THE ENTITLEMENT TO FAMILY ALLOWANCES FOR A FOREIGN WORKER IS THE SAME AS FOR A DOMESTIC WORKER

#142The entitlement to family allowances for a foreign worker is the same as for a domestic worker

Third-country nationals who have been admitted to an EU Member State for the purpose of legal employment and are legally resident in the territory of an EU Member State have the right to equal treatment with nationals.

In 2008, an Armenian national entered French territory illegally with his wife and two minor children born in Armenia. In 2011, the couple had a third child born in France. In 2014, the father of the family applied for family benefits for his three children. Although he had a temporary residence permit allowing him to work in France, the Family Benefits Office rejected his application for his two children, who were born outside France.

This refusal, which he challenged before the Social Security Court, was based on the lack of documents proving the children’s legal entry into French territory. After ruling in favour of the applicant, the Court of Appeal upheld the refusal. However, the Court of Cassation annulled the judgment in 2022, stressing that the Court of Appeal had failed to respond to the Armenian national’s arguments regarding the Single Permit Directive, which ensures equal treatment for third-country national workers and Union citizens. The case was referred back to the Court of Appeal, which decided to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the EU.

He asked the Court of Justice of the EU whether a Member State may refuse to take into account children born in a third country and cared for by the holder of a single permit if they did not enter the territory on the basis of a family reunification procedure or if the parent did not present documents proving that they entered the territory legally.

The Court of Justice of the EU responded by ruling in Case C-664/23 that it is contrary to EU law to make entitlement to family benefits for third-country nationals legally residing in France subject to the additional condition that it must be proven that the children for whom family benefits are claimed entered French territory legally. The Court considers that imposing such a condition treats third-country nationals less favourably than nationals of the host Member State.