New Ruling on Directive 2004/38/EC for Third-Country Nationals of EU Family Members Having Permanent Residence

First off, Moderators: I am not sure if this has been posted here already. If so, apologies and I will delete it.

Here is the new ruling in context:

On June 18, 2020, The European Court of Justice ruled that family members of EU citizens who are not EU nationals themselves but have permanent residence status in an EU member state shall be exempt from visa requirements to enter any other EU member state. Previously, this exemption was granted specifically to holders of a residence card for a family member of an EU citizen under Directive 2004/38/EC on the freedom of movement for EU nationals and their family members.

Exactly when we will see the new ruling added in the directive is unknown - for now.

The statement from the court offers a very interesting read. You can just scroll to the end for the ruling but I will recommend taking some time to read the whole thing.

Here is the link to the court's ruling.

Very interesting indeed. It will give more freedom to established people.

I always found very stupid / unfair to require a permanent resident in an EU country to apply for a Schengen visa to travel to other EU countries.

However, having some experience with airlines, even if this ruling passes, it will take them 15 years to stop bullying people at airports and ask for visas.

I have always harbored similar sentiments as to why EU permanent residents should require a Schengen visa to visit other EU countries (well, those who do not reside in Schengen area).

Zerubbabel wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 16, 2020 1:05 pm

However, having some experience with airlines, even if this ruling passes, it will take them 15 years to stop bullying people at airports and ask for visas.

Interestingly, it was the airlines, specifically Ryanair, that raised the issue. The motive behind it was to avoid being fined for allowing a person, who had the 'residence card of a family member of EU citizen' before using it to get permanent residence in UK, to board the plane for a trip to Hungary (a Schengen member). Luckily, the interpretation extends now to other family members of EU citizens that have permanent residence. Another good thing is that since this is preliminary ruling, there is no way of appealing it - which means it is a matter of time before we see it implemented in the Directive 2004/38/EC.

To be honest, I never had visa issues with Rayanair or EasyJet. Their people are very well trained as they deal with thousands of people diligently and efficiently. I think they have no money and time to waste on useless talking.