Expats’ fight to keep rights goes to EU court

DUTCH judges have referred the landmark case of a British group seeking to retain European citizenship rights after Brexit to the EU’S highest court.

In a move that could have major implications for expats living in EU member states, the court in Amsterdam said it would refer the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The British group hopes that the ECJ’S decision will open the door to them maintaining the right to live and work in EU member states after Brexit.

The judges are referring two questions to the EU’S court in Luxembourg. The first is whether British citizens will automatically lose EU citizenship rights, or whether they can retain those rights. The second is what the conditions for losing such rights would be.

The five British citizens, along with two expat organisations, took the Dutch government to court last month, arguing that they have independent rights as EU citizens that go beyond being citizens of any specific EU member country – including Britain.

“I am shocked and delighted with the decision,” Stephen Huyton, one of the plaintiffs, told AFP, the news agency. “But we have to realise that this is just the first step to eventually getting clarity about our status.”