Family reunification and DNA tests for Somali refugees

Somalis who won protection abroad have often had to prove, with DNA, that the relatives they asked to bring are their own. This page sets out what governments, courts and researchers have recorded about those tests since the 1990s. The basic papers a refugee needs are on Refugee papers and status.

Why are Somali families asked for DNA tests?

Somali passports and other identity documents have not been accepted since 1991, Sweden's Migration Court of Appeal noted in 2019 (MIG 2019:18, 31 October 2019). A 2013 study for five European embassies in Addis Ababa found all of them struggling to establish Somali applicants' identity for the same reason (Feasibility Study Shared Facility Centre Addis Ababa, 2013).

That study counted 12,200 Somali family reunification cases at those embassies in 2012 (same source). Over all locations, Sweden handled 11,344 Somali cases in 2010, Finland 3,986, the Netherlands 3,200, Norway 1,993 and Austria 50 (same source).

UNHCR issued guidance in June 2008 on DNA testing to establish family relationships in the refugee context (UNHCR Note on DNA Testing, June 2008).

What was the US P-3 programme?

Priority 3 (P-3) offered refugee processing to spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents of people admitted as refugees or granted asylum in the US (US State Department, Report to Congress FY2014). The relative in the US filed an Affidavit of Relationship, and Somalia was on the list of eligible nationalities (same source).

In recent years more than 95% of P-3 applications had come from Africans, mainly Somalis, Ethiopians and Liberians, the State Department said in December 2008 (State Department fact sheet, 4 December 2008, via Scoop). About 36,000 people had arrived from Africa under P-3 since 1 October 2003 (same source).

Why did the US stop P-3 in 2008?

The State Department ran a DNA pilot on about 500 refugees in Nairobi, mostly Somali and Ethiopian (fact sheet, 2008). It said every claimed biological relationship was confirmed in fewer than 20% of family units. In the rest, at least one test was negative or people refused testing (same source).

• Wider testing: about 3,000 people were then tested, mostly from Somalia, Ethiopia and Liberia (same source).
• Suspension: processing stopped in Kenya and Ethiopia in March 2008 and in Uganda in May 2008 (same source).
• All nationalities: from 22 October 2008 no new P-3 applications were accepted (same source).

PBS Frontline in 2015 gave a different breakdown of the pilot: 476 people tested, 16% matching every relative, 39% failing one match, 45% refusing or absent (PBS Frontline, 19 October 2015).

How did P-3 restart?

P-3 resumed on 15 October 2012 with a new form, DS-7656, that warns of penalties for fraud (Report to Congress FY2014). Filers are told that DNA evidence of certain parent-child relationships is required before a USCIS interview (same source).

By 30 June 2013 more than 1,000 affidavits had been filed, mostly in East Africa (same source). None of those families were expected to arrive before 2014 (same source). PBS later reported fewer than 100 arrivals a year through P-3 (PBS Frontline, 2015).

Where does US family reunion stand now?

The whole US refugee programme has been suspended since late January 2025 (Congressional Research Service, IF13277, July 2026). Proclamation 10949 of June 2025 exempted immediate-family immigrant visas backed by "clear and convincing evidence of identity and family relationship (e.g., DNA)" (Proclamation 10949, 90 FR 24497).

Proclamation 10998, effective 1 January 2026, replaced that list of exceptions with a shorter one that leaves out immediate-family visas (Proclamation 10998, 90 FR 59717). Details are on US travel bans and Somalis.

How has the UK used DNA tests?

In 1994 a minister told Parliament that Somalis applying to join relatives in the UK could have DNA tests like other nationals (Hansard, HC Deb 23 June 1994, vol 245, col 261W). Tests were free for first-time applicants when the entry clearance officer doubted the relationship. In 1993, 19 tests were done in Addis Ababa and 7 in Nairobi (same source).

In 1997 the government gave figures for Somali applicants tested at Addis Ababa (Hansard, HC Deb 12 June 1997, vol 295):

• 1994: 44 tested, 14 not related as claimed.
• 1995: 37 tested, 13 not related as claimed.
• 1996: 64 tested, 17 not related as claimed.
• 1997 to June: 42 tested, 1 not related as claimed.

The Home Office's current DNA guidance says it cannot require DNA evidence and that giving it is voluntary (Home Office, DNA policy guidance). A 2025 King's College London workshop report said decision-makers do not always understand the probabilistic nature of DNA results (KCL Refugee Family Reunion Project, 2025).

What was the UK "Human Provenance" pilot?

From September 2009 the UK Border Agency tested some asylum seekers' DNA and the isotopes in their hair and nails (Nature news blog, 17 June 2011). The aim was to tell Somali claimants apart from people from other countries such as Kenya (same source).

Geneticists objected. "Genes don't respect national borders," Imperial College geneticist David Balding said (The Scientist, 2011). The agency dropped the pilot after spending about £190,000, saying it did "not plan to take forward DNA/Isotope testing for country of origin identification purposes" (Nature, 2011).

What changed in the Netherlands?

In July 2011 the Dutch immigration minister reported on measures against what he called fraud and abuse in Somali family reunion (Kamerstuk 19637 nr. 1439, 6 July 2011). He said about 80% of Somali visa applications for family reunion were made in Addis Ababa, where the immigration service had posted staff (same source).

The share of these applications granted fell, by the minister's figures (same source):

• 2007 and 2008: more than half.
• 2009: about 30%, or more than 1,400 grants.
• 2010: under 25%, or more than 2,300 grants.
• First half of 2011: under 10%, about 30 people a month.

The measures included more evidence, extra identity questions at embassies, and refusing relatives not named during the sponsor's asylum case (same source). The 2013 Addis study said the Netherlands tested only members of the nuclear family (Addis study, 2013). See Netherlands.

How do Norway, Sweden and Finland test families?

• Norway: when tests began around 2000 for Somali applications, about half gave false information about parenthood, Norway's report to the European Migration Network said (Norwegian EMN Contact Point, April 2012). In later years it was 2 to 3%. Norway also tested Somali spouses without children to check they were not siblings (same source).
• Sweden: in MIG 2012:1 the Migration Court of Appeal granted residence to a mother and daughter without papers after DNA showed 99.999% probability of parentage (MIG 2012:1, 18 January 2012). Sveriges Radio reported that Somalis welcomed the ruling (Sveriges Radio, 2012).
• Finland: DNA tests rose from 150 in 2006 to 500 in 2007, most of them for Somalis, the Finnish Immigration Service said (Migri, 2008). In 2010 its director-general said applications for Somali foster children grew once DNA tests were in use (Hiiraan Online, reprinting Helsingin Sanomat, August 2010).

Anthropologists Anna-Maria Tapaninen and Ilpo Helén argue that in Finland DNA results become proof of a "true" family and a test of the applicant's credibility (Tapaninen and Helén, BioSocieties, 2019).

How are age and identity checked?

The 2013 Addis study said the lack of recognised Somali documents made suspected age fraud hard to detect (Addis study, 2013). At that time, by its account (same source):

• Norway: medical age tests sometimes used.
• Austria: medical age tests and age assessments used.
• Netherlands: age assessment without medical tests.
• Finland: medical tests seldom; language analysis sometimes, recorded in Addis Ababa.
• Sweden: no medical age tests or language tests.

Many Somalis' recorded birth dates were set at registration; see Why do so many Somalis have 1 January birthdays?.

Related pages

• Refugee papers and status
• US travel bans and Somalis
• United States (Somali diaspora)
• United Kingdom (Somali diaspora)
• Norway (Somali diaspora)
• Sweden (Somali diaspora)
• Finland (Somali diaspora)
• Netherlands (Somali diaspora)
• Ethiopia (Somali diaspora)
• The Somali passport

Sources

1. Migration Court of Appeal, Sweden. MIG 2019:18 (UM 4433-19), 31 October 2019. lagen.nu. Checked 12 November 2026.
2. "Report Feasibility Study Shared Facility Centre Addis Ababa: Towards an Effective Somali Family Reunification Process", for Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Austria, 2013. Dutch parliamentary attachment blg-308977. officielebekendmakingen.nl. Checked 12 November 2026.
3. UNHCR. "UNHCR Note on DNA Testing to Establish Family Relationships in the Refugee Context." June 2008. refworld.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
4. US Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. "Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2014: Report to the Congress." 2013. wrapsnet.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
5. US Department of State, PRM. "Fraud in the Refugee Family Reunification (Priority Three) Program." Fact sheet, 4 December 2008, reproduced by Scoop. scoop.co.nz. Checked 12 November 2026.
6. Katie Worth. "For Some Refugees, Safe Haven Now Depends on a DNA Test." PBS Frontline, 19 October 2015. pbs.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
7. Congressional Research Service. "U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in FY2025 and FY2026." IF13277, July 2026. everycrsreport.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
8. Proclamation 10949, "Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats." 4 June 2025, 90 FR 24497. govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
9. Proclamation 10998, "Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the Security of the United States." 16 December 2025, 90 FR 59717. govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
10. UK House of Commons. Written answer on DNA examinations in Somalia, HC Deb 23 June 1994, vol 245, col 261W. api.parliament.uk. Checked 12 November 2026.
11. UK House of Commons. Written answer on DNA tests of Somali family reunion applicants, HC Deb 12 June 1997, vol 295, cc543-4W. api.parliament.uk. Checked 12 November 2026.
12. UK Home Office. "DNA policy guidance." gov.uk. Checked 12 November 2026.
13. King's College London, Refugee Family Reunion Project. Workshop report, February 2025. kcl.ac.uk. Checked 12 November 2026.
14. Geoffrey Brumfiel. "UK immigration cancels DNA screening programme." Nature news blog, 17 June 2011. blogs.nature.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
15. The Scientist. "UK scraps nationality DNA testing." 2011. the-scientist.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
16. Minister for Immigration and Asylum, Netherlands. Letter on results against fraud in asylum and family reunion by Somali asylum seekers. Kamerstuk 19637 nr. 1439, 6 July 2011. officielebekendmakingen.nl. Checked 12 November 2026.
17. Norwegian Contact Point to the European Migration Network. "Misuse of the Right to Family Reunification: marriages of convenience and false declarations of parenthood." April 2012. udi.no. Checked 12 November 2026.
18. Migration Court of Appeal, Sweden. MIG 2012:1 (UM 10897-10), 18 January 2012. lagen.nu. Checked 12 November 2026.
19. Sveriges Radio. "Ny dom välkomnas av somalier." 2012. sverigesradio.se. Checked 12 November 2026.
20. Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). "DNA testing has united a record number of immigrant families." 2008. migri.fi. Checked 12 November 2026.
21. Hiiraan Online, reprinting Helsingin Sanomat. "Finnish immigration officials overwhelmed by Somali family unification requests." August 2010. hiiraan.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
22. Tapaninen, A.-M. and Helén, I. "Making up families: how DNA analysis does/does not verify relatedness in family reunification in Finland." BioSocieties, 2019. doi.org. Checked 12 November 2026.