#62022CJ0747EU Court Limits Long-Residence Rules for Subsidiary Protection Holders
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
The judgment says EU countries cannot block people with subsidiary protection from key anti-poverty and job-integration support by requiring 10 years of residence, including 2 continuous years, when nationals face the same rule but can meet it far more easily. The case concerns Italy’s citizens’ income scheme, which combines minimum income support with employment and social integration measures. The Court treats this kind of benefit as both social assistance and employment support under EU asylum rules, meaning subsidiary protection holders must be treated equally with nationals in practice, not just on paper.
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Key Changes
- Long residence requirements can be indirect discrimination when they mainly disadvantage beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.
- Anti-poverty benefits linked to job and social integration can fall under EU rules on both social assistance and access to employment.
- Member States cannot add residence-based limits to rights granted under EU asylum law unless EU law allows that limit.
Obligations
What this law requires
EU Member States must give beneficiaries of subsidiary protection necessary social assistance on the same eligibility conditions and at the same level as nationals when the benefit qualifies as social assistance or a core benefit under Article 29 of Directive 2011/95/EU.
EU Member States must offer beneficiaries of international protection employment-related education, vocational training, workplace experience, and employment-office counselling under conditions equivalent to those applied to nationals under Article 26 of Directive 2011/95/EU.
A national residence requirement of 10 years, including 2 continuous years immediately before application, cannot be applied to deny subsidiary protection holders access to a combined anti-poverty and job-integration benefit where it indirectly discriminates against them compared with nationals.
National authorities must assess equal treatment for subsidiary protection holders in practice, not merely formally; a formally nationality-neutral residence condition may still be incompatible with EU law if protected persons are far less able to satisfy it than nationals.
Where a benefit combines minimum income support with personalised employment and social integration measures, national authorities must consider both Article 29 social welfare rules and Article 26 access-to-employment rules of Directive 2011/95/EU when applying eligibility conditions to subsidiary protection holders.