Loss of Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary status is possible on the grounds below:
– When the residence conditions set out in Part Two of the Withdrawal Agreement cease to be satisfied (Article 7(1) a of No. 4000/1/113-a’ Joint Ministerial Decree, in conjunction with Articles 11, 13, 15 and 39 of the Withdrawal Agreement). In contrast to EU free movement law, Article 15(3) of the Withdrawal Agreement provides that the right of permanent residence should be lost only through absence from the host State for a period exceeding five consecutive. For more information, please see No. 2020/C 173/01 Commission Notice
– On grounds of public policy, public security or the person concerned is the subject of an alert in the national data bases. The conduct, occurred either before the end of the transition period or after the end of the transition period, is considered in accordance with Chapter VI of Directive 2004/38/EC (Article 7(1) b of No. 4000/1/113-a’ Joint Ministerial Decree implementing Article 20(1) and 20(2) WA). For more information on how the conduct is considered, please see No. C/2023/1392 Commission Notice (Chapter 13).
Please note that after the end of the transition period and once a person has acquired Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary status, periods of imprisonment without parole do not, in themselves, equate to the loss of Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary status. If the behavior for which the prison sentence was imposed meets the relevant threshold of Article 7 (1) b of No. 4000/1/113-a’ Joint Ministerial Decree, Greece may take a restriction decision. However, where the threshold is not met, the period of imprisonment will only have the effect of interrupting the Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary’s continuity of residence for the purpose of acquiring a right of permanent residence, such as required by Article 15(2) of the Withdrawal Agreement. After release from prison, the Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary concerned will be able to build up a new period of five years of continuous residence.
– In the cases of abuse of rights or fraud as set out in Article 35 of Directive 2004/38/EC (Article 7 (1) c of No. 4000/1/113-a’ Joint Ministerial Decree and Article 20 (3) of the Withdrawal Agreement). For more information on abuse of rights or fraud, please see No. C/2023/1392 Commission Notice (Chapter 16).
The procedural safeguards provided for in Article 21 of the Withdrawal Agreement, which refers to Article 15 and Chapter VI of Directive 2004/38/EC, apply in all of the above cases. In line with the CJEU’s established case law on the general principles of EU law, restriction decisions must comply also with the principle of proportionality and fundamental rights, such as the right to family life. This means that a proportionality assessment always needs to take place when considering the loss of status.
In case of loss of the Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary status, the person concerned, if he/she wishes to continue to reside in the Greek territory, may contact the competent central Authority of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum (Directorate of Migration Policy, tel.: (0030) 2132128903, e-mail: dir.mp@migration.gov.gr), in order to be informed on the conditions and procedures to be followed in order to exercise his/her right of residence either under EU law or national legislation (e.g. status of third country nationals who are long-term residents, status of third country nationals under the national Migration Code, etc.). Relevant information may also be found on the website of the aforementioned Ministry at the following link: https://migration.gov.gr/migration-policy/.
