It is widely accepted that states normally have a duty to enact immigration policies that facilitate family unification. However, the justification of this duty is poorly understood. One account, offered by Matthew Lister, appeals to current citizens’ individual rights to freedom of association. However, this account fails to isolate the spousal relationship from other personal relationships that might also benefit from facilitated immigration. Secondly, the interests that the right to freedom of association protects can also be served by rights to visit. I develop a novel account of family migration, appealing to the instrumental importance of certain caregiving relationships for citizens’ personal autonomy. Like the argument from freedom of association, my proposed justification implies that special immigration eligibility should be extended beyond spousal relationships. However, the set of relationships which attract special immigration eligibility is much more circumscribed on my proposed account.
