Dual nationality does not mean you lose EU national rights

EU nationals who become British citizens do not lose the right to bring a foreign-born spouse to the UK, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

The case was about an Algerian man, who lived in the UK with his wife, but who British authorities were trying to deport.

His wife had dual Spanish and British nationality, which gave the man a “derived” residence right.

The Home Office had argued that once she became a British citizen, Spanish-born Perla Nerea García Ormazabal became subject to UK immigration rules.  This meant that she would have to go through strict immigration procedures to assess whether her Algerian husband qualified to be in the UK. Under those procedures, British citizens must earn more than £18,600 ($23,140) before a spouse from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) can settle in the UK.

However, the ECJ ruled that Ms Ormazabal retained the right, under EU law and as an EU citizen, to a family life, and specifically, to have her husband live with her even if he was from a third country.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41985002

 

 

Image credit: Josh McKible, Flickr CC by 2.0