European Commission v. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Case C-308/14, CJEU (First Chamber), 14 June 2016

Refusal by a Member State to grant family allowances (or tax credit) for dependent children to citizens of another Member State who do not have a legal right of residence. 

Directive 2004/38 / EC of the european Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 concerning the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.

Regulation (EC) n. 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems.

1. They must be qualified as welfare services, pursuant to art. 1 and 3 of regulation no. 883/2004, family benefits intended to partially cover the expenses that a person having one or more dependent children must bear, and granted to anyone who requests them, like the tax credit for dependent children, the amount of which it varies according to family income, the number of dependent children as well as other factors relating to the individual situation of the family concerned.

2. Verification of the regularity of the right of residence, in addition to verifying compliance with the criterion of habitual residence in the territory of the host Member State, provided for in Article 11, paragraph 3, letter e), of Regulation no. 883/2004, in conjunction with article 1, letter j), of said regulation, for the purposes of granting welfare benefits, must be considered proportional to the pursuit of the aforementioned objective, where it is not systematic but is implemented only in the event of doubt about its absence.