E-25/25 AE and YM v The Icelandic State and Registers Iceland
Klik hier voor het dossier van het EVA-hof (voor zover beschikbaar).
Deadlines: Motivation ministry: 22 december 2025 Written observations: 5 februari 2026
Keywords: free movement of persons, international surrogacy, citizenship rights
Subject: Directive 2004/38 on the rights of citizens of the Union and their family members [..]: Article 2(2); Regulation 492/2011 on freedom of movement for workers within the Union.
Facts of the case: The plaintiffs are a married couple, ‘AE’ (national of Iceland, Sweden and the USA), and ‘YM’ (national of France and the USA). They had two children via surrogacy in California, using donated eggs. After the birth of their children, AE and YM wanted to register them in Iceland and requested a citizenship on their behalf. They were residing in Sweden by then. Swedish courts recognized them as the legal fathers of both children, but the Icelandic authorities refused to register one child as their son and grant him Icelandic citizenship because of the Icelandic prohibition on surrogacy. The Court asks the EFTA Court for clarification on whether the refusal of Iceland to register the son constitutes an infringement to the right of free movement of persons under EEA law. Request for an advisory opinion: A. If the administrative authorities of EEA State A refuse to register in that State’s population registry as a party’s child an individual who is registered as the child of the party in question in another EEA State (State B), where the family resides, does such refusal constitute an infringement of, or obstacle to, the right of the residents of the EEA States to move and reside freely, and the right to free movement of workers, cf., inter alia, Articles 4 and 28 of the EEA Agreement and the provisions of Directive No 2004/38/EC and Regulation No 492/2011? B. Does Article 2(2) Of Directive No 2004/38/EC entail that the EEA States must recognise under their national law a familial relationship that enjoys legal recognition in another EEA State?
Cited (recent) case-law: -
Policy Area: AenM; JenV
