Holiday Poles gain EU rights
Two Poles who overstayed their tourist visas and started a new life in England helped establish a European Court of Justice precedent last month that allows citizens from European Union (EU) candidate countries to set up their own companies inside the 15-country bloc.
Theyve done a great public service in taking this case forward, said John Mayne, a London-based solicitor handling the case for the Polish family. Theres a lot of meat here for lawyers to analyze and argue about. But basically its a triumph for individual citizens in Central and Eastern European countries who are interested in establishing themselves as entrepreneurs in EU states.
The right of candidate-country citizens to labor as self-employed workers or to set up and manage companies partially grew out of an illegal venture by a Polish family. Wiesław Gloszczuk in October 1989 told U.K. immigration officials he was on a four-day visit to the country and then would return to Poland to see his pregnant wife; he was granted a six-month tourist visa, the court said.
His wife, Elżbieta, joined him in January 1991, telling immigration officials that she would spend seven days visiting the U.K. and that her husband was in Poland. Like her husband, she was granted a six-month visa barring her from entering employment or engaging in any business or profession in a self-employed capacity, the court said.
Neither husband or wife, however, ever left. Instead, Mr. Gloszczuk began working in the building industry in 1991 and claims to have become established as a self-employed contractor in March 1995, according to court documents.
When the couple had a son, Kevin, in January 1996 they attempted for the first time to legalize their stay, applying to the Secretary of State for recognition of their right to establish themselves in the U.K. under Article 44 of the Association Agreement and consequently for leave to remain in that Member State, court papers said.
While U.K. officials found the application unacceptable, the European Court of Justice used the case, along with two others from the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, to set a new precedent allowing people from these countries the right of establishment as outlined in association agreements.
The court, however, also found that member states can regulate entry and residence, meaning that the Gloszczuks illegal means of entry places them outside the protection recognized by the association agreements, the court said in a press release. But they do gain the right to re-submit the application and have the situation reviewed.
The Gloszczuks case is ongoing, with the familys solicitor working to hammer out an agreement that will allow them to stay.
Whether they can stay, that remains to be seen, Mayne said. We are in discussions with the Home Office.
Polands association agreement with the EU entered into force on Feb. 1, 1994. It was designed to provide an appropriate framework for accession to the EU and contains sections dealing with the movement of workers, the right of establishment and services. These provisions prohibit discrimination on grounds of nationality against Poles who are self-employed workers, or persons setting up and managing companies. Such nationals are entitled to treatment that is no less favorable than that accorded to companies and nationals of the member states.
