Proposal for a Council Directive concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents
Date: 2001-03-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, equal treatment, foreign national, legal status, public health, public order, residence permit, social security

28.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 240 E/79

Proposal for a Council Directive concerning the status of third-country nationals who are
long-term residents

(2001/C 240 E/13)

COM(2001) 127 final (cid:151) 2001/0074(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 13 March 2001)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 63(3) and (4) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Whereas:

(1) With a view to the progressive establishment of an area of
freedom, security and justice, the Treaty establishing the
European Community provides both for the adoption of
measures aimed at ensuring the free movement of
persons,
in conjunction with flanking measures relating
to external border controls, asylum and immigration,
and for the adoption of measures relating to asylum,
immigration and safeguarding the rights of third-country
nationals.

(2) Article 63(3) of the Treaty provides that the Council is to
adopt measures on immigration policy. Article 63(3)(a)
provides,
is to adopt
measures relating to the conditions of residence, and
standards on procedures for the issue by Member States
of long-term residence permits.

in particular,

the Council

that

(3) The European Council, at its special meeting in Tampere
on 15 and 16 October 1999, stated that the legal status of
third-country nationals should be approximated to that of
Member States’ nationals and that a person who has
resided legally in a Member State for a period of time
to be determined and who holds a long-term residence
permit should be granted in that Member State a set of
uniform rights which are as near as possible to those
enjoyed by citizens of the European Union.

should be the duration of

(6) The chief criterion for acquiring the status of long-term
resident
residence in the
territory of a Member State. Residence should be both
legal and continuous in order to show that the person
has put down roots in the country. Provision should be
made for a degree of flexibility so that account can be
taken of circumstances in which a person might have to
leave the territory on a temporary basis.

should
and

status,
they

that
insurance

long-term resident
prove
sickness

third-country
(7) To acquire
adequate
nationals
resources
to avoid
becoming a burden for the Member State. The level of
such resources should not be disproportionate and should
be set uniformly for all the Member States. A further
condition for acquiring the status is that third-country
nationals
to
should not constitute an actual
public order and domestic security.

have
cover,

threat

(8) A set of rules governing the procedures for the exam-
status
for
ination of applications
should be laid down. Those procedures
should be
effective and manageable, taking account of the normal
workload of the Member States’ administrations, as well as
transparent and fair in order to offer appropriate legal
certainty to those concerned.

long-term resident

(9) The acquisition of

long-term resident status should be
certified by residence permits enabling those concerned
to prove their legal status easily and immediately. Such
residence permits should also satisfy high-level technical
standards, notably as regards protection against
falsifi-
cation and counterfeiting,
in order to avoid abuses in
the Member State in which the status is acquired and in
Member States in which the right of residence is exercised.

(10) In order to constitute a genuine instrument for the inte-
gration of long-term residents into the society in which
they live, long-term resident status should ensure equality
of treatment with citizens of the Member State in a wide
range of economic and social matters.

(4) This Directive

and
the
observes the principles recognised in particular by the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

fundamental

respects

rights

(5) The

third-country nationals who are
integration of
long-term residents
is a key
in the Member States
element in promoting economic and social cohesion, a
fundamental objective of
the Community declared by
Articles 2 and 3(1)(k) of the Treaty.

This

expulsion.

(11) Long-term residents should enjoy maximum protection
on
against
Community law relating to free movement of persons
and
the
European Court of Human Rights. Protection against
expulsion entails provision in the applicable procedures
for effective judicial redress procedures.

determined by

decisions of

protection

criteria

based

the

is

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(12) Harmonisation of the terms for acquisition of long-term
status promotes mutual confidence between
resident
Member States. Certain Member States
issue permits
with permanent or unlimited validity on conditions that
are more favourable than those provided for by this
Directive. The possibility of applying more favourable
national provisions
excluded by the Treaty.
However, for the purposes of this Directive, it should be
provided that permits issued on more favourable and
unharmonised terms do not confer the right to reside in
other Member States.

is not

(13) Establishing the conditions subject to which the right to
reside in another Member State may be acquired by third-
country nationals who are long-term residents contributes
to the effective attainment of an internal market as an area
It
in which the free movement of persons is ensured.
could also constitute a major factor of mobility, notably
on the Union’s employment market.

