ABSTRACT
Free movement rights in the European Union (EU) allow EU citizens to move and reside within the territory of the Member States under the condition that they are economically active or economically self-sufficient. If they fulfill the requirements under EU law, they also enjoy family reunification rights in the Member State where they reside. The possibility to obtain these rights is reserved for EU citizens who reside in a Member State of which they are not a national, but if a family member acquired residence in another Member State, this right continues to exist, even when they return to the home Member State of the EU citizen (return situation). If EU citizens reside in another Member State without fulfilling the requirements under EU law, their residence can be terminated and followed by expulsion from that Member State, but a Member State is not allowed to impose an entry ban. This chapter compares the requirements that EU citizens and their family members must fulfill to retain family reunification rights in a return situation with the requirements they must fulfill to comply with an expulsion order. It focuses on the question when the exercise of free movement rights under EU law begins and ends and demonstrates that mere movement between Member States does not suffice.
