residence card of a family member of a Union citizen
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European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...
(EEA) citizens have the right of free movement and residence throughout the EEA. This right also extends to certain family members, even if they are not EEA citizens. A Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen is issued to the family member to confirm this right of residence. The holder of a valid Residence Card is entitled to use this document in lieu of an entry visa for entry to all EEA member states. There is not a unified format for this card throughout the EU. In the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
(EU), a family member's residence card is issued under EU rules by any EU country (except, in common, the country the EU family member is a national of). This exception is not applicable to Spain or Italy, where non-EEA family members of Spanish or Italian citizens will hold a valid Residence card for a family member of a European Union citizen. This exception shall either not apply provided that the EU family member have been ''genuinely'' resided in another EU country ("host Member State") being accompanied by a concerned non-EU family member, and now returns to the country of the EU family member's nationality together with that non-EU family member. The residence card should clearly state that the holder is a family member of an EU national. People who aren't EEA citizen family members but have a residence permit in the EEA for other reasons will get a similar residence permit card. Holders of an EU family member's residence card don't need to obtain a visa for Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Cyprus and Ireland if travelling with their EU family member. Sample situation: Shu-chuan, the Taiwanese spouse of a German national ''living in'' Finland, has been issued an EU family member's residence card in Finland. Shu-chuan and her husband wish to travel to Romania for an autumn break. As Shu-chuan has a valid Taiwanese passport and an EU family member's residence card, she is not required to obtain an entry visa to travel to Romania with her husband.


Eligibility

Qualifying family members of the EU citizen are: * the spouse * the registered partner, if the legislation of the host Member State treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage * the direct descendants who are under the age of 21, or are dependants and those of the spouse or partner as defined above * the dependent direct relatives in the ascending line (parents, grandparents) and those of the spouse or partner. The term "dependent" is not well-defined across the EU law.
European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
holds that: However some EU countries refuse to follow the Court's ruling. For example,
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
defines the "dependent" as someone who is either: # systematically preparing for a future profession, # cannot systematically prepare for a future profession or perform gainful activities due to illness or injury; or # is not capable of performing systematic gainful activities due to a chronic adverse health condition.


Legal background

The Residence Card is defined in articles 9 to 11 of the "
Directive 2004/38/EC Directive may refer to: * Directive (European Union), a legislative act of the European Union * Directive (programming), a computer language construct that specifies how a compiler should process input * "Directive" (poem), a poem by Robert Fro ...
of the European Parliament and the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States". The central paragraph is article 10(1):
The right of residence of family members of a Union citizen who are not nationals of a Member State shall be evidenced by the issuing of a document called "Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen" no later than six months from the date on which they submit the application.
So the card only confirms the right of residence, it does not create it. Even without applying for a Residence Card, a qualifying family member has the right of residence, although it may be difficult to prove.


National rules


United Kingdom

As of 6 April 2015, non-EU family members of an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen who are in possession of a Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen are entitled to enter the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
without the need to apply for an
EEA Family Permit A European Economic Area Family Permit (short: EEA family permit) was an immigration document that assisted the holder to enter the United Kingdom as a family member of a citizen of a contracting state to the European Economic Area agreement or ...
. They only need to provide their passport and residence card at the border. However,
UK Border Force Border Force (BF) is a law-enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from its estab ...
officers may request documentary proof of their relation to the EU national family member who would be accompanying them as well, such as a marriage or birth certificate. In the case of the EU national family member being present in the UK, the non-EU family members should be able to prove that the EU national family member is residing in the UK and whether they have a right of residency in the UK as a qualified person. Therefore, the non-EU family member should be able to demonstrate that the EU national family member has been residing in the UK less than three months (the initial right of residence) and, if more than three months, that they are in the UK as a worker, student or self-employed or self-sufficient person or they have acquired the status of permanent residency after having resided in the UK for five years. From 1 January 2021 an Article 10 or 20 residence card issued by an EEA member state can no longer be used for travel to the UK.


Ireland

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
calls its Residence Card Stamp 4EUFam (EU Directive 2004/38/EC). Ireland has now implemented this part of the directive in full according with the Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) Order 2011 and consequently it is now possible for family members to gain entry into Ireland with a residence card issued by any member state.


Sweden

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
has Residence cards (''Uppehållskort'') which are given to family members of Union citizens who are not themselves Union citizens.


Schengen passport stamping rules for this card


References


External links

{{Commons category-inline More Information
Travel documents for non-EU family members

Issue of residence card in UK - Regulation 18 - EEA Regulations 2016


– contains information about and images of the documents European Economic Area Residence permit