Report - Guardian

The LSE Identity Project Report: June 2005 159“The residence certificate states the name and address of the personconcerned; it does not have a period of validity and simply states thedate of registration. The purpose of the certificate is merely to recordthat an administrative formality has been carried out.” 378 (emphasisadded)In other words, and consistent with the notion that residency in another EU MemberState should not entail onerous registration requirements, the residence permit shouldonly require the bare minimum amount of information specified in Article 8. Therecertainly is nothing to suggest that additional personal information about an EU citizen,such as the individual’s date and place of birth, previous addresses, photograph,fingerprints or biometric data should be included. Indeed, just the opposite result wouldappear to be called for given the underlying aims of the Directive.Moreover, for the registration certificate to be issued, Member States “may onlyrequire” under Article 8 that the EU citizen present a valid identity card or passport and,where they qualify as a worker, confirmation that they are entitled to work from anemployer in that Member State or a certificate of employment. If the EU citizen fallsinto one of the other categories of person entitled to residence over three months, theMember State can require “appropriate proof” (Article 8(3)). Recital 14 of the Directive,however, clarifies that the documents specified in Article 8 serve as an exhaustive list ofthe supporting evidence that a Member State may require before issuing a registrationcertificate. 379Significantly, the Government appears to equate registering, as that term is understoodunder the Directive, with registering for purposes of the National Identity Register. 380However, the process of registration under the Directive is limited and carefullyprescribed, as noted above. Indeed, the UK proposal would call for further evidence orinformation that would appear to be contrary to the spirit of the Directive, which is “tosimplify and strengthen the right of free movement and residence of all Union citizens”and generally to reduce and harmonise the administrative formalities that may beapplied to this right. At a minimum, this suggests that the UK Government should notrequire that EU citizens residing in the UK apply for and obtain an identity card thatcontains unique biometric identifiers and would compel the citizen to submit, or havethird parties submit on his or her behalf, extensive documentation and other supportingevidence. 381378 Com(2001) 257 final, p 12.379 Recital 14 provides, in particular, that: “The supporting documents required by competent authorities for theissuing of a registration certificate or of a residence card should be comprehensively specified in order to avoiddivergent administrative practices or interpretations constituting an undue obstacle to the exercise of the right ofresidence by Union citizens and their family members”.380 The UK Government has stated that: “For legal reasons, it is not feasible to require EU nationals to register untilthey have been in the UK for three months and intend to stay longer. EU Free Movement legislation provides that allMember States may require nationals of other EU states resident in their territory to register with the authorities ‘notless than three months from the date of arrival’”. Cm 6359, Identity Cards: The Government Reply to the FourthReport from the Home Affairs Committee Session 2003-04 HC 130, p 10.381 The Directive creates a new right of permanent residence. EU citizens who have resided legally in anotherMember State for five years may, but are not obliged to, apply for a “document certifying permanent residence”(Articles 16 and 19). The Directive does not specify the form of the application or the document, so it is possible thatthe document could be similar to the identity card as proposed. What is clear, however, is that the document must bevalid indefinitely, not renewable after a prescribed period as in the case of a UK identity card.