(Reference for a preliminary ruling– Area of freedom, security and justice– Immigration policy– Directive 2003/109

21The referring court requested that the reference for a preliminary ruling be dealt with under the urgent procedure provided for in Article107 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, stating, inter alia, that the applicant in the main proceedings, his wife and their four minor children, were most recently established in the United Kingdom on the basis of residence permits which were issued by that State and valid for a period of several years. However, the applicant in the main proceedings wishes to resettle in Austria and be joined by the members of his family for the purposes of family reunification, since such a step presupposes, according to the national legislation in force, that it must first be established that the applicant in the main proceedings still has a right to long-term resident status.

22On 28September 2020, the Third Chamber of the Court decided, acting on a proposal from the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General, to reject that request, since the referring court did not provide an adequate explanation of the circumstances that would establish that there was an urgent need to rule on the present case. Thus, that court did not set out, inter alia, a risk that the applicant in the main proceedings and the members of his family would be subject to removal measures in the United Kingdom or Austria or a situation in which respect for their fundamental rights, such as the right to family life, would be jeopardised.