Migration Office of the Canton of Zurich. The appeal against this decision was dismissed by the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich.
The applicants requested the Federal Court to approve the application for family reunification, alternatively to refer the matter back to the lower court. They argued that the five-year deadline for family reunification was not complied with because the applicant had to fulfill educational and caregiving responsibilities and an earlier reunification was not possible.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether the applicants could invoke important family reasons for reunification. It found that the five-year deadline for family reunification was not complied with and that the applicants could not provide important reasons for reunification.
The court stated that the deadline for family reunification also applies to spouses and that a subsequent reunification is only permitted if important family reasons are invoked. It found that the applicants had lived apart voluntarily and that the applicant regularly visited his family in Sri Lanka.
The court also…