Jurisdiction(s):
European Union

Key definition

Asylum definition

What does Asylum mean? In legal practice, asylum is the process by which a person seeks refugee status and protection against removal to a country where they face persecution for a Refugee Convention reason. In the UK, an “asylum claim” is defined by statute (section 113, Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002) as a claim that removal would breach the UK’s obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol. The Home Office determines such claims under the Immigration Rules; if accepted, the person is recognised as a refugee and granted limited leave, family reunion and eligibility for a Convention travel document....

Article 20 TFEU ‘Zambrano’ derived residence rights: scope, dependency tests, and limits after Chavez‑Vilchez, KA and X; interaction with the Citizens’ Directive and the EU Charter

Published by a LexisNexis EU Law expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note examines how the breadth of the EU right of residence derived from EU citizenship, first acknowledged by the Court of Justice in Ruiz Zambrano, has since been curtailed by later rulings and its operation limited to defined situations.

The recognition of EU citizenship rights in Zambrano

In Gerardo Ruiz Zambrano v Office national de l'emploi, the Court of Justice marked a watershed in the developing body of EU citizenship law, conferring on EU nationals—and, crucially, their relatives—an autonomous, directly enforceable entitlement to reside, separate from the freedoms laid down in EU free movement rules, notably Directive 2004/38/EC, the Citizens’ Directive.

Briefly, two married Colombian citizens sought Asylum in Belgium. Although their claim failed, removal was not possible. While in Belgium, the couple had two children. The children neither obtained Colombian Nationality nor were they registered as Colombian. To avoid statelessness, they were granted Belgian nationality. The parents maintained that EU law afforded them, as the children’s parents, a right to live and to work. The Court of...

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Ed Mynott

After a career in academic research on asylum-related topics, Ed switched to legal practice in 2003, joining the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit. From 2006 to 2011 he worked at the Immigration Advisory Service in the north west of England, with responsibility for Upper Tribunal (IAC) matters and the delivery of training. Since 2010 he has been a member of the Law Society's Immigration Law Advanced Accreditation Scheme. After the demise of IAS, there followed a period in private practice at immigration specialists Latitude Law. He is now practising as a freelance advocate in the First tier and Upper Tribunals. About Lexis®PSL ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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