#62024CC0906EU Advocate General Opinion on Expulsion and Family Residence Rights
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
This opinion says children of a former EU worker may be able to stay in a host EU country to finish school even if the worker-parent is being expelled for public policy or public security reasons. It also says the parent who cares for them, and potentially younger siblings in day care, may keep residence rights so the school-age children can use their education rights. If those family members have their own right to stay and want to remain, immigration authorities and courts should reassess the expulsion decision against the parent. They should weigh the seriousness of the parent’s offences against family life, the children’s best interests, the family’s ties to the host country, and whether the family can realistically live together elsewhere. This is an Advocate General opinion, so it guides the Court of Justice but is not the final ruling.
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.
Key Changes
- School-age children of a former EU worker may keep a residence right in the host country until they finish their studies, even if the worker-parent is ordered to leave.
- The parent who has actual custody, and younger siblings where needed to protect the school-age children’s rights, may also be able to stay.
- Authorities should reassess a parent’s expulsion if the spouse and children have their own right to stay, balancing public security concerns against family life and the children’s best interests.
Obligations
What this law requires
Informational note: The opinion discusses Article 10 of Regulation (EU) No 492/2011 as giving school-age children of a former mobile EU worker an independent right to reside in the host Member State while they continue general education there; the parent with actual custody derives a residence right needed to make that education right effective.
Informational note: The opinion states that day-care or pre-school attendance does not automatically create an independent Article 10 residence right unless national law treats that attendance as the start of formal education; however, younger siblings may still derive a residence right if removing them would force the custodial parent and school-age children to leave and thereby undermine the school-age children’s EU-law education rights.
Informational note: The opinion discusses Article 12(3) of Directive 2004/38/EC as a possible basis for children enrolled in education, and the parent with actual custody, to retain residence in the host Member State despite the worker-parent’s departure or expulsion, but this is presented as legal interpretation in an Advocate General opinion rather than a final ruling.
Informational note: The national measures under challenge are the Finnish Immigration Service’s expulsion order against the Romanian former worker, including a three-year entry ban, the expulsion decisions against his Moldovan spouse and children, and the refusal to register one child’s EU-citizen residence right, all based on the worker-parent’s alleged threat to public policy or public security and loss of sponsor status.
Informational note: If family members are recognised as having their own EU-law residence rights and wish to remain in the host Member State, the opinion proposes that authorities and courts should reassess the worker-parent’s expulsion under Article 28(1) of Directive 2004/38/EC rather than treating the original public-policy or public-security assessment as conclusive.