Court Report: The Zambrano principle

This case, consisting of two separate appeals – Patel and Shah – looked at the scope of the “Zambrano principle”. The Zambrano case permitted a non-European Union (EU) national (known as a “third country national” – TCN) parent of an EU citizen child resident in the EU to reside in the EU. This aimed to avoid an EU citizen child being deprived of their EU citizenship rights in the event of their parent being removed from the EU.

Mr Patel is a TCN with no right to remain in the UK who cares for his British parents, who are reliant on him. Mr Patel has been trained to help with his father’s kidney dialysis, and he cares for his immobile mother. The medication required for dialysis may not be available in India. The First-tier Tribunal (“FTT”) had found that if Mr Patel were removed to India his father could stay in the UK and continue to receive medical treatment here, although that would not give him the same quality of life as Mr Patel’s care.