1. When officials take up their duties, their place of origin shall be assumed to be the place from where they are recruited.
   
   If officials so request within one year of taking up their duties, and on production of appropriate documentary evidence, their centre of interests shall be determined as their place of origin, if the centre of interests is not the same as the place of recruitment.
    
2. For the purposes of applying this Decision:
    
   • "place of recruitment" shall mean the place where an official was habitually resident at the time of recruitment. Places of temporary residence, e.g. for the purpose of study, military service, training periods or holidays, shall not be regarded as places of habitual residence;
      
   • "centre of interests" shall mean the place where an official retains:
      
     1. his or her main family ties which, barring duly substantiated exceptions, shall at the choice of the official mean:
         
        1.  
           • mother and father or either parent; failing that grandparents, or one grandparent; failing that parents-in-law, or either parent-in-law; failing that brothers and sisters;
             
             or
              
           • children, or one or more of them
             
             or
              
        2. the marital residence, on the dual condition that:
            
           • it was their permanent joint residence prior to the entry into the service of the Communities of the first spouse to enter an Institution as a permanent official or as a member of the temporary, auxiliary or contract staff, and
              
           • it consists of immovable property in which they have, or one of them has, heritable interests;
              
     2. heritable interests constituted by immovable property in the form of buildings;
         
     3. essential civic interests, both active and passive.

     If all three criteria referred to in a), b) and c) are not fulfilled by the same place, the official's centre of interests shall be taken as the place where at least two of the three criteria are met or, failing that, the place where the official retains his or her main family ties, confined in this instance to the official's father, mother or children.
      

3. If an official's centre of interests cannot be established by means of the criteria listed in the second indent of paragraph 2, his or her place of recruitment shall be determined as the place of origin.
    
4. If officials move from one Community Institution to another, their place of origin shall continue to be that determined by the previous Institution.

Article 3

If officials so request, and produce appropriate documentary evidence, their place of origin may exceptionally be changed during their period of employment.

Such changes cannot be allowed unless all the factors taken into account for determining the official's centre of interests have ceased to exist and another centre of interests can be determined in accordance with conditions referred to in the second indent of Article 2(2).

If the place of recruitment has been determined as the place of origin, the same conditions shall apply with regard to a pre-existing centre of interests which was not taken into account when determining the place of origin.

Article 4

If an official's centre of interests moves to a place outside the territories of the Member States of the Communities or of the overseas countries and territories listed in Annex IV to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, his or her place of origin may by special decision of the appointing authority be changed, for the purpose of applying Article 7(1)(b), Article 8 and Article 9(2) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, so as to fix his or her place of origin at a point on the frontier of the territories of the Communities on the direct route to the centre of interests.

Article 5

Once officials reach the age of 55 they may, in preparation for retirement, request that their place of origin be changed, on production of appropriate documentary evidence relating to heritable interests in the form of immovable property already built or under construction. Article 4 shall apply.

Article 6

1. Upon termination of service and in the light of their place of resettlement, the place of origin of officials may be changed at their request and on production of appropriate documentary evidence, by special decision of the appointing authority. Article 4 shall apply.
    
2. Following termination of service, for family or medical reasons, officials who enter the service before [date of entry into force of the reform of the Staff Regulations] and are not receiving a pension at that time may exceptionally request the appointing authority to change their place of origin. This decision shall be taken on production of appropriate supporting evidence by the person concerned. Article 4 shall apply.

Article 7

This Decision shall apply mutatis mutandis to temporary staff, auxiliary staff and contract staff in the framework of Articles 22, 67 and 92 of the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Communities.

Article 8

This Decision shall take effect on 1 May 2004.

It repeals and replaces the Commission Decision of 15 July 1980 (Information Notice No 291, 5 September 1980).

Done at Brussels, 14.04.2004.