Violation of EU Free Movement Rights in Ireland and UK

Brophy Solicitors' Immigration Blog has reported that the EU Commission has issued a formal notice to the UK requesting that that it rectify certain alleged infringements of EU law. This formal notice is the first stage of the Commission’s procedure to address non-compliance with EU law and the notice requests the State in question submit its observations on an indentified problem regarding the application of EU law within a given time limit. The subsequent steps may involve the Commission serving a reasoned opinion on the Member State, which would set out the Commission’s opinion on an infringement, and then request that the Member state rectify the infringement within a certain time limit. The final step in the Commission’s procedure if the infringement was not resolved would be referral to the European Court of Justice.

The infringements in this case involve EU Free Movement rights. The infringements include:

• different residence permits being issued to Romanian and Bulgarian workers than to other EU workers, and
• the fact that UK does not consider entitlement to treatment under the UK public healthcare scheme as sufficient to satisfy the requirement that EU citizens settled but not working in a member state other than their own have sufficient resources and sickness insurance.

Brophy Solicitors' Immigration Blog noted that two further infringements listed within the Commission’s press release on the UK’s infringements, are also committed by Ireland. These two infringements are described by the Commission’s press release are as follows,

“(t)he Free Movement Directive guarantees that non-EU family members of EU citizens who hold a valid residence card issued by one EU country can travel together with EU citizens within the European Union without an entry visa. The UK laws do not grant this important right which lies at the heart of free movement.

The United Kingdom does not allow extended family members of EU citizens to apply to have their residence in the UK considered under EU law when they were lawfully residing in the UK before the arrival to the UK of the EU citizen on whom they are dependent”.

The blog suggested that where an individual has their free movement rights breached in this state they should submit a written complaint to the EU Commission in order for similar action to be taken by the Commission against Ireland.

Click here to read the blog post.