REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on Directive 2011/98/EU on a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State
Date: 2019-03-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU migration policy, administrative cooperation, equal treatment, foreign national, migrant worker, national implementing measure, residence permit, work permit

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 29.3.2019  COM(2019) 160 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on Directive 2011/98/EU on a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State  
 
 
I. 

INTRODUCTION 

Directive  2011/98/EU  on  a  single  application  procedure  for  a  single  permit  for  third  country 
nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights 
for third country workers legally residing in a Member State (‘the Directive’)1 was adopted on 
13 December 2011. It was the sixth directive2 in the area of legal migration adopted after the 
Treaty of Amsterdam gave the EU the power to legislate in this field. 

The Directive has two main objectives. The first is to facilitate the procedure for a third country 
national  to  be  admitted  for  work  in  a  Member  State  by  introducing  a  single  application 
procedure for a single permit (a combined work and residence permit) and in so doing help to 
better manage migration flows. In addition, the Directive lays down a number of safeguards in 
the application procedure. 

The  Directive’s  second  main  objective  is  to  ensure  equal  treatment  between  third  country 
workers and nationals of the Member State of residence.   

The  Directive  is  therefore  a  key  instrument  in  EU  immigration  policy  for  third  country 
nationals admitted to work or working in the 25 Member States3 where the Directive applies. 

In  2017,  2 635 896  permit  decisions  were  reported  for  the  Directive,  of  which  841 028 
decisions  were  for  issuing  first  permits.  The  other  decisions  were  for  renewing  or  changing 
permits.  Of  all  the  permits  issued  in  2017,  893 198  (34 %)  were  issued  for  ‘remunerated 
activities’,  1 006 318  (38 %)  for  family  reasons,  279 405  (11 %)  for  education  and  456 975 
(17 %) for other reasons. Of all the first permits issued in 2017 (whose volume has increased 
since  the  first  reporting  year  in  2013),  over  88 %  were  for  remunerated  activities,  therefore 
covering  a  large  proportion  of  the  intended  target  group4.  Belgium  and  Greece  do  not  report 
any statistics for the Directive5. 

This report on implementation complies with the Commission’s obligation under Article 15 of 
the  Directive  that  requires  that  the  Commission periodically  present  a  report  to  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  Directive’s  application  in  the  Member  States.  It  gives  an 
overview  of  the  transposition  and  implementation  of  the  Directive  by  24  Member  States  and 
identifies  possible  problematic  issues6.  The  report,  initially  envisaged  to  be  presented  by  25 
December  2016,  was  postponed  to  coincide  with  the  adoption  of  the  Commission’s 
comprehensive evaluation of the legal migration regulatory framework ("fitness check")7. 

1  
2  
3  
4  

5  

6  

7  

OJ L 343 of 23.12.2011p. 1. 
The first was Directive 2003/86/EC on the right to family reunification. 
Denmark, Ireland and the UK are not bound by the Directive. 
A  thorough  analysis  of  the  statistics  for  the  Directive  is  included  in  the  Fitness  check  staff  working 
document, Annex 9. 
Source [migr_ressing] and [migr_resocc] as of 7.12.2018. AT only reports total permit decision, not if first 
decisions. BG, CZ, LT, NL do not report permits for family reasons. BG, CZ, ES, IT, LT, LU, HU, MT, 
AT  do  not  report  permits  for  education.  BG,  CZ,  IT,  LT,  MT,  NL,  RO  do  not  report  permits  for  other 
reasons. 
At  the  time  of  finalising  this  report,  BE  had  still  not  fully  transposed  the  Directive,  and  a  conformity 
assessment  of  BE  was  therefore  not  available.  See  also  (CJEU)  C-564/17,  Commission  vs  Belgium.  The 
assessment of this report therefore refers to the 24 other relevant Member States. 
SWD(2019)  1055  of  29  March  2019  Fitness  check  on  EU  legislation  on  legal  migration.  See  also: 
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/legal-migration/fitness-check_en . 

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The report on implementation has been drawn up on the basis of an external study conducted 
between  2014  and  2016  at  the  Commission’s  request  and  on  the  basis  of  other  sources, 
including  a  number  of  ad  hoc  queries  launched  through  the  European  Migration  Network8, 
individual  complaints,  questions,  petitions  and  a  few  practical  issues  arising  from  the 
Directive’s  application  as  identified  by  the  supporting  study  for  the  fitness  check9. 
Complementary information on practical application is included in the fitness check document. 

II.   MONITORING AND STATE OF TRANSPOSITION 

Article 16 provides that Member States had until 25 December 2013 to transpose the Directive. 
Prior to this the Commission organised several meetings with Member State representatives to 
discuss issues concerning the Directive’s implementation and interpretation10. 

In  2014  the  Commission  initiated  infringement  proceedings  against  14  Member  States  under 
Article  258  (ex-226)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU)  for 
failing to fulfil their obligations to notify the Commission of national measures implementing 
the  Directive.  Since  then,  given  that  all  Member  States  have  now  notified  the  transposition 
measures,  the  infringement  proceedings  for  non-communication  have  been  closed  with  the 
exception of Belgium which was referred to the European Court of Justice11. 

Since  2011,  a  number  of  complaints  have  been  received  relating  specifically  to  the  subject 
matter regulated by the Directive. These deal with the recognition of qualifications, excessive 
processing times