20 December 2023

A Union citizen who has family members who are not nationals of an EU Member State must prove that they are economically dependent on them to be able to obtain a residence card.

SOLVIT dealt with the case of S.M., a German national resident in Italy who applied to the Police Office in order to obtain the issue of a residence card for his family members, Pakistani and, therefore, non-EU citizens.

Directive 2004/38 (right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States) provides that the entry and residence of a non-EU family member must be facilitated by the host Member State if the family member is dependent on the Union citizen in the country of origin or if serious health reasons require the Union citizen to assist him personally.

S.M. submitted to the Italian authorities the documentary evidence of monthly transfers of money paid to his father in recent years, testifying that his family members are actually dependent on him. However, according to the Italian authorities, this documentation was not sufficient. They therefore suspended the application and asked S.M. to send within 15 days a "Certification certifying that parents are dependent" to be issued by the Italian Embassy in Pakistan.

S.M. not knowing if the embassy really releases such a certification and given the short time available, decided to contact the German SOLVIT which involved the Italian SOLVIT center. Thanks to an exchange of information and documents between the two SOLVIT centres, the Police Office of Livorno issued the residence card to the parents of S.M. in a matter of weeks.