The Court of Justice of the European Union has overturned a decision by the Dutch authorities on a long-term residence permit, in its ruling on Wednesday 7 September in case C-624/20.
The Hague District Court asked the CJEU about the interpretation of the 2003 EU Directive on the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents.
A Ghanaian national who had a residence permit as a family member of an EU citizen (her son) in the Netherlands, due to a dependency relationship between the two, applied in 2019 for long-term resident status. The Dutch authorities refused this status on the grounds that her stay was temporary. However, the 2003 Directive does not apply to temporary stays.
The Court found, however, that the third-country national’s stay was never of a temporary nature due to the dependency relationship with her son. “In principle, such a relationship of dependence is not intended to be of short duration, but may extend over a considerable period of time”, the Court said. Her stay as a family member is therefore included in the Directive.
The CJEU also recalls that the aim of the Directive is to integrate third-country nationals who have settled in the Member States on a long-term basis and that this person falls into this category, as the dependency link requires a long-term presence.
See the judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/2zf (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)