Following a ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), many third-country national (TCN) parents of Dutch children have applied to obtain residence rights based on their children’s EU citizenship. The May 2017 ruling of the ECJ held that TCN parents of EU-citizen minor children have a derived right of residence in the EU. Thus, TCN parents can obtain residence permits based on their children’s EU citizenship.

The ECJ ruling stems from appeals by several TCN mothers who challenged Dutch courts’ decisions to restrict their access to government social assistance because they did not have Dutch residence permits. In these cases, the children had Dutch citizenship through their fathers, but the parents were no longer together. The Dutch Higher Administrative Court (Centrale Raad van Beroep) therefore asked the ECJ to determine whether the mothers had a right of residence and entitlement to social benefits under EU law.

Under the ECJ ruling, TCN parents can obtain residence in the EU based on their children’s EU citizenship if they meet certain conditions. The main conditions are the relationship of dependency between the child and the TCN parent and that parent’s status as the primary caregiver. Notably, the ECJ held that, while it is relevant that the other (EU-citizen) parent could assume sole responsibility for the child, this fact alone is not sufficient to refuse a residence permit.

According to experts, Dutch immigration authorities have been lenient in granting residence to TCN parents. There is a high chance that these parents will receive a residence permit if they can prove that they are participating in the care and upbringing of the child and that failure to grant the residence permit would result in no other option than the child’s leaving the EU, due to the child’s dependence on the parent.

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