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Once that status is acquired, it is not necessary for the person concerned to have his or her habitual residence or centre of interests in the European Union.


The Landeshauptmann von Wien (Head of Government of the Province of Vienna, Austria) refused the application by a Kazakh national for the renewal of his long-term residence permit – as an EU resident – on the ground that, during the 5 years preceding that application, he had been present in the territory of the European Union for only a few days per year, with the result that he had to be regarded as being absent from the territory during that period, which entailed the loss of that status.


The Verwaltungsgericht (Administrative Court, Vienna), before which the person concerned challenged that decision, requested the Court of Justice to interpret the directive on the status of long-term resident third-country nationals. 1 That directive provides that the long-term resident loses that status in the event of ‘absence’ from the territory of the European Union for a period of 12 consecutive months.