Citizens' Rights Directive

The Citizens' Rights Directive 2004/38/EC (also sometimes called the "Free Movement Directive") sets out the conditions for the exercise of the right of free movement for citizens of countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the member states of the European Union (EU) and the three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Switzerland, which is a member of EFTA but not of the EEA, is not bound by the Directive but rather has a separate multilateral sectoral agreement on free movement with the EU and its member states.

It consolidated older regulations and directives, and extended the rights of unmarried couples. It gives citizens of EEA countries the right of free movement and residence across the European Economic Area, as long as they are not an undue burden on the country of residence and have comprehensive health insurance. This right also extends to close family members that are not citizens of EEA countries.

The Directive contains the following chapters:

Pursuant to articles 4 and 5 of the directive, any citizen of an EEA country may leave their own country and enter another EEA state without a visa by presenting a valid passport or national identity card. People unable to present a valid passport or national identity card at the border must be afforded every reasonable opportunity to obtain the necessary documents within a reasonable period of time or corroborate or prove by other means that they are covered by the right of free movement.

The directive applies to any citizen of an EEA country who is moving to and living in an EEA state other than his own (the exclusion is based on the principle of non-interference with purely national issues). However, it also applies when a covered person is moving back to his home country after staying in another EEA state, as defined in the case of Surinder Singh. For dual citizens with two EEA member state nationalities, the directive can apply in any EEA state. Temporary limitations can be put in place for the new member states of the EU.

To be fully covered by the European right of free movement, the EEA citizen needs to exercise one of the four treaty rights:

These rights are named after the Treaty of Rome, which defines the freedom of movement for workers. They have been extended over time, and are mainly of historical significance by now, since being self-sufficient has been added to the list. As long as a citizen has sufficient money or income not to rely on public funds and holds comprehensive health insurance, they exercise one or more treaty rights. If no treaty right is exercised, the right of free movement is limited to three months.

Family members are also covered by the right of free movement, but only as a dependent of the EEA citizen. The right is limited to the EEA state in which the EEA citizen is exercising treaty rights. In certain cases (e.g. divorce after at least 3 years of marriage where 1 year must have been spent in the host member state), the family member can retain the right of residence. A family member is defined as: