EUROPEAN COURT RULED THAT PERIOD SPENT IN PRISON CANNOT BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT TO OBTAIN PERMANENT RESIDENCE PERMIT IN MEMBER COUNTRY AS ONE NIGERIAN WHO SPENT THREE YEARS OUT OF FIVE YEARS IN JAIL IN BRITAIN CLAIMED FIVE YEARS PERIOD FOR RESIDENCY AND THIS RULING APPLIED THROUGHOUT 28 EUROPEAN MEMBERS 16TH JANUARY 2014 An EU court ruled Thursday that periods in prison cannot be taken into account to obtain a permanent residence permit in a member country. The European Union Court of Justice, based in Luxembourg, had considered the case of a Nigerian, Nnamdi Onuekwere, who when applying for permanent residence in Britain argued that he had spent more than five years in the country, the minimum number of years required for the residence permit. But the British authorities said that during those five years, Onuekwere had spent more than three of them in prison for various offences and consequently declined to give him permanent residence -- a position that the EU court agreed with. Even though Onuekwere was married to an Irish woman, the periods during which he has not resided with that (EU) citizen because of his imprisonment in the host Member State may not be taken into account for permanent residence, an EU court statement said. The court also noted that counting periods in jail would go against EU values. The court points out that the imposition of a prison sentence by a national court is such as to show the non-compliance by the person concerned with the values expressed by the society of the host Member State in its criminal law, the statement said. The EU courts ruling would apply throughout the 28-nation bloc.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:29:58 +0000
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