Out of school in Morocco for over a year, two children cannot join their mother in the Netherlands

Their mother has been legally residing in the Netherlands since 10 September 2025 and is married to a Dutch national. On 22 October of that year, she submitted an application on behalf of her two children for a provisional residence permit so that they could join her under family reunification.

The application was refused on 19 December 2025. After several administrative steps, the ministry upheld its refusal in April 2026. The two children then brought their case before the District Court of The Hague, which has just rejected their appeal in a decision published on 4 September.

On Bladi.net : article 123548

The case nevertheless describes a difficult family situation. Their mother’s husband claims that the children now live in Morocco without parental care and that no family member is able to look after them on a long-term basis. Their biological father lives in Spain and reportedly has had no contact with them for eleven years.

Above all, the two minors have been at home for over a year and are currently no longer attending school. The family also maintains that separation from their mother is having significant psychological and emotional consequences for them.

Their mother argues that a new school year is beginning and that keeping the children in Morocco would prolong their absence from school. She also believes that there is a concrete obstacle to family life in Morocco: her Dutch husband works as a teacher in the Netherlands and considers that he cannot be asked to leave the European Union.

Parental authority blocks the entire case

But the court ultimately does not rule on the case on the basis of these elements. The decisive problem is much more administrative: the mother has not provided legal proof that she exercises parental authority over her children since her divorce.

Their parentage is not disputed. The administration acknowledges that she is their biological mother and that the children were indeed part of her household when she lived in Morocco. But it requires a legalized court decision, accompanied by a legalized translation, specifying to whom parental authority was granted after the divorce.

The father had nevertheless signed a declaration authorizing the children to leave the country. That was not enough. The administration notably pointed to the absence of a copy of his identity document, as well as discrepancies concerning his date of birth in the documents submitted. The court therefore considers that the mother’s parental authority has still not been sufficiently established.

In another recent case, it was instead the three children who remained in Morocco who enabled a Moroccan woman to have a Dutch visa refusal overturned.

On Bladi.net : article 122885

The court therefore rejects the appeal without examining the other arguments in detail, notably the children’s absence from school or the waiting period imposed on the mother before she could bring her children over.

The door is not permanently closed, however. The judge specifies that a new application may be submitted with the missing supporting documents. The judge also issues a warning to the administration: in that case, the authorities must place the children’s best interests first and give them the opportunity to express their own views.

Pending this possible new procedure, the two minors remain in Morocco, separated from their mother and still out of school for over a year.