Communication: Helping national authorities fight abuses of the right to free movement: handbook on addressing the issue of alleged marriages of convenience

The right to move and reside freely within the European Union is one of the four fundamental freedoms enshrined in EU law and a cornerstone of European integration. The promotion and strengthening of this right is a core objective of the European Union.

The importance of ensuring the protection of family life in order to eliminate obstacles to the exercise of the fundamental freedom of movement is recognised by the European Union and its Member States. If EU citizens were not allowed to lead a normal family life in the host EU country, their fundamental freedom would be seriously undermined.

EU citizens on the move who genuinely rely on EU law are fully protected by EU rules. However, as in any area of law, there will be cases where individuals may seek to abuse freedom of movement, in an effort to bypass national immigration rules. Abuse of the right to free movement undermines this fundamental right for EU citizens. Effectively tackling such abuse is therefore essential to upholding this right.

In the Communication of 25 November 2013 "Free movement of EU citizens and their families: Five actions to make a difference", the Commission clarified EU citizens' rights and obligations under EU rules on free movement and set out five actions to help national authorities effectively apply those rules on the ground. The Communication recalled that EU law contains a series of robust safeguards allowing Member States to fight abuse. One of the concrete actions to help authorities implement these safeguards to their full potential was the preparation, together with Member States, of a handbook on addressing marriages of convenience.

Further to the guidance to Member States on how to tackle abuse in the form of marriages of convenience provided in the Commission's Communication of 2 July 2009 on Guidance for better transposition an application of Directive 2004/38/EC (“2009 Commission Guidelines”), the Handbook expounds this legal framework. It spells out what the application of these rules means in practice, offering national authorities operational guidance to assist them in effectively detecting and investigating suspected cases of marriages of convenience. Taking into account the indications and information provided in the Handbook should ensure that the practises of the competent national authorities are based on the same factual and legal criteria within the Union, and contribute to compliance with EU law.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)604: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:604:FIN

ESO: Background information: Fighting abuse of EU citizens' right to free movement: Commission helps Member States tackle marriages of convenience http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-fighting-abuse-of-eu-citizens-right-to-free-movement-commission-helps-member-states-tackle-marriages-of-convenience/

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