Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 8 November 2012 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hamburgisches Oberverwaltungsgericht — Germany) — Atilla Gülbahce v Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg

(Case C-268/11) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - EEC-Turkey Association Agreement - Decision No 1/80 of the Association Council - Article 6(1), first indent - Rights of Turkish workers duly registered as belonging to the labour force - Retroactive withdrawal of a residence permit)

2013/C 9/24

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Hamburgisches Oberverwaltungsgericht

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Atilla Gülbahce

Defendant: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Hamburgisches Oberverwaltungsgericht — Interpretation of Article 10(1) and Article 13 of Decision No 1/80 of the Association Council of 19 September 1980 on the development of the EEC-Turkey Association — Grant to a Turkish worker, spouse of a national of the host Member State, of a residence permit of limited duration and a work permit of unlimited duration — Withdrawal, with retroactive effect on grounds of the separation from his spouse of which the competent authorities were not informed, of decisions extending the duration of the residence permit — Conditions for basing the right of residence on Article 10(1) of Decision No 1/80, in the light of the work permit of unlimited duration

Operative part of the judgment

The first indent of Article 6(1) of Decision No 1/80 of the Association Council of 19 September 1980 on the development of the Association set up by the Agreement establishing an Association between the European Economic Community and Turkey, signed in Ankara on 12 September 1963 by the Republic of Turkey, on the one hand, and by the Member States of the EEC and the Community, on the other, and concluded, approved and confirmed on behalf of the Community by Council Decision 64/732/EEC of 23 December 1963, must be interpreted as precluding the competent national authorities from withdrawing the residence permit of a Turkish worker with retroactive effect from the point in time at which there was no longer compliance with the ground on the basis of which his residence permit had been issued under national law if there is no question of fraudulent conduct on the part of that worker and that withdrawal occurs after the completion of the period of one year of legal employment provided for in the first indent of Article 6(1) of Decision No 1/80.

(1)  OJ C 269, 10.9.2011.