Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that non-EEA family members of UK citizens have equal rights of travel within the EU when travelling with their UK citizen family member who has not exercised his or her rights under the Free Movement Directive, 2004/38/EC as do those who have exercised such rights.

James Brokenshire

British citizens can enter any European Union (EU) Member State on production of a valid UK passport. Family members who accompany or join their British citizen relatives can also be admitted to any EU Member State on production of a passport and, where required by the national law of that state, an entry visa or the appropriate residence card.

Where admission is permitted, an EU citizen may remain in another EU state with their family members for up to three months from the date of entry, provided they do not become a burden on the social assistance system of the UK. Those EU nationals wishing to stay beyond three months can only do so where they are exercising a Treaty right.