Maribel Madrigal is a citizen of Colombia who came to the Netherlands in 2019 on a tourist visa. During her visit in Amsterdam, she met Hans, a Dutch national and started a relationship with him, which led in 2021 to the birth of a child, Bruno, who has the Dutch nationality. 

As soon as Bruno was born, Hans left Maribel and moved to Rotterdam where he works as a pizza delivery guy. He also started a new relationship with Helsa, a Dutch writer. Maribel and Bruno are staying in a community shelter home in Amsterdam. Although Hans maintains some contact with Bruno over the phone, Maribel is solely responsible for the care of their child and has stated that the child's father does not contribute to the child's support or upbringing. 

 

Being unemployed and in order to be able to support her child, Maribel applied in 2021 to the Netherlands' authorities for social assistance and child benefit. Her application got rejected on the grounds that Maribel did not have any residence rights in the Netherlands and as a result no access to social assistance and benefits could be granted.

 In addition, she was issued a deportation order as she was told she was not entitled to residence rights. 

 

She appealed against the decision concerning social benefit and the deportation order before the Higher Administrative Court of the Netherlands. 

 

The Higher Administrative Court of the Netherlands decided to stay the proceedings and refer the following two questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the basis of Article 267 TFEU: 

 

(1) Does Article 20 TFEU preclude a Member State from depriving a third-country national (TCN) of the right of residence in that Member State in situations where the TCN is primarily responsible for their minor child, who is an EU citizen? 

(2) If the TCN is the parent on whom the child (EU citizen) is entirely dependent, legally, financial and/or emotionally, can a Member State deny the TCN access to social benefit under Directive 2004/38? 

 

Having received the reference in December 2022, the Registrar of the Court of Justice notified Maribel Madrigal as well as the government of the Netherlands and invited them to attend an oral hearing in Spring 2023.

 

Advice the goverment of Netherlands

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