The European Court of Justice' | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images Top court rules EU countries not required to give humanitarian visas The European Court of Justice deferred to national governments in decision over whether to issue visas to asylum seekers.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that "member states are not required, under EU law, to grant a humanitarian visa" to people who intend to apply for asylum once they enter the country, it announced Tuesday.

The decision relates to the case of an Orthodox Christian couple from Aleppo, Syria, who applied for a Belgian visa in October from Lebanon. The Belgian Foreigners' Office refused the application, claiming the couple planned to stay in Belgium beyond the visa’s 90-day limit. When the couple appealed, the Belgian Asylum and Immigration Board referred the case to the EU’s top court.

In its decision, the ECJ deferred to national governments' judgment on the issue, writing: "No measure has been adopted, to date, by the EU legislature with regard to the issuing by member states of long-term visas and residence permits to third-country nationals on humanitarian grounds."

The Syrian family's application, therefore, falls "solely within the scope of national law."

The court's decision contradicted ECJ Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi's opinion that member countries “must issue a visa” in cases where refusing one would place someone's life in danger or subjected them "to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment," though the opinion was not binding.

Belgium's Secretary of State for Migration Theo Francken celebrated the ruling, tweeting: "Yesss! [We] won!"

Francken had supported the initial decision to deny the Syrian couple's visa application. “If we allow people to come to Belgium with a visa to apply for asylum, the whole system will collapse,” he said in October last year.