1968L0360 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of15October1968
ontheabolitionofrestrictions onmovementandresidence withintheCommunityforworkersof
Member Statesandtheir families
(68/360/EEC)
(OJ L 257, 19.10.1968, p. 13)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►A1Act of Accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern IrelandL 73 14 27.3.1972
(adapted by Council Decision of 1 January 1973) L 2 1 1.1.1973
►A2Act of Accessionof Greece L 291 17 19.11.1979
►A3Act of Accessionof Spainan d Portugal L 302 23 15.11.1985
►A4Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C241 21 29.8.1994
(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
►A5Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the
Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia,the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic ofMalta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the SlovakRepublic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the EuropeanUnion is foundedL 236 33 23.9.2003
▼B
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of15October 1968
on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within
theCommunityforworkersofMemberStatesandtheir families
(68/360/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 49 thereof;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (
1);
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2);
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 (3) fixed the provisions
governing freedom of movement for workers within the Community;whereas, consequently, measures should be adopted for the abolitionof restrictions which still exist concerning movement and residencewithin the Community, which conform to the rights and privileges
accorded by the said Regulation to nationals of any Member State
who move in order to pursue activities as employed persons and tomembers of their families;
Whereas the rules applicable to residence should, as far as possible,
bring the position of workers from other Member States and membersof their families into line with that of nationals;
Whereas the co-ordination of special measures relating to the move-
ment and residence of foreign nationals, justified on grounds of publicpolicy, public security or public health, is the subject of the Council
Directive of 25 February 1964,(
4) adopted inapplicationof Article 56
(2) of the Treaty;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
Member States shall, acting as provided in this Directive, abolish
restrictions on the movement and residence of nationals of the said
States and of members of their families to whom Regulation (EEC)
No 1612/68 applies.
Article 2
1. Member States shall grant the nationals referred to in Article 1
the right to leave their territory inorder to take up activities as
employed persons and to pursue such activities in the territory of
another Member State. Such right shall be exercised simply on produc-tionof a valid iden tity card or passport. Members of the family shallenjoy the same right as the national on whom they are dependent.
2. Member States shall, acting in accordance with their laws, issue
to such nationals, or renew, an identity card or passport, which shallstate in particular the holder's nationality.
3. The passport must be valid at least for all Member States and for
countries through which the holder must pass when travelling between
Member States. Where a passport is the only document on which the
holder may lawfully leave the country, its period of validity shall benot less than five years.1968L0360 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ No 268, 6.11.1967, p. 10.
(2) OJ No 298, 7.12.1967, p. 10.
(3) OJ No L 257, 19.10.1968, p. 2.
(4) OJ No 56, 4.4.1964, p. 850/64.
▼B
4. Member States may not demand from the nationals referred to in
Article 1 any exit visa or any equivalent document.
Article 3
1. Member States shall allow the persons referred to in Article 1 to
enter their territory simply on production of a valid identity card or
passport.
2. No entry visa or equivalent document may be demanded save
from members of the family who are not nationals of a Member State.Member States shall accord to such persons every facility for obtainingany necessary visas.
Article 4
1. Member States shall grant the right of residence in their territory
to the persons referred to in Article 1 who are able to produce thedocuments listed in paragraph 3.
2. As proof of the right of residence, a document entitled ‘Residence
Permit for a National of a Member State of the EEC’ shall be issued.
This document must include a statement that it has been issuedpursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and to the measures takenby the Member States for the implementation of the present Directive.The text of such statement is given in the Annex to this Directive.
3. For the issue of a Residence Permit for a National of a Member
State of the EEC, Member States may require only the production of
the following documents;
— by the worker:
(a) the document with which he entered their territory;
(b) a confirmation of engagement from the employer or a certifi-
cate of employment;
— by the members of the worker's family:
(c) the document with which they entered the territory;
(d) a document issued by the competent authority of the State of
origin or the State whence they came, proving their relation-ship;
(e) inthe cases referred to inArticle 10 (1) an d (2) of Regulation
(EEC) No 1612/68, a document issued by the competentauthority of the State of originor the State when ce they came,testifying that they are dependent on the worker or that they
live under his roof in such country.
4. A member of the family who is not a national of a Member State
shall be issued with a residence document which shall have the samevalidity as that issued to the worker on whom he is dependent.
Article 5
Completion of the formalities for obtaining a residence permit shall not
hinder the immediate beginning of employment under a contractconcluded by the applicants.
Article 6
1. The residence permit:
(a) must be valid throughout the territory of the Member State which
issued it;
(b) must be valid for at least five years from the date of issue and be
automatically renewable.
2. Breaks in residence not exceeding six consecutive months and
absence on military service shall not affect the validity of a residencepermit.1968L0360 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 3
▼B
3. Where a worker is employed for a period exceeding three months
but not exceeding a year in the service of an employer in the host Stateor inthe employ of a personprovidin g services, the host Member State
shall issue him a temporary residence permit, the validity of which may
be limited to the expected period of the employment.
Subject to the provisions of Article 8 (1) (c), a temporary residence
permit shall be issued also to a seasonal worker employed for a period
of more than three months. The period of employment must be shown
inthe documen ts referred to inparagraph 4 (3) (b).
Article 7
1. A valid residence permit may not be withdrawn from a worker
solely on the grounds that he is no longer in employment, eitherbecause he is temporarily incapable of work as a result of illness or
accident, or because he is involuntarily unemployed, this being duly
confirmed by the competent employment office.
2. When the residence permit is renewed for the first time, the
period of residence may be restricted, but not to less than twelvemonths, where the worker has been involuntarily unemployed in the
Member State for more than twelve consecutive months.
Article 8
1. Member States shall, without issuing a residence permit, recog-
nise the right of residence in their territory of:
(a) a worker pursuin g anactivity as anemployed person , where the
activity is not expected to last for more than three months. Thedocument with which the person concerned entered the territoryand a statement by the employer on the expected duration of theemployment shall be sufficient to cover his stay; a statement bythe employer shall not, however, be required in the case of workers
coming within the provisions of the Council Directive of 25
February 1964 (
1) on the attainment of freedom of establishment
and freedom to provide services in respect of the activities of inter-mediaries in commerce, industry and small craft industries;
(b) a worker who, while having his residence in the territory of a
Member State to which he returns as a rule, each day or at leastonce a week, is employed in the territory of another Member State.The competent authority of the State where he is employed may
issue such worker with a special permit valid for five years and
automatically renewable;
(c) a seasonal worker who holds a contract of employment stamped by
the competent authority of the Member State on whose territory he
has come to pursue his activity.
2. Inall cases referred to inparagraph 1, the competen t authorities
of the host Member State may require the worker to report his presenceinthe territory.
Article 9
1. The residence documents granted to nationals of a Member State
of the EEC referred to in this Directive shall be issued and renewedfree of charge or on payment of an amount not exceeding the duesand taxes charged for the issue of identity cards to nationals.
2. The visa referred to inArticle 3 (2) an d the stamp referred to in
Article 8 (1) (c) shall be free of charge.
3. Member States shall take the necessary steps to simplify as much
as possible the formalities and procedure for obtaining the documentsmentioned in paragraph 1.1968L0360 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 4
(1) OJ No 56, 4. 4. 1964, p. 869/64.
▼B
Article 10
Member States shall not derogate from the provisions of this Directive
save ongroun ds of public policy, public security or public health.
Article 11
1. This Directive shall not affect the provisions of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Coal and Steel Community which relate to
workers with recognised skills in coal mining and steel making, or the
provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic EnergyCommunity which deal with the right to take up skilled employmentin the field of nuclear energy, or any measures taken in implementationof those Treaties.
2. Nevertheless, this Directive shall apply to the categories of
workers referred to inparagraph 1, an d to members of their families,
in so far as their legal position is not governed by the above-mentioned
Treaties or measures.
Article 12
1. Member States shall, within nine months of notification of this
Directive, bring into force the measures necessary to comply with itsprovisions and shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
2. They shall notify the Commission of amendments made to provi-
sions imposed by law, regulation or administrative action for thesimplification of the formalities and procedure for issuing such docu-
ments as are still necessary for the entry, exit and residence of
workers and members of their families.
Article 13
1. The Council Directive of 25 March 1964 (
1) onthe abolitionof
restrictions on movement and on residence within the Community ofworkers and their families shall continue to have effect until this Direc-tive is implemented by the Member States.
2. Residence permits issued pursuant to the Directive referred to in
paragraph 1 shall remain valid until the date on which they next expire.
Article 14
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1968L0360 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 5
(1) OJ No 62, 17. 4. 1964, p. 981/64.
▼B
ANNEX
Textofthestatementreferred toinArticle 4(2):
‘This permit is issued pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of the Council
of the European Communities of 15 October 1968 and to the measures taken in
implementation of the Council Directive of 15 October 1968.
In accordance with the provisions of the above-mentioned Regulation, the holder
of this permit has the right to take up and pursue an activity as an employed
personin…………………………(1)territory under the same conditions as
…………………………(1)workers.
(1)►A5Belgian, Czech, Danish, German, Estonian, Greek, Spanish, French,
Irish, Italian, Cypriot, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourg, Hungarian,
Maltese, Netherlands, Austrian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovenian, Slovakian,
Finnish, Swedish, British according to the country issuing the permit. ◄’1968L0360 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 6