(14) It should be provided that

the right of residence in
another Member State may be exercised in order
to
work in an employed or self-employed capacity, to study
or even to settle without exercising any form of economic
activity. Family members should be able to settle in that
other Member State with long-term residents in order to
preserve family unity and to avoid hindering the exercise
of the long-term resident’s right of residence. The right of
residence should be exercised on terms similar to those
enjoyed by citizens of the Union when they exercise their
right to free movement.

(15) The Member State in which a long-term resident intends
to exercise his right of residence should be able to check
that
for
residing in its territory. It should also be able to check
that the person concerned does not constitute an actual
threat to public order, domestic security or public health.

the person concerned meets

the conditions

(16) A set of rules governing the procedures for examination
of applications by long-term residents for a residence
permits in another Member States should be laid down.
Those procedures should be effective and manageable,
taking account of the normal workload of the Member
States’ administrations, as well as transparent and fair, in
order
legal certainty to those
concerned. They should not constitute a means of
hindering the exercise of the right of residence.

to offer appropriate

burden on the Member State in which they exercise the
right of residence. The rights enjoyed by the persons
concerned in the
should be
similar to those enjoyed by citizens of the Union when
they exercise their right of free movement.

second Member State

(18) It should be provided that after a transitional period
long-term residents may elect to settle definitively in the
Member State in which they have exercised their right of
residence in order to enjoy full rights there, including the
right to social security benefits. In the interests both of
the persons concerned and of
the first and second
this transitional period should not be
Member States,
excessively long and at
the transitional
period the long-term residents should be able to apply
in the second Member
for
status
long-term resident
long-term resident status
State, entailing withdrawal of
in the Member State in which they originally acquired it.

the end of

for
status

granting
and the

(19) In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and
proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, the
the proposed action, namely the deter-
objectives of
and withdrawing
mination of
terms
long-term resident
rights pertaining
thereto and terms for the exercise of rights of residence
by long-term residents in other Member States, cannot be
sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can
therefore, by reason of
the
action, be better achieved by the Community. This
to the minimum required to
Directive confines itself
achieve those objectives and does not go beyond what
is necessary for that purpose,

the scale and effect of

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

This Directive determines:

(a) the terms

for conferring and withdrawing long-term
resident status granted by a Member State in relation to
third-country nationals legally residing in its territory, and
the rights pertaining thereto; and

(17) To avoid rendering the right of

residence nugatory,
long-term residents should enjoy in the second Member
State the rights they enjoy in the Member State in which
they acquired the status. Exceptions from this principle
should be provided for as regards social security benefits
to ensure that the persons concerned do not become a

(b) the terms on which third-country nationals enjoying
long-term resident status have the right of residence in
Member States other than the one which conferred that
status on them.

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Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive:

(a)

(cid:145)third-country national(cid:146) means any person who is not a
citizen of the Union within the meaning of Article 17(1)
of the Treaty;

(b) (cid:145)long-term resident(cid:146) means any third-country national who
has long-term resident status as provided for by Article 8;

(c)

(cid:145)first Member State(cid:146) means the Member State which granted
a third-country national long-term resident status;

(d) (cid:145)second Member State(cid:146) means any Member State other than
the one which for the first time granted a third-country
national
status and in which that
long-term resident exercises the right of residence;

long-term resident

(e)

the

applicant’s

spouse or
(cid:145)family members(cid:146) means
unmarried partner, minor children and relatives in the
ascending line and adult dependant children admitted to
the Member State
in
accordance with Council Directive . . ./. . ./EC on the right
to family reunification (1). The family members of citizens
of the Union are defined by the Community legislation
relating to free movement of persons in accordance with
Article 4 of that Directive;

concerned and residing there

(f)

(cid:145)refugee(cid:146) means any third-country national enjoying refugee
status within the meaning of the Geneva Convention on
the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951, as amended by the
Protocol signed in New York on 31 January 1967;

(g)

(cid:145)long-term resident’s EC residence permit(cid:146) means
a
residence permit issued by the Member State concerned
upon the acquisition of long-term resident status.

