Key legal question
Whether the applicant had a right to renewal of the residence permit despite separation from the Swiss spouse.
Extracted holding
No. The authorities could infer that the marital will had ceased and that the marriage was being invoked in a way that was objectively devoid of substance to secure residence benefits.
Extracted reasoning
The spouses lived together only about one year, then separated in 2004 without resuming cohabitation for about three years. The spouse's own statements suggested the marriage had not been truly intended and that only a formal separation, not divorce, had been maintained. This supported a finding of abusive reliance on the marriage relationship under Article 7 ANAG.