Rights of long-term EU residents - two important judgements by the Court of Justice

Source: Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs (HOME) i, published on Thursday, May 10 2012.

Recently, the Court of Justice of the European Union has delivered two significant judgments concerning non-EU nationals who are long term residents in the EU i.

Firstly, in a case concerning housing benefits of an Albanian national living in Italy, the Court has stated that EU law precludes a national or regional law which provides for different treatment for non-EU nationals and nationals of the EU State in which they reside, in so far as the housing benefit falls within the fields covered by the principle of equal treatment provided for under the Directive concerning long-term residents and constitutes a core benefit.

Secondly, in a case examining resident permit fees in the Netherlands, the Court holds that an EU State cannot impose excessive and disproportionate charges for the grant of residence permits to non-EU nationals who are long-term residents and to members of their families.

For more information:

Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-571/10 Kamberaj

Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-508/10