Article 3

Scope

This Directive applies to third-country nationals residing

1.
legally in the territory of a Member State.

This Directive does not apply to third-country nationals

2.
who:

(a) are authorised to reside in a Member State on the basis of
temporary protection or have applied for authorisation to
reside on that basis and are awaiting a decision on their
status;

(b) are authorised to reside in a Member State on the basis of a
subsidiary form of protection in accordance with inter-
national obligations, national legislation or the practice of
the Member States or have applied for authorisation to

(1) OJ L . . . (COM(2000) 624 final, 10.10.2000).

reside on that basis and are awaiting a decision on their
status;

(c) have applied for

recognition as
application has not yet given rise to a final decision;

refugees and whose

(d) reside in order to pursue studies, with the exception of
studies for a doctorate, or vocational training, or as au
seasonal worker, or as workers posted by a
pair or
service provider
cross-border
provision of
services, or as cross-border providers of
services;

the purposes

for

of

(e) enjoy a legal status governed by the Vienna Convention on
diplomatic relations of 1961, the Vienna Convention on
Consular Relations of 1963, the Convention of 1969 on
Special Missions or the Vienna Convention on the Repre-
sentation of States in their Relations with International
Organisations of a Universal Character of 1975.

3.
Third-country nationals who are members of the family
of citizens of the Union who have exercised their right to free
movement of persons may not acquire long-term resident
status in the citizen of the Union’s host Member State until
they have obtained the right of permanent residence in that
Member State within the meaning of the legislation on the free
movement of persons.

This Directive shall apply without prejudice to more

4.
favourable provisions of:

(a) bilateral

and multilateral

the
Community or the Community and its Member States, on
the one hand, and third countries, on the other;

agreements

between

(b) the European Convention on Establishment of 13 December
1955, the European Social Charter of 18 October 1961 and
the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant
Workers of 24 November 1977.

5.
This Directive shall apply without prejudice to the obli-
gations imposed by Article 33 of the Geneva Convention of
28 July 1951 on the Status of Refugees, as amended by the
New York Protocol of 31 January 1967, and Article 3 of the
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Funda-
mental Freedoms of 4 November 1950.

Article 4

Non-discrimination clause

The Member States shall give effect to the provisions of this
Directive without discrimination on the basis of sex, race,
colour,
characteristics,
language,
religion or beliefs, political or other opinions,
membership of a national minority, fortune, birth, disabilities,
age or sexual orientation.

social origin,

ethnic or

genetic

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CHAPTER II

LONG-TERM RESIDENT STATUS IN A MEMBER STATE

Article 5

Duration of residence

1. Member States shall grant long-term resident status to
legally
third-country
and
resided
nationals who
the Member
continuously for five years in the territory of
State concerned.

have

Member State concerned. Where this provision cannot be
applied, the resources shall be considered to be adequate
where they are equal to the level of the minimum social
security pension paid by the Member State concerned. The
criterion of stability of resources shall be evaluated by
reference to the nature and regularity of
the resources
enjoyed prior to the application for long-term residence
status.

(b) sickness insurance covering all risks in the Member State

concerned.

For the purposes of calculating the period of legal and

2.
continuous residence referred to in paragraph 1:

2.

The conditions in paragraph 1 shall not apply to:

(a) periods of residence in the territory of the Member State as
asylum-seeker or as beneficiary of temporary protection
the third-country
shall be taken into account solely if
national is a refugee;

(b) periods of residence for study purposes, with the exception
of study towards a doctorate, shall be taken into account as
to half only.

Periods of absence from the territory of the Member State
3.
legal and
concerned shall not
continuous residence referred to in paragraph 1 and shall be
included for the purposes of calculating that period where they
are:

the period of

interrupt

(a) shorter than six consecutive months; or

(b) related to the discharge of military obligations, detachment
for employment purposes, including the provision of cross-
border services, studies, with the exception of study for a
doctorate, or
illness, pregnancy or
serious
maternity; or

research,

(c) related to residence in a second Member State as member
of the family of a long-term resident exercising the right of
residence under this Directive or of a citizen of the Union
exercising the right to free movement of persons.

4.
Uninterrupted periods of residence of at least two years in
the Member State concerned by a family member of a citizen
of the Union, who as family member resided in a third State
and within a period of three years returned to the Member
State concerned, shall be taken into account in the calculation
of the period of residence referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 6

Conditions as to resources and sickness insurance

1. Member States
provide evidence that
dependent family members:

shall ask third-country nationals

to
themselves and for

they have,

for

(a) stable resources corresponding to the level of resources
below which social assistance may be granted in the

(a) refugees;

(b) third-country nationals born in the territory of a Member

State.

Article 7

Public policy and domestic security

1. Member States may refuse to grant long-term resident
status where the personal conduct of the person concerned
constitutes an actual
to public order or domestic
security.

threat

Criminal

convictions

2.
in themselves auto-
matically warrant the refusal referred to in paragaph 1. Such
refusal may not be founded on economic considerations.

shall not

Article 8

Acquisition of status

To acquire long-term resident status, the third-country
1.
lodge an application with the
national
concerned shall
competent authorities of
the Member State in which he
resides. The application shall be accompanied by documentary
evidence that he meets the conditions set out in Articles 5
and 6.

lodged.

The competent national authorities shall examine the
2.
the
is
it
application within six months after
application is not accompanied by all
the documentary
evidence that the applicant meets the conditions provided for
by Articles 5 and 6, the competent national authorities shall
inform the third country national concerned and allow
additional time. In this event the six-month period shall be
suspended and shall
run again from the time when the
additional documentary evidence is provided.

If

3.
If the conditions provided for by Articles 5 and 6 are
met, and the person does not represent a threat within the
meaning of Article 7,
the Member State concerned shall
grant the third-country national concerned long-term resident
status. This status shall be permanent, subject to Article 10.

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Article 9

Long-term resident’s EC residence permit

1. Member States shall
issue a long-term resident’s EC
residence permit to long-term residents. The permit shall be
valid for ten years;
it shall be automatically renewable on
expiry.

A long-term resident’s EC residence permit may be issued
2.
in the form of a sticker or of a separate document. It shall be
issued in accordance with the rules and standard model in by
Council Regulation (EC) No . . ./. . .
(laying down a uniform
model for the residence permit for third-country nationals).
Under the heading (cid:145)type of permit(cid:146), the Member States shall
enter (cid:145)long-term resident-EC(cid:146).

(a)

long-term resident
paragraph 1(a) or (b); or

status

is withdrawn pursuant

to

(b) an expulsion measure cannot be executed against a

long-term resident.

Article 11

Procedural guarantees

1.
Reasons shall be given for any decision rejecting an
application for long-term resident status or withdrawing that
It shall be notified in writing to the third-country
status.
national concerned. The notification shall specify the redress
procedures available and the time within which he may act.

A long-term resident’s EC residence permit shall be issued
3.
free of charge or against payment of a sum not exceeding the
charges required of nationals for the issuance of identity cards.

A third-country national whose application for long-term
2.
resident status is rejected may subsequently lodge another
application if changes in his personal circumstances so justify.

Article 10

Withdrawal of status

3. Where an application for long-term resident status is
rejected or that status is withdrawn or the residence permit
is not renewed, the person concerned shall have the right to
apply to the courts of the Member State concerned.

1. Member States shall withdraw long-term resident status in
the following cases:

(a) absence from the territory for a period of two consecutive
years. Member States may provide for derogations in the
event of absence related to the discharge of military obli-
gations, detachment for employment purposes, studies or
research, serious illness, pregnancy or maternity;

(b) detection of fraudulent acquisition of

long-term resident

status;

(c) acquisition of long-term resident status in another Member

State as provided by Article 27;

(d) adoption of an expulsion measure under the conditions

provided for in Article 13.

2.
Absences related to the exercise of the right of residence
in a second Member State shall not entail withdrawal of
long-term resident status.

