Surely, this does not mean every British citizen of Ghanaian descent can fly to Ghana and pack his entire village of Uncles, Aunties and Nephews—and bring them all into UK without even the need for visas.
But it surely means that, the UK is losing control over its borders to non EU citizens too. Meaning, a British can easily bring his wife and children of whatever nationality easy into the country without any strict restrictions (maybe even without the need for a visa if the wife or children have resident anywhere in EU).
Before the ruling, UK ministers had required European nationals’ overseas family members to get a travel permit before travelling to Britain.
But the European Court of Justice found a British citizen living and working in Spain did not have to get a travel permit for his Colombian wife to visit the UK.
The European Court of Justice ruled in a case of Sean McCarthy, who has dual British and Irish citizenship, and married to a Colombian woman-Patricia McCarthy Rodriguez.
Mrs McCarthy Rodriguez, who has two children with her husband – both with British citizenship, had to get a “family permit” every six months to visit the UK with her family.
Frustrated by the requirement to apply for visa/permit all the time, together with her husband they took their case to court under the freedom of movement rules claiming she should be able to travel without the visa because she had an EU Residence Card issued by the Spanish government.
The European Court then ruled in the couple’s favour, stating that, the rules did not allow the British government to stop family members entering the country if they did not have a visa.
What this means is that, if I am a British citizen married to a Ghanaian settled in France (she does not have to be a French citizen, just has to have a resident permit), my wife should be able to travel with me into UK without the need for a visa…
The UK Government is really “disappointed” with the ruling and responding to the ruling, Conservative MEP Timothy Kirkhope who is the spokesman on justice and home affairssaid: “Of course the UK should have an immigration system which is fair, and does not disadvantage the right of British citizens to be with their family.
“However, we are disappointed with this judgment as we believe that the UK’s visa system is both fair and lawful, and does an important job in meeting this country’s migration needs.
“Britain will always be best placed to decide and deal with its own immigration needs – not a judge in Luxembourg.”
UKIP MEP and spokesman on immigration Steven Woolfe said: “This ruling extends the so-called ‘right to free movement’ to millions of people from anywhere in the world who don’t have citizenship of any country of the EU.
“This is yet more proof that Britain can never take back control of its borders as long as it remains in the European Union.”