The Court of Appeal’s recent decisions in Warsame v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] EWCA Civ 16 and Secretary of State for the Home Department v Vassallo [2016] EWCA Civ 13 considered the circumstances in which reliance can be placed upon enhanced levels of protection provided within the Citizen’s Directive in relation to expulsion of EEA nationals subject to deportation proceedings.
The central question in Vassallo was whether the Tribunal was correct in law to find that Mr Vassallo had acquired a right of permanent residence. The Court of Appeal having full regard to the Citizen’s Directive, relevant CJEU caselaw and the 2006 EEA Regulations, decided that having regard to the character of the EEA national’s residence in the UK, after a historical accrual of the requisite 5years, and despite Mr Vassalo having resided in the UK for over 50years, no right of permanent residence could be relied upon.