The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that a national of a third country who is married to an EU citizen may, in certain cases, lose their right of residence.
This ruling comes from an Irish High Court case in which an Indian national was being stripped of his residency after his Latvian wife left him and initiated divorce proceedings in her home country. Indian national, Kuldip Singh, came to Ireland in February of 2002 on a student visa. He married a Latvian woman in November 2005. In February 2010, divorce proceedings were initiated in Latvia.
Even though they had been married for more than four years in Ireland, Irish authorities argued that Mr. Singh lost his right to residency in Ireland the moment his wife ceased to exercise her right as an EU national to reside in Ireland. The Irish High Court asked the ECJ whether Mr. Singh’s right of residency could be retained in the circumstances. The judges found that his right to reside could be taken away because his Latvian wife started divorce proceedings after she left him and returned to Latvia.
Under EU law, a non-EU spouse may only live where their EU partner is living. Furthermore, a non-EU spouse may only live in the host or native country of their former spouse, contingent on the fact that the couple had been married for at least three years, with one of those years having been lived in the host country. It is also a requirement that the couple have to be living in the same country when divorce proceedings are initiated. If the EU citizen moves to another country without their spouse before initiating divorce, the partner loses their right of residence.
Ultimately this ruling could have an adverse impact on divorce proceedings between EU nationals and non-EU national spouses, as an EU national could potentially have a non-EU spouse expelled from the country.
Click here to read more in the Irish Examiner.
Click here to read more in the EU Observer.