European court decision could affect citizenship vote

THE European Court of Justice will issue a preliminary ruling today on a case relating to the free movement of persons that could prove a major influence on the outcome of next month’s controversial referendum on citizenship.

The Luxembourg-based court will this morning give the first indication on whether a national of a non-EU member state is entitled to claim residence in any country within the EU on the basis that their child is the national of another member state.

A Chinese woman, Man Levette Chen, is claiming such a right of residence in Britain on the basis that her three-year-old child was born in Ireland.

Ms Chen took the case to the European Court of Justice after the British Home Secretary, David Blunkett, refused her family the right to reside in Britain.

Lawyers for Ms Chen’s daughter, Kunqian Catherine Zhu, who was born in Belfast in September 2000, have argued she is entitled to Irish citizenship under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. The landmark agreement signed in December 1999 resulted in a constitutional amendment which made Irish citizenship a constitutional “birthright” for everyone born on the island.

Ms Chen has admitted she flew to Belfast to give birth to her child on the advice of English-based lawyers. The 29-year-old Chinese businesswoman is also claiming she is dependent on her daughter for immigration status. A ruling in her favour by the European Court of Justice would mean the non-EU parents of any child born in Ireland would be entitled to residency in any of the other 24 EU member states.

The apparent legal loophole has caused concern among some larger European countries that non-nationals who have been granted residency in other EU member states will migrate towards the major economies like Britain, France and Germany.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell has yet to make a decision on appeals by around 11,000 non-national parents who have sought leave to remain in Ireland on the basis their children were born within the State.

Mr McDowell has claimed one of the main reasons for the controversial referendum has been the growth in “citizenship tourism” in recent years.

It is estimated around one in six of all children delivered in Dublin’s three maternity hospitals over the past two years were born to non-EU nationals.

If passed, the June 11 referendum will enable the Government to introduce new legislation that would entail non-nationals to be living within the State for over three years before their Irish-born children would be entitled to citizenship.