WRITTEN QUESTION E-3296/03 by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Fees for residence permits.
Date: 2003-11-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU national, Netherlands, application of EU law, citizen-authority relations, family migration, free movement of persons, identity document, residence permit

C 78 E/514

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

The project is still ongoing and it is expected that most of its results will be of value in a tangible manner
during its final year. The final conference of the project itself will take place in Brussels in July 2004 where
key findings and policy suggestions will be presented with a particular focus on the needs of policy makers
(institutional actors, educational authorities, vocational bodies).

The research consortium plans to raise awareness and utilise its findings by disclosing them in two
principal ways: first, through the website of the project http://www.ed.ac.uk/sociol/youth where documents
and reports are available to the general public as well as to the scientific and policy communities. Second,
by establishing contacts with European, national and local institutions and actors (the list of these contacts
is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat General of the Parliament). Furthermore,
the consortium plans to prepare and distribute a policy brief with the key findings of its research to all
Ministries of Education in Europe and across all levels of government.

The Commission asked the project coordinator to disseminate the research findings in the conference
organised jointly by Directorate General Education and Culture (DG EAC) and the Council of Europe on
Youth and Participation, Strasbourg, 24 to 26 November 2003, which aimed to contribute to the
implementation of
through rigorous
collaboration between DG Research (RTD) and DG EAC the research deliverables will have an impact on
education policy and active civic participation. Finally, the research findings will also be transmitted to the
Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy as well as the Committee of Culture, Youth,
Education, Media and Sports of the Parliament.

the White Paper on Youth (1). Moreover,

is anticipated that

it

(1) COM(2001) 681 final.

(2004/C 78 E/0535)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3296/03

by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 November 2003)

Subject: Fees for residence permits

It is a regular occurrence for nationals of EU Member States who apply for a residence permit in the
Netherlands to be charged large administrative fees. One such case concerns a German woman who has
officially been cohabiting with a Netherlands national since 1 July 2002. Until 31 May 2003, when she
was made redundant, she used to commute to Germany to work. She is now receiving Dutch
unemployment benefit pursuant to Article 71 of Regulation No 1408/71 (1). She has been compelled to
pay a fee of EUR 430 for renewal of her residence permit.

The woman has two children, who live with her ex-husband (their father) in Germany. She is a German
national and has never worked in the Netherlands. Her cohabiting partner has always lived in the
Netherlands, and until March 2001 was self-employed there. Since April 2001 he has been employed by a
business in Germany (as a frontier worker).

1.
Is it permissible for the Netherlands to charge a fee of EUR 430 per annum for extending a residence
permit? Is it permissible to charge this amount for an extension such as that granted on 6 June 2003,
which was limited to six months (until 6 December 2003)?

2.
Is it permissible for the Netherlands to charge a fee of EUR 285 per child for their residence permits
if the German mother wishes to bring her children up in the Netherlands together with her Dutch partner?

Does the case described here entail a violation of Community law (EEC Treaty, Articles 13, 17, 18

3.
and 39, and, inter alia, EEC Directive 68/360) (2)?

NB: the charge for a Dutch identity card is EUR 28,73 for the Netherlands’ own residents and Netherlands
nationals.

(1) OJ L 149, 5.7.1971, p. 2.
(2) OJ L 257, 19.10.1968, p. 13.

27.3.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/515

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(15 January 2004)

The Dutch legislation transposing Community law on the right of residence provides that Union citizens
who reside in the Netherlands on the basis of Community law may obtain a temporary residence card of
up to five years. The validity of the card depends on the capacity in which the Union citizen applies for it
(job seeker, worker, inactive person, student).

On the basis of the information provided in the written question, the German national has never worked
in the Netherlands and therefore she cannot have applied for a residence card on the basis of directive
68/360/CEE (1). However, it does not derive from the information provided in the parliamentary question
in which capacity she applied for a residence card in the Netherlands when she still had a job in Germany
and later for an extension when she became unemployed. She could have exercised her right to free
movement under directive 90/364/EEC of 28 June 1990 on the right of residence (2) or there is also the
possibility that she applied for a residence permit on the grounds of national law on family reunification
with her Dutch partner.

Irrespective of the capacity in which a Union citizen applies for a residence card, Community law on free
movement provides that residence cards must be issued and renewed free of charge or on payment of an
amount not exceeding the dues and taxes charged for the issue of identity cards to nationals. According to
the Commission’s information, the cost of temporary residence cards issued to Union citizens in the
identity cards for nationals cost EUR 28,77 this
Netherlands has increased to EUR 28. Since national
increase is non-discriminatory with respect to the cost of national
in
conformity with Community law.

identity cards and is, therefore,

The Dutch legislation also provides for the possibility of obtaining a permanent residence card. The cost of
this document is EUR 226,89 according to the Commission’s information. However, Union citizens are
not obliged to apply for this more expensive type of document.

If the German national in question was charged EUR 430 for an extension of her residence card and
EUR 285 for each of her children the amounts charged would seem to exceed what is foreseen under the
above-mentioned Dutch legislation. However, in order to evaluate the case fully and eventually to take
contact with the Dutch authorities, the Commission would require more detailed information about the
case.

Finally, the Commission would like to note that Article 13 of the EC Treaty is not applicable in this case as
it only provides a legal basis for actions to combat discrimination based on sex, race or ethnic origin,
religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.

(1) Council Directive 68/360/EEC of 15 October 1968 on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence

within the Community for workers of Member States and their families, OJ L 257, 19.10.1968.

(2) OJ L 180, 13.7.1990.

(2004/C 78 E/0536)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3300/03

by Robert Sturdy (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 November 2003)

Subject:

‘Scam’ e-mails requesting bank details from Africa, etc.

Bearing in mind that there have been continuous reports of these e-mails, and my parliamentary account
receives several every day, can the Commission tell me what it can do to try to stop these e-mails from
reaching e-mail accounts within Europe, before more people get conned into handing over bank account
details and being cheated out of large sums of money?