Chen case
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kunqian Catherine Zhu also known as Catherine Chen was born on 16 September 2000 in Belfast to Chinese parents who were working for a Chinese firm in Britain. The child's mother, Mrs Chen, had deliberately selected Northern Ireland as a birthplace for her second child, whose birth in China would have contravened China's One Child Policy. As Catherine's parents were only temporary migrants, she was not eligible for British citizenship simply by virtue of birth in the United Kingdom.
However, by giving birth in Belfast, Mrs. Chen automatically obtained Irish citizenship for her daughter, with the intention of using the child's status as a European Union national to move the family permanently to Cardiff, Wales. However, British authorities rejected the Chens' applications for permits to reside permanently in Britain. On appeal, the Immigration Appellate Authority referred the decision to the European Court of Justice, which ruled that, as a citizen of the European Union, Catherine Chen had a right under Article 18 of the EC Treaty to reside anywhere in the EU, and that denying residency to her parent(s) at a time when she is unable to look after herself would conflict with this basic right.
Advocate General Tizzano stated that it was not an abuse of EU rights to take advantage of the Irish citizenship rules because it is for the Member States and not the EU to decide whether to confer citizenship on a person.
[edit] See also
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
- Irish nationality law
- British nationality law
- British nationality law and the Republic of Ireland
- Common Travel Area
- Citizenship of the European Union
