55

In the fourth place, as regards the burden of proving that the condition referred to in paragraph 41 of the present judgment has been checked for the purposes of granting or renewing a residence permit pursuant to the provisions of Chapter III of Directive 2003/109, in so far as the third-country national concerned is entitled to long-term resident status in the first Member State, that burden lies, as a matter of principle, with that third-country national.

56

However, it follows from the first subparagraph of Article 15(4) of Directive 2003/109, read in the light of recital 11 thereof, that, for the purpose of establishing that that condition is met, it is sufficient, in principle, for the third-country national to submit to the second Member State his or her long-term resident’s EU residence permit issued by the first Member State, in accordance with Article 8(2) of that directive, since such a permit, if still valid, enables that third-country national easily and immediately to prove his or her right to long-term resident status and the continuing nature of that right. Accordingly, a valid permit gives rise to a presumption that that third-country national remains entitled to that status.

57

In that context, the Court has previously ruled that it is apparent from Article 2(b), read in conjunction with Article 14(1) of Directive 2003/109, that a long-term resident’s EU residence permit, in principle, grants its holder the right to reside in the territory of Member States – other than the one which granted him or her long-term residence status – for a period exceeding three months (judgment of 17 July 2014, Tahir, C‑469/13, EU:C:2014:2094, paragraph 42).

58

Furthermore, Article 9(6) of Directive 2003/109 provides, conversely, that the expiry of a long-term resident’s EU residence permit is in no case to entail withdrawal or loss of long-term resident status, which attests to the declaratory nature of such a residence permit.

59

In the present case, it is common ground that TE and EF each has, in the first Member State, Italy, a long-term resident’s EU residence permit that is of unlimited duration and thus valid, so that it must be presumed, in their favour, that they still have the right to long-term resident status in that Member State.

60

Such a presumption is, in so far as the second Member State is obliged to apply it when processing an application for a residence permit or for its renewal, in keeping with the spirit of mutual confidence between Member States which, as stated in recital 17 of Directive 2003/109, is promoted by the harmonisation of the terms for acquisition of long-term resident status that is the aim of that directive.

61

In the fifth place, it should be made clear that that presumption is not, however, irrebuttable.