Family reunification: European Union law precludes national legislation which requires, without exception, that an application for family reunification be submitted in person at a competent diplomatic post
The legislation may nevertheless provide for the possibility of requiring the applicants to appear in person at a
later stage of the application procedure for family reunification
https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2023-04/cp230060en.pdf