Court of Justice of the European Union

PRESS RELEASE No 5/21

Luxembourg, 14 January 2021

Judgment in Case C-441/19 TQ v Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid

Before issuing a return decision in respect of an unaccompanied minor, a Member State must verify that adequate reception facilities are available for the minor in the State of return

Moreover, if adequate reception facilities are no longer guaranteed at the stage of removal, the Member State will not be able to enforce the return decision

In June 2017, TQ, an unaccompanied minor who was then 15 years and four months old, applied in the Netherlands for a fixed-term residence permit on grounds of asylum. In the context of that application, TQ stated that he was born in Guinea in 2002. Following the death of his aunt with whom he lived in Sierra Leone, TQ came to Europe. In Amsterdam (Netherlands), he claims to have been the victim of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, as a result of which he now suffers serious psychological problems. In March 2018, the Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid (State Secretary for Justice and Security, Netherlands) decided ex officio that TQ was not eligible for a fixed-term residence permit, the referring court specifying that TQ does not qualify for refugee status or subsidiary protection. In accordance with Netherlands law, the decision of the Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid constitutes a return decision. 

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