3. Member States may provide that prolonged absences
exceeding two years or related to reasons not referred to in
paragraph 1 shall not entail withdrawal of long-term resident
status.

4.
The expiry of a long-term resident’s EC residence permit
shall in no case entail withdrawal of long-term resident status.

5. Member States shall
residence permit other
residence permit if:

issue to the person concerned a
long-term resident’s EC
than a

Article 12

Equal treatment

Long-term residents shall enjoy equal

1.
nationals as regards:

treatment with

(a) access to employment and self-employed activity, provided
such activities do not entail even occasional involvement in
the
and conditions of
employment and working conditions, including conditions
regarding dismissal and remuneration;

exercise of public

authority,

(b) education and vocational training, including study grants;

(c) recognition of diplomas, certificates and other qualifi-

cations issued by a competent authority;

(d) social protection, including social security and health-care;

(e) social assistance;

(f)

social and tax benefits;

(g) access to goods and services and the supply of goods and
including housing;

services made available to the public,

(h) freedom of association and affiliation and membership of
an organisation representing workers or employers or of
any organisation whose members are engaged in a specific
occupation,
including the benefits conferred by such
organisations;

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(i)

free access to the entire territory of
concerned.

the Member State

CHAPTER III

RIGHT OF RESIDENCE IN THE OTHER MEMBER STATES

2. Member States may extend the benefit of equal treatment
to matters not referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 15

Principle

Article 13

Protection against expulsion

1. Member States may take a decision to expel a long-term
resident solely where his personal conduct constitutes an actual
to public order or domestic
and sufficiently serious threat
security that affects a fundamental interest of society.

Personal conduct shall not be considered a sufficiently
2.
take severe
the Member State does not
serious threat
enforcement measures against its own nationals who commit
the same type of offence.

if

1.
A long-term resident may exercise the right of residence
in the territory of Member States other than the one which
granted him the status, for a period exceeding three months, as
provided by this Chapter.

This Chapter does not concern the residence of long-term

2.
residents in the territory of the Member States:

(a) as employed workers posted by a service provider for the

purposes of cross-border provision of services; or

(b) as providers of cross-border services.

Criminal

convictions

in themselves auto-
3.
matically warrant an expulsion decision. Such a decision may
not be founded on economic considerations.

shall not

Before taking a decision to expel a long-term resident,

4.
Member States shall have regard to the following factors:

(a) the duration of residence in their territory;

(b) the age of the person concerned;

(c)

the consequences for the person concerned and family
members;

(d) links with the country of residence or the absence of links

with the country of origin.

5. Where an expulsion decision has been adopted, a judicial
redress procedure shall be available to the long-term resident in
the Member State concerned. Member States shall provide that
such procedures may have suspensory effect.

Article 16

Conditions

The exercise of the right of residence in a second Member
1.
State by a long-term resident shall be subject to compliance
with the following conditions:

(a) exercise of an economic activity in an employed or self-

employed capacity; or

(b) pursuit of studies or vocational training, and possession of
adequate resources available to avoid becoming a burden
on the second Member State during the period of residence
and sickness insurance covering all risks in the second
Member State; or

(c) possession of

adequate

to avoid
becoming a burden on the second Member State during
the period of residence and sickness insurance covering
all risks in the second Member State.

resources

available

6.
Legal aid shall be given to long-term residents lacking
adequate resources, on the same terms as apply to nationals
of the State where they reside.

2.
Long-term residents exercising the right of residence in a
second Member State as worker in an employed or self-
employed capacity shall retain their status as workers if:

Emergency expulsion procedures

7.
against long-term residents.

shall be prohibited

(a) they sustain a temporary incapacity for work as a result of

illness or accident;

Article 14

More favourable national provisions

(b) they are unemployed and entitled to unemployment
shall be

benefits;
retained as long as such entitlement subsists;

the status of worker

in this case,

Member States may issue residence permits of permanent or
unlimited validity on terms that are more favourable than those
laid down by this Directive. Such residence permits shall not
confer the right of residence in the other Member States as
provided by Chapter III of this Directive.

