The Portugal News writes that the wife of Mr. Jeremy Moore (who can’t get a residence permit due to the SEF red tape) is Portuguese. In that case the EU Directive 2004/38 is applicable. I recommend Mr. Moore to read this directive. The civil servants working for the Portuguese cities may be wrong. They should deliver, without much red tape, his Residence Permit (I admit that arguing with a civil servant is a no go) like it is done in several EU member states where I lived and where a procedure similar to the 5-yearly SEF‘s doesn’t even exist for EU citizens and their relatives (even relatives that are non-EU nationals).

The idea that a SEF procedure is required is probably the result of a wrong interpretation of article 11 of the Directive (a 5-yearly procedure that is intended for non-EU citizens who have no close EU relatives).

As EU directives are law in the EU, one can consider the ‘residence permit via SEF procedure’ as illegal. May I suggest that Mr. Moore files a complaint with the EU SOLVIT bureau? They will certainly handle his or his wife’s complaint. And (smile) if ever he is deported I believe he can sue the Portuguese government with success. That is, in the event that the justice system works. But that’s another …

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