Kimmy11 wrote on Fri Dec 4, 2020 10:02am:
Hi Alan,
Which "Treaty Rights" would you be invoking please? EU or Irish/UK? Have you lived permanently in Spain and/or France, with or without formal residency, for 5 years?
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A Scottish friend of mine has obtained an Irish passport, because her mother and grandparents were Irish, but her Scottish husband has been told this confers no additional rights on him. I'd like to read the Treaty Rights to which you refer, to see whether they would help my friends.
Kind regards,
Kim
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please find below the reply to your enquiry. Please note that the advice given by Your Europe Advice is an independent advice and cannot be considered to be the opinion of the European Commission, of any other EU institution or its staff nor will this advice be binding upon the European Commission, any other EU or national institution.
Dear Sir,
Thank you for getting in touch with Your Europe Advice.
You have a query relating to your and your wife's entitlements to live/travel to/in France/Spain, under EU law.
You are a UK citizen, and your wife is a dual Irish/UK citizen.
You wonder to what extent you will continue to be able to invoke EU law in the future, after the transitional period laid down under the Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the UK. The transitional period ends on the 31st December 2020.
Thus, you wonder whether you may still rely on EU law for your travels into France and Spain after the 31st December 2020.
Given that your spouse is an Irish citizen, she will continue to qualify as an EU citizen. Given that you are her family member as her spouse, you will also continue to qualify as a beneficiary of EU law; This is because the Republic of Ireland continues to be a member of the European Union. The rest of this post will focus on your and your wife´s rights of residence in Spain or France, on the premise of your query, which refers to the fact that you may soon retire to your properties in France or Spain.
Accordingly, the Withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK is not necessarily relevant to your situation. In other words, you may still rely on your wife's EU citizenship (as an Irish citizen) in order to claim that you are vested with rights of free movement under EU law, as the family member of an EU citizen.
We will therefore focus on your question, on the basis that your wife will continue to be an EU citizen (ie. as a citizen from the Irish Republic). However, also note that the answer would be the same if the answer were to be given to you on the basis that you are a UK citizen and the rights of residence in France or Spain are to be invoked before the end of 2020, by virtue of the Withdrawal Agreement (signed and ratified by the EU and the UK).
This is because, notwithstanding Brexit occurring on the 31st January 2020, UK citizens and their family member still benefit from EU free movement rules by virtue of the Withdrawal Agreement, which laid down a transitional period which will last until the end of 2020.
Your question relates to the entitlements you and your spouse/close family member may benefit from in France/Spain.
Your wife is an Irish citizen and you are her family member (on the basis that you are married to her). Where both of you reside in France/Spain, inasmuch as you live there for periods of over 3 months a year, you will continue to enjoy the right to reside in both member states, subject to the conditions that are explained below.
You wonder what documents are required for the process of registration as residents in France/Spain.
EU citizens are entitled to remain in France/Spain, subject to a number of conditions.
Where EU citizens remain in Spain for more than 90 days, they must submit a residence application to the relevant office in the locality of residence (Oficina de extranjeros in Spain, Préfecture in France). The matter is regulated under Directive 2004/38, as implemented under Spanish law by virtue of Real Decreto 240/07 and article R121-1 Code d Entrée et de Séjour des Étrangers
et du Droit d Asile (Ceseda).
The basis for the application will be as follows:
That your wife is an Irish citizen,
And
That your wife is either working, self-employed or self sufficient in France/Spain, the latter category meaning that she has sufficient means to maintain herself (and dependents) in France/Spain, AND that she has comprehensive sickness insurance covering herself (and her dependents), against all health risks. The requirement for comprehensive sickness insurance can also be satisfied with a private insurance policy.
In relations to a private health insurance cover, and inasmuch as it does indeed cover against all medical risks, it would meet the requirements set under Article 7 Directive 2004/38. The matter is regulated under article 8 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/38; and Real Decreto 240/07 by virtue of Spanish law.
The following proof will be required:
Proof that your wife is an Irish citizen: (Irish passport)
Proof that your wife is a worker, a self-employed person or a self-sufficient person, (proof of financial means and proof of comprehensive sickness insurance);
For you, your UK passport; and your marriage certificate (note that Spain and France may require the marriage certificate to be legalized and translated).
Note that the requirement for financial means does not require proof of a French/Spanish bank account. So long as proof of sufficient financial means is produced, it matters not if the proof of funds is adduced in the form of UK bank statements (it may however require you to have to translate the same, thus, having to under the extra expense of using a sworn translator for that purpose).
Throughout the processing of your applications, you and your family member enjoy a right of residence in France/Spain by virtue of being able to prove the above conditions.
In Spain, you are urged to contact a Spanish immigration adviser. For more on this, you are urged to contact the local Law Society ("Colegio de Abogados").
https://www.abogacia.es/conozcanos/la-institucion/colegios-y-consejos/
In France:
https://www.cnb.avocat.fr/fr/annuaire-des-avocats-de-france
For more information about the current restrictions in both France and Spain, you are referred to the following website:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/health/coronavirus-response/travel-and-transportation-during-coronavirus-pandemic_en#traveladviceandbordermeasures
Best regards,
Your Europe - Advice
To submit another enquiry, please visit Your Europe Advice, but do not reply to this e-mail.
Your original enquiry was:
I am a U.K. citizen and my wife has dual UK and Irish citizenship . After Dec 2020 am I permitted to travel within the EU with her as the spouse of a EU citizen free of any visa requirements and is my stay limited ? We own properties in both France and Spain And travel often .we may soon retire to our properties
Yours sincerely,
Your Europe Advice