Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2015:523
Date: 2015-09-02
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Second Chamber
Subject matter: Area of freedom, security and justice
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Italy

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber), 2 September 2015 Border controls, asylum and immigration — Immigration policy — Status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents — Directive 2003/109 — Application for issue or renewal of a residence permit — Excessively high fees charged by the competent authorities – Unlawful (Council Directive 2003/109) Directive 2003/109 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents precludes national legislation which requires third-country nationals, when applying for the issue or renewal of a residence permit in the Member State concerned, to pay a fee which varies in amount between EUR 80 and EUR 200, inasmuch as such a fee is disproportionate in the light of the objective pursued by that directive and is liable to create an obstacle to the exercise of the rights conferred by that directive. While it is open to Member States to make the issue of residence permits under that directive subject to the levying of charges, the level at which those charges are set must not have, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, either the object or the effect of creating an obstacle to the obtaining of the long-term resident status conferred by that directive, and also of other rights which stem from the granting of that status, since both the objective and the spirit of that directive would otherwise be undermined. The financial impact of a fee which varies in amount between EUR 80 and EUR 200 may be significant for certain third-country nationals meeting the conditions laid down by Directive 2003/109 for the granting of residence permits covered by that directive, especially since, given the duration of such permits, those nationals are obliged to seek the renewal of their permits somewhat frequently and the amount of that fee may be in addition to other fees provided for under pre-existing national legislation, with the result that, in such circumstances, the obligation to pay the fee at issue could constitute an obstacle to the exercise by those third-country nationals of the rights conferred on them by that directive. (see paras 25, 27, 31, operative part)