The relevance of family status created abroad for the freedom of movement in the EU
The relevance of family status created abroad for the freedom of movement in the EU

Summary/Abstract: Article 21 TFEU gives EU citizens the right, subject to very few exceptions, to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, which are not allowed to obstruct the exercise of this right by imposing direct and indirect obstacles. An EU citizen might hesitate to move to another Member State if he/she could not be accompanied by his/her closest family members who are not EU citizens. Certain family members, such as a spouse or direct descendants, enjoy therefore a derived right of free movement pursuant to Directive 2004/38. This may give rise to complications when the family relationship in question is not recognized in the Member State to which the family wishes to move. This paper discusses two recent judgments where the CJEU had to deal with this issue, in particular regarding a same-sex marriage (Coman, C-673/16) and the adoption-like Islamic kafala (SM v. Entry Clearance Officer, C-129/18).

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