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►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 15October 1968
on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within the Community for workers of
Member States and their 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 Ireland L 73 14 27.3.1972
(adapted by Council Decision of 1 January 1973) L 2 1 1.1.1973
►A2Act of Accession of Greece L 291 17 19.11.1979
►A3Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal L 302 23 15.11.1985
►A4Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C 241 21 29.8.1994
(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
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COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 15October 1968
on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within
the Community for workers of Member States and their 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 abolition ofrestrictions which still exist concerning movement and residence withinthe Community, which conform to the rights and privileges accorded bythe said Regulation to nationals of any Member State who move inorder to pursue activities as employed persons and to members of theirfamilies;
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 movement
and residence of foreign nationals, justified on grounds of public policy,public security or public health, is the subject of the Council Directiveof 25 February 1964, (
4) adopted in application of 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 saidStates and of members of their families to whom Regulation (EEC) No1612/68 applies.
Article 2
1. Member States shall grant the nationals referred to in Article 1 the
right to leave their territory in order to take up activities as employedpersons and to pursue such activities in the territory of another MemberState. Such right shall be exercised simply on production of a valididentity card or passport. Members of the family shall enjoy the sameright 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 shall statein 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 betweenMember States. Where a passport is the only document on which the
(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.
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holder may lawfully leave the country, its period of validity shall be notless than five years.
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 orpassport.
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, adocument 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 issued pursuantto Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and to the measures taken by theMember States for the implementation of the present Directive. The textof such statement is given in the Annex to this Directive.
3. For the issue of aResidence Permit for aNa tiona l of aMember
State of the EEC, Member States may require only the production of thefollowing documents;
— by the worker:
(a) the document with which he entered their territory;
(b) a confirmation of engagement from the employer or a certificate
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 relationship;
(e) in the cases referred to in Article 10 (1) and (2) of Regulation
(EEC) No 1612/68, adocument issued by the competentauthority of the State of origin or the State whence they came,testifying that they are dependent on the worker or that they liveunder 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.
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3. Where aworker is employed for aperiod exceeding three months
but not exceeding a year in the service of an employer in the host Stateor in the employ of aperson providing services, the host Member Sta teshall issue him a temporary residence permit, the validity of which maybe limited to the expected period of the employment.
Subject to the provisions of Article 8 (1) (c), atempora ry residence
permit shall be issued also to a seasonal worker employed for a periodof more than three months. The period of employment must be shownin the documents referred to in paragraph 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, either becausehe is temporarily incapable of work as a result of illness or accident, orbecause he is involuntarily unemployed, this being duly confirmed bythe 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 twelve months,where the worker has been involuntarily unemployed in the MemberState for more than twelve consecutive months.
Article 8
1. Member States shall, without issuing a residence permit, recognise
the right of residence in their territory of:
(a) a worker pursuing an activity as an employed person, where the
activity is not expected to last for more than three months. Thedocument with which the person concerned entered the territory anda statement by the employer on the expected duration of theemployment shall be sufficient to cover his stay; a statement by theemployer shall not, however, be required in the case of workerscoming within the provisions of the Council Directive of 25February 1964 (
1) on the attainment of freedom of establishment
and freedom to provide services in respect of the activities ofintermediaries in commerce, industry and small craft industries;
(b) aworker who, while ha ving 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 mayissue such worker with a special permit valid for five years andautomatically renewable;
(c) a seasonal worker who holds a contract of employment stamped by
the competent authority of the Member State on whose territory hehas come to pursue his activity.
2. In all cases referred to in paragraph 1, the competent authorities of
the host Member State may require the worker to report his presence inthe 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 renewed freeof charge or on payment of an amount not exceeding the dues and taxescharged for the issue of identity cards to nationals.
2. The visa referred to in Article 3 (2) and 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.
(1) OJ No 56, 4. 4. 1964, p. 869/64.
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Article 10
Member States shall not derogate from the provisions of this Directive
save on grounds 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 toworkers with recognised skills in coal mining and steel making, or theprovisions of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic EnergyCommunity which deal with the right to take up skilled employment inthe field of nuclear energy, or any measures taken in implementation ofthose Treaties.
2. Nevertheless, this Directive shall apply to the categories of
workers referred to in paragraph 1, and to members of their families, inso far as their legal position is not governed by the above-mentionedTreaties 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 the simpli-fication of the formalities and procedure for issuing such documents asare still necessary for the entry, exit and residence of workers andmembers of their families.
Article 13
1. The Council Directive of 25 March 1964 (
1) on the abolition of
restrictions on movement and on residence within the Community ofworkers and their families shall continue to have effect until thisDirective 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.
(1) OJ No 62, 17. 4. 1964, p. 981/64.
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ANNEX
Text of the statement referred to in Article 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 inimplementation 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 employedperson in ………………………… ►
A4(1)◄territory under the same condi-
tions as ………………………… ►A4(1)◄workers.'
(1) Austrian, Belgian, British, Danish, Finnish, German, Greek, Irish, French, Italian,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, according to the countryissuing the permit.