Adrian Berry wins case at the European Court of Justice on the right of lawfully present former migrant workers to permanent residence

Thursday 21 July 2011

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Judgment in Case C-325/09 Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Maria Dias
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(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Court of Appeal (England and Wales) (Civil Division))

Adrian Berry appeared for Maria Dias. He was instructed by Nadine Clarkson and Jacobo Borrero of Hansen Palomares Solicitors.

The case concerned the question of to what extent in the context of Article 16 of Directive 2004/38/EC periods of residence which ended before the transposition period for that directive expired on 30 April 2006 are to be taken into account, and in particular whether an EU citizen can acquire a right of permanent residence where she first resided legally for a continuous period of more than five years in the host Member State and that residence was followed by a period of slightly more than one year, in which there was no right of residence according to the provisions of European Union law then applicable, but the EU citizen held a residence permit issued and not revoked by the national authorities.

Periods of residence of less than two consecutive years, completed on the basis solely of a residence permit validly issued pursuant to Directive 68/360/EEC, without the conditions governing entitlement to a right of residence having been satisfied, which occurred before 30 April 2006 and after a continuous period of five years' legal residence completed prior to that date, are not such as to affect the acquisition of the right of permanent residence under Article 16(1) of Directive 2004/38/EC.

Adrian practices in EU free movement law across all areas of law including immigration law, homelessness law and social security. He has been counsel at the European Court of Justice in cases drawn from all of these areas. He also advises on other barriers to free movement such as restrictions on mutual recognition of qualifications and restrictions on services.

In the UK Adrian has appeared in numerous EU law reported cases in county courts, the Upper Tribunal (both in social security and in immigration cases), the Administrative Court, the Court of Appeal and the European Court of Justice. He has written extensively about the welfare of EU migrants, see Macdonald's Immigration Law and Practice (8th Edition, 2010) on 'Asylum Support, Housing and Community Care'; Housing Law Handbook (Law Society 2009); Support for Asylum Seekers and other Migrants (Legal Action Group, 2009); and Social Rights under Directive 2004/38/EC Journal of Immigration Asylum and Nationality Law Volume 21 Number 3 2007 pp. 233-244. He is ranked for his immigration work in Chambers UK 2011 where he is described as 'an "EU whiz-kid" who manages to "unscramble the EU and social security minefield with ease"'

To read more about Adrian's work, click here.

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