This request comes after a case reported by our colleagues from RTL Radio on Tuesday, involving a Luxembourgish-Palestinian couple who spent $20,000 to evacuate four family members from Gaza.
Among the family members is the woman’s sister, who would not normally qualify for family reunification. The Refugee Council argues for a more flexible approach during crises, allowing family members to obtain temporary residence. Laura Zuccoli, from the Refugee Council’s secretariat, emphasises the need for streamlined procedures. Gathering evidence of financial dependency becomes difficult in war zones, she explains.
“A humanitarian decision, ideally enshrined in law, would allow for a more flexible and less bureaucratic process,” Zuccoli says. She explains that “This would enable people from war zones, like Gaza in this case, […] to be brought to Luxembourg on specific criteria and reunited with their families who live and work here, and who would then support them.”
According to Zuccoli, such a law would allow the family mentioned in the Tuesday report, which is currently in Egypt, to travel to Luxembourg on a regular flight. However, she acknowledges the exceptional nature of their ability to afford such a costly evacuation. The Refugee Council believes the government should collaborate with the UN to facilitate evacuations for those with family in Luxembourg.
Zuccoli outlines a two-step solution. After the individuals in question have been identified, the Luxembourg state could issue special travel documents, namely humanitarian visas, that would allow them to leave Egypt and immigrate to Luxembourg as part of family reunification.
The Refugee Council previously urged consideration for the exceptional situation in Gaza in a February letter to Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden. However, the Council received no response to this letter. After the severe earthquakes in Turkey in 2023, the Council says it sent a similar letter to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Asselborn but had not received a reply in this case either.
However, the Ministry of Home Affairs claims that it did reply to the Luxembourg Refugee Council on 27 February. In this reply, which is available to RTL, Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden refers to statements made the previous week by Prime Minister Luc Frieden during a press conference. The Prime Minister had declared at the time that the same family reunification rules would apply to people from Gaza. Luxembourg would not be able to take in additional people from Gaza, Frieden said.