(c)

they embark on vocational training. Unless they are in a
state of involuntary unemployment, the retention of worker
status depends on the existence of a relation between the
previous occupational activity and the training concerned.

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Article 17

Checks on conditions for the exercise of the right of
residence

No later than three months after entering the territory of
1.
the second Member State, the long-term resident shall apply to
the competent authorities of that Member State for a residence
permit.

To check for compliance with the conditions provided for
2.
by Article 16(1)(a),
the second Member State may ask the
persons concerned to present with their application for a
residence permit:

(a) their long-term resident’s permit and an identity document;

and

(b) evidence that

they have an employment contract or a
statement by the employer that they are hired, or that
they exercise an economic activity in a self-employed
capacity, or
they have the resources needed to
exercise an economic activity in a self-employed capacity,
together with a detailed description of that activity.

that

3.
To check for compliance with the conditions provided for
the second Member State may ask the
by Article 16(1)(b),
persons concerned to present with their application for a
residence permit:

(a) their long-term resident’s permit and an identity document;

and

(b) evidence of enrolment in an accredited establishment in

order to pursue studies or vocational training;

(c) evidence that they have adequate resources and sickness
insurance covering all risks in the second Member State.

To check for compliance with the conditions provided for
4.
by Article 16(1)(c),
the second Member State may ask the
persons concerned to present with their application for a
residence permit:

(a) their long-term resident’s permit and an identity document;

and

(b) evidence that they have adequate resources and sickness
insurance covering all risks in the second Member State.

Article 18

Family members

members shall apply to the competent authorities of
Member State for a residence permit.

that

2.
The second Member State may ask the family members
concerned to present with their application for a residence
permit:

(a) their long-term resident’s permit or residence permit and

an identity document; and

(b) evidence that they have resided as member of the family of
the long-term resident in the first Member State; and

(c) evidence that they have adequate resources and sickness
insurance covering all risks in the Second Member State
the long-term resident has such resources and
or that
insurance for them.

3. Where the family was not already constituted in the first
to family
Member State, Directive . . ./. . ./EC [on the right
reunification] shall apply.

Article 19

Public policy and domestic security

1. Member States may refuse applications for residence from
long-term residents or family members where the personal
conduct of the person concerned constitutes an actual threat
to public order or domestic security.

Criminal

convictions

in themselves auto-
2.
matically warrant the refusal referred to in paragraph 1. Such
a refusal may not be founded on economic considerations.

shall not

Article 20

Public health

1.
The only diseases or infirmities that may justify a refusal
to allow entry or the right of residence in the territory of a
Member State shall be the quarantinable diseases referred to by
the World Health Organisation’s International Health Regu-
lation No 2 of 25 May 1951 and such other infectious or
contagious parasite-based diseases as are the subject of
protective provisions in relation to nationals in the host
country. Member States may not
introduce new more
restrictive provisions or practices.

Diseases or infirmities contracted after the first residence
to renew the

2.
permit was issued shall not
permit or expulsion from the territory.

justify a refusal

1. Members of the family, as already constituted in the first
Member State, shall have the right to accompany or join a
long-term resident who has exercised his right of residence
in a second Member State. No later than three months after
entering the territory of the second Member State, the family

3.
A Member State may impose a medical examination,
performed free of charge, for persons to whom this Directive
applies, in order to certify that they do not suffer from any of
the diseases referred to in paragraph 1. Such medical exam-
inations may not be performed on a systematic basis.

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Article 21

Examination of applications and issuance of a residence
permit

residents shall retain the residence permits issued in the first
Member State until they expire.

The

shall

authorities

competent national

examine
1.
applications within three months after they are lodged. If an
application is not accompanied by the documentary evidence
listed in Article 17(2),
the
competent national authorities shall inform the third-country
national concerned and allow additional time. In this event the
three-month period shall be suspended and shall run again
from the time when the additional documentary evidence is
provided.

(3) and (4) and Article 18(2),

2.
If the conditions provided for in Articles 16 and 18(1) are
met, then, subject to the provisions relating to public policy,
domestic security and public health in Articles 19 and 20, the
second Member State shall issue the long-term resident with a
renewable residence permit. The period of validity of
this
foreseeable duration of
permit
residence. The long-term resident shall
inform the Member
State which granted him long-term resident status.

correspond to the

shall

The second Member State shall

3.
issue members of the
long-term resident’s family with renewable residence permits
issued to the
valid for
long-term resident.

the same period as

the permit

4.
Permits shall be issued free of charge or against payment
of a sum not exceeding the charges required of nationals for
the issuance of identity cards.

Article 22

Procedural guarantees

1.
Reasons shall be given for any decision rejecting an
It shall be notified in
application for a residence permit.
writing to the third-country national concerned. The notifi-
cation shall specify the redress procedures available and the
time within which he may act.

2. Where an application for a residence permit is rejected,
or the permit is not renewed or is withdrawn, the person
concerned shall have the right to apply to the courts of the
Member State concerned.

Article 23

Maintenance of status in the first Member State

1.
Long-term residents exercising their right of residence in
a second Member State shall retain their long-term resident
status in the first Member State for as long as they do not
acquire that status in the second Member State.

If

the

3.
family members have not yet acquired an
autonomous residence permit as provided for by Article 13
of Directive . . ./. . ./EC [on the right to family reunification],
their period of legal residence in the second Member State shall
be taken into account
in the first Member State for the
purposes of acquiring the autonomous residence permit.

Article 24

Rights in the second Member State

1.
As soon as they have received the residence permit
provided for by Article 21 in the second Member State,
long-term residents shall
in that Member State enjoy the
rights enumerated in Article 12, with the exception of social
assistance and study grants.

As soon as they have received the residence permit
2.
provided for by Article 21 in the second Member State,
members of the family of the long-term resident shall in that
Member State enjoy the rights listed in Article 12(1) and (2) of
Directive . . ./. . ./EC [on the right to family reunification].

Article 25

Withdrawal of residence permit

1.
During a five-year transitional period, the second Member
State may take a decision to expel a long-term resident and/or
family members:

(a) on grounds of public policy or domestic security as defined

in Article 19;

(b) where the conditions provided for by Articles 16 and 18

are no longer met.

Expulsion decisions may not be accompanied by a

2.
permanent ban on residence.

Article 26

Obligation to readmit

If

the residence permit

1.
Member State,
readmit the long-term resident and his family members.

is withdrawn by the second
immediately

the first Member State shall

The obligation to readmit referred to in paragraph 1 shall

2.
apply even if:

(a) the long-term resident’s EC residence permit has expired;

2. Members of the family of a long-term resident exercising
themselves long-term
his right of

residence who are not

(b) the family members’ residence permit has expired.

28.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 240 E/87

Article 27

Acquisition of

long-term resident status in the second

Member State

After five years’ legal residence in its territory, long-term
1.
residents who have exercised the right of residence in the
territory of
the second Member State may apply to that
Member States’ competent authorities for long-term resident
status.

2.
The second Member State shall grant long-term residents
the status provided for by Article 8, subject to the provisions of
Articles 6 and 7. The second Member State shall notify its
decision to the first Member State, which shall withdraw the
status from the persons concerned.

3.
The procedure laid down in Article 8 shall apply to the
presentation and examination of applications for long-term
resident status in the second Member State. Article 9 shall
apply for the issuance of
the residence permit. Where the
application is rejected, the procedural guarantees provided for
by Article 11 shall apply.

CHAPTER IV

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 28

Penalties

Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable
to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to
this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure
that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be
effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The Member States shall
notify those provisions to the Commission by the date specified
in Article 30 at the latest and shall notify it without delay of
any subsequent amendment affecting them.

Article 29

Report

By 31 December 2005 at the latest, the Commission shall
report to the European Parliament and the Council on the
application of this Directive in the Member States and shall
propose such amendments as may be necessary.

Article 30

Transposition

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 31 December 2003 at
the latest. They shall
forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a
reference on the occasion of
their official publication.
Member States shall determine how such reference is to be
made.

Article 31

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

Article 32

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.