Case C-607/21, État belge (Proof of the relationship of dependency): Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 10 April 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État – Belgium) – XXX v État belge (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Citizenship of the Union – Directive 2004/38/EC – Right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States – Article 3 – Beneficiaries – Article 2(2)(d) – Family member – Direct relative in the ascending line of the partner of a Union citizen who is dependent on that Union citizen and/or that partner – Assessment of the condition of being dependent – Relevant date for determining material dependence – Article 10 – Conditions for the issue of a residence card – Declaratory nature of a residence card – Submission of an application for a residence card in the host Member State several years after leaving the country of origin – Effect of a situation of illegal residence under national legislation on the assessment of the condition of being dependent)
Date: 2025-04-10
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU national, dependant, equal treatment, family reunification, foreign national, freedom of movement, residence permit








C_202502821EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/2821


2.6.2025






Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 10 April 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État – Belgium) – XXX v État belge


(Case C-607/21, État belge (Proof of the relationship of dependency))
                (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Citizenship of the Union - Directive 2004/38/EC - Right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States - Article 3 - Beneficiaries - Article 2(2)(d) - Family member - Direct relative in the ascending line of the partner of a Union citizen who is dependent on that Union citizen and/or that partner - Assessment of the condition of being ‘dependent’ - Relevant date for determining material dependence - Article 10 - Conditions for the issue of a residence card - Declaratory nature of a residence card - Submission of an application for a residence card in the host Member State several years after leaving the country of origin - Effect of a situation of illegal residence under national legislation on the assessment of the condition of being ‘dependent’)
(C/2025/2821)
Language of the case: French

Referring court

Conseil d’État

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: XXX

Defendant: État belge

Operative part of the judgment







1)


Article 2(2)(d) of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States amending Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and repealing Directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC, 90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC, read in conjunction with Article 7(2) and Article 10 of that directive,
must be interpreted as meaning that, in order to determine whether the direct relative in the ascending line of the partner of a Union citizen is dependent on that Union citizen and/or that partner, the competent national authority must take into account both the situation of that relative in the ascending line in his or her country of origin on the date on which he or she left that country and joined the said Union citizen in the host Member State, where appropriate on the basis of documents issued before that date, or the situation of that relative in the ascending line in that Member State on the date on which an application for a residence card was submitted, if several years have elapsed between those two dates.










2)


Article 7(2) of Directive 2004/38, read in conjunction with Article 2(2)(d) and Article 10 thereof,
must be interpreted as meaning that a direct relative in the ascending line of the partner of a Union citizen who is able to demonstrate that he or she is, both on the date of his or her residence card application, submitted several years after his or her arrival in the host Member State, and on the date of that arrival, dependent on that Union citizen and/or that partner, enjoys a right of residence derived from the rights enjoyed by a Union citizen, for more than three months, evidenced by the issue of a residence card, if that Union citizen satisfies the conditions set out in Article 7 of that directive. That right of residence cannot be refused on the ground that, under national legislation, that relative in the ascending line resides, on the date of that application, illegally in the territory of that Member State.






(1)  
            OJ C 502, 13.12.2021.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/2821/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)