EU Rights Clinic Calls For Rights of Family Members and Carers of EU Citizens to be Safeguarded Post-Brexit

Today, as part of the EU Rights Clinic, ECAS has submitted letters to the European Commission’s Taskforce on Article 50 and the European Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group to express concerns about the protections granted to the rights of EU citizens and their family members and carers living in the UK following the recent agreement reached by the UK and EU to conclude phase 1 of negotiations.

The EU Rights Clinic seeks urgent confirmation from the European Commission and European Parliament that the status of the following categories of EU Citizens and family members who currently enjoy rights of residence under EU law:

• family members of EU citizens who have returned home after having resided in another
  Member State as recognised by the Court of Justice’s ruling in Case C-370/90 Surinder
  Singh and subsequent cases;
• primary carers of the children in education of migrant workers or former migrant workers
  under Regulation 492/2011 on the free movement of workers as recognised by the Court
  of Justice’s rulings in Case C-480/08 Texeira and Joined Cases C‑147/11 Teixeira and
  subsequent cases;
• primary carers of Union citizens having a right of residence in the EU citizens’ home
  country arising from the Court of Justice’s ruling in Case C-34/09 Ruiz Zambrano and
  subsequent cases.

The EU Rights Clinic also seeks assurances over the interpretation of “lawful residence” under EU law and that inactive EU citizens will not be required to have held “comprehensive sickness insurance”.

The letters have been submitted on behalf of 34 signatories, including ECAS’ Executive Director Assya Kavrakova, representing various organisations providing legal assistance and advice to EU citizens living in the UK and British nationals living in the the other 27 EU Member States.

If you are an EU citizen in the UK and are having problems exercising your rights, please contact us at rights.clinic@ecas.org.

Letter to the Taskforce on Article 50 Negotiations
Letter to the Brexit Steering Committee