Brussels, 06/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - Member states must not use only the length of habitual residence, but must consider links with the host country and an individual's desire to reside there, ruled the European Court of Justice in case C-255/13 on Thursday 5 June.
An Irish man went to Germany on holiday in 2002, where he had a heart attack that left him a severe quadriplegic with various other health problems. He spent 12 years in Germany before dying there. Throughout this time, he constantly said that he wanted to return to Ireland but was unable to do so because his health problems were so severe that he required constant medical treatment.
The healthcare he received in Germany was paid for by Ireland under the E111 certificate for travellers and then under the E112 system for EU residents who travel to another member state to receive treatment not available in their own country. This coverage ended in 2011 on the grounds that the man had by then established his place of normal residence as Germany.
The Court of Justice says that residence alone is not enough because a range of elements need to be taken into consideration to determine the place of residence for someone covered by the social welfare system, which stipulates that the place of residence is the habitual centre of interests. To determine this, an individual's family situation must be examined, the reason why the person travelled, the duration and continuity of residence, whether the individual has a stable job and what his or her plans are. In the case in question, despite the long time in Germany, the Court of Justice says that the man could be considered as “temporarily resident” in Germany (rather than resident), as laid down under EU Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems. (JK)