News · European Union
Court of Justice of the EU: a non-EU parent of an EU citizen child may obtain a right of residence even with a permit in another Member State
On 4 June 2026 the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in Case C‑147/24 Safi. Answering a question from the court in The Hague, the Court held that a third-country national mother of an EU citizen child cannot be refused a derived right of residence merely because she has a right of residence in another Member State.
Summary
In brief
-
The case concerns a Moroccan national who lived lawfully in Spain from 1999 to 2014 and from 2014 in the Netherlands with her Dutch-Moroccan husband; their son, born in 2015, is a Dutch national.
-
In 2020 the Dutch authority rejected her application for a derived right of residence, citing her right of residence in Spain.
-
According to the Court's judgment of 4 June 2026, the right of residence must be granted if a move to Spain carries a genuine risk of separating the child from his father or runs counter to the child's best interests.
-
The judgment is based on Article 20 TFEU; the Court stressed respect for the family life the child leads with both parents in the Netherlands.
Background
What happened
According to the Court's press release No 79/26, V, a Moroccan national, lived lawfully in Spain from 1999 to 2014 and then moved to the Netherlands, where she lives with her husband, a Dutch-Moroccan national born in the Netherlands. Their son, born in 2015, is a Dutch national, has speech difficulties and receives specialised education in the Netherlands. In 2020 V applied for a derived right of residence; the authority rejected the application, citing her right of residence in Spain, and ordered her to leave the country. The court in The Hague hearing the case asked the Court for a preliminary ruling.
According to the Court, the third-country national mother of an EU citizen child may obtain a derived right of residence in the child's Member State even if she has a right of residence elsewhere, where a refusal would separate the child from one of his parents or harm the child's best interests. The judgment identifies two situations: where there is a genuine risk that the family would be separated because the father cannot obtain a right of residence in Spain, or where a move to Spain would run counter to the child's best interests. Otherwise the child would be deprived of the genuine enjoyment of the substance of his rights as a Union citizen.
In the preliminary ruling procedure the Court interprets EU law, and the national court decides the case itself; the interpretation also binds other national courts dealing with similar cases.
For you
What it means for you
- Non-EU parent of a Hungarian citizen child: the judgment interprets Article 20 TFEU, which applies in every Member State. A right of residence requested in the child's Member State cannot be refused merely because the parent has a right of residence in another Member State.
- Individual assessment: the authority must examine whether a move to the other Member State would separate the family and what serves the child's best interests.
- Family reunification: the judgment strengthens the derived route based on an EU citizen child, which is distinct from family reunification for third-country national family members.
- Information: when you request a quote, we will brief you in detail on which route fits your family situation.