ABSTRACT – On November 22, 2022, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled the case C-69/21, X v Staastssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid. The Court interpreted the Return Directive (2008/115/EC) in light of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. It concluded that no return decision can be taken and no removal order can be made against “a third-country national who is staying illegally on the territory of a Member State and suffering from a serious illness” if the return would lead “to a real risk of a significant, permanent and rapid increase of his or her pain, if he or she were returned, on account of the only effective analgesic treatment being prohibited in that country”. Does this entail a right to stay for medical reasons, that is a right to get a residence permit because of a bad health condition? This contribution will first examine the single questions the CJEU dealt with in the case and then focus on the consequences of the extensive interpretation of the Court. The judgement consolidates the protection from return of sick third-country nationals under some conditions but the EU is still far from having an explicit right to stay for medical reasons”.
