A Member State may establish the existence of fraud linked to a marriage of convenience even after the person concerned has acquired its nationality, ruled the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a judgment handed down on Thursday 4 June (case C-560/24).
In Ireland, a third-country national married a European citizen and, thanks to this marriage, obtained a residence permit, then became Irish in 2015, a nationality on which his right of residence is based. He contests subsequent decisions by the Minister of Justice that his marriage was one of convenience and that his rights under the Free Movement Directive (2004/38) should be withdrawn from the outset.
In its judgment, the Court answers that Member States may investigate and establish the existence of past fraud, even if the person concerned has acquired the nationality of the host Member State.
According to the CJEU, the directive’s provisions on combating fraud and abuse of rights also apply to past situations. They allow Member States to take measures concerning rights previously conferred, even if the person is no longer a beneficiary of the directive at the time the authorities intervene. An interpretation to the contrary would compromise the objective of combating marriages of convenience and fraudulent practices, which are often detected late, according to the European judge.
In fine, the Court points out, the power conferred on a Member State to investigate the existence of fraud or abuse of rights may lead, subject to compliance with the principle of proportionality and procedural safeguards, to deprivation of nationality and, consequently, of EU citizenship status.
See the judgment of the Court of Justice: https://aeur.eu/f/m6n (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)