The Impact of Union Citizenship upon Rights to Family Reunification: An Analysis of the Residence Rights of
Family Members within the UK

Abstract

This thesis explores the link between the residence rights of Union citizens and their family members and the Court of Justice of the European Union’s development of the concept of Union citizenship. The Court has not approached this development in a predictable or linear fashion, and the cementing of Union citizenship as a status capable of leading to residence rights in the form of Directive 2004/38 made the continuation of a flexible and expansive approach more difficult.

This thesis examines the UK’s implementation of both the Citizens’ Directive and other EU sources of rights of residence and compares the rights of UK citizens with links to EU law to those without any possibility of relying on EU provisions within the UK. It is contended that Union citizenship has had a greater impact upon rights of residence for Union citizens and their family members than would have been anticipated from either the Treaty provisions or Directive 2004/38.

The importance of EU rights of residence is particularly high in the UK, given the stringent requirements of the Immigration Rules concerning non-EU immigration. Treaty rights can circumvent restrictive UK provisions, and the approach of the UK judiciary in applying EU concepts in cases concerning the UK Immigration Rules is important in this respect.

The fundamental rights implications of the Lisbon Treaty are assessed, and it is argued that the Court's continuing activism in relation to family rights is only in respect of Treaty rights, and that this has not been applied to the new Charter of Fundamental Rights. As such, the Court has failed to link Union citizenship and the Charter, which could have made for a more coherent sense of citizenship within the EU, but instead separates the application of fundamental rights from the unique concept of Union citizenship.