Decision in favor of the Turks in Denmark of the Court of Justice of the European Communities

The European Court of Justice has ruled that the Danish practice of requiring the spouse of a Turkish worker to take a language test in order to obtain a residence permit is illegal.

According to the news collected by Euronews Turkish, the spouse of a Turkish worker who has lived and worked in Denmark since 1980 applied for a residence permit in 2015 and this application was rejected by the Danish authorities. However, her application was rejected in 2016 after her husband “failed” the Danish test.

The court, which is the highest judicial authority in the EU, decided that the language test requirement was illegal due to the association agreement signed between the European Economic Community and Turkey in 1980. The agreement stipulates that EU countries and Turkey they cannot impose new restrictions on access to employment for workers and their family members who legally reside and work in their territory.

The court noted that the language test in Denmark constituted a “new restriction” that could only be justified by “a reason of public interest”. The court also noted that Danish law does not take into account the integration capacity of the spouse and does not allow the authorities to consider other factors that prove the integration of the Turkish worker.

The Luxembourg-based court had previously ruled against Denmark due to certain restrictions on family reunification.