New and easy rules have been introduced for single-work permits in the EU to tackle the labor shortage in the block. Changes such as faster decisions on work permit applications, permission to change employers, and provisions for unemployment will make it easier to adopt similar work visa rules in the EU. The new rules will be implemented in the 25 EU countries except for Ireland and Denmark.
The new rules update the previously implemented rules since 2011 for a single work permit for living and working in the EU countries. For the changes, the voting was held on 13. March 2024 in the EU Parliament. MEPs endorsed beefed-up single residence and work permit rules with a ratio of 465 votes in favor, 122 against, and 27x abstentions.
After this approval of the eased rules, the member states of the EU have two years to make it a part of their national law. Two countries, Ireland and Denmark are not a part of these new changes.
What are the new single work permit rules in the EU?
The global talent from the non-EU countries will have now more freedom to work in the EU member countries. The new changes will help them in the following aspects:
Faster processing of work permit applications
A faster procedure will be implemented to announce the decision on a single work permit application in 3 months instead of the previously implemented 4 months. An extra month’s extension in visa delivery is possible if the visa file is too complex to be decided in 3 months.
Changing immigration status inside EU countries
According to new rules, changing their residence status will be possible for non-EU citizens if they are already legally present in the EU countries. They will not have to leave the block and apply from their country of origin. So if a person is legally present in any of the EU countries and finds a job and employer to change his immigration status, they can do it inside the territory.
This was a big demand for most of the people while modern immigration systems such as Canada and Australia have already adapted it. This not only enhances the chances to retain qualified workers but also administrative costs are less. Finally, skilled workers, when they use this process, can join the labor market quickly.
Change of employer
The non-EU workers under the new rules will be able to change their employer, job sector, and occupation. A notice from the new employer will suffice. Anyhow the local authorities will have 45 days to challenge this change.
For the first six months of stay, this change will not be possible but in case of a serious breach of work and contract conduct from the employers, the change of employer will earlier be possible as well. The conditions for the labor market tests have also been limited.
Unemployment time extended
A non-EU citizen if unemployed, can stay for up to 3 months without having their work permit status withdrawn. The unemployment time can be extended to 6 months if the worker has been living in the EU for more than 2 years. Previously, this period was limited to 2 months only.
The EU states can also offer longer unemployment periods if the worker has faced specially expoloitetive circumstances. Anyhow, after three months they can be asked to present proof of how can they stay without using public funds.
EU, A new hub of foreign workers
According to the available statistics, only alone in 2022, 3.6 Million work and residence permit visas were issued. Of these, 63% were issued by France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal. Belgium, France, Portugal, Germany, Italy, and Spain have mostly thousands of jobs available in the labor market.
In 2022, almost 989,000 people acquired citizenship of the EU country where they lived, an increase of around 20% (+163,100 people) compared with 2021.
Following are the other visa and settlement options in the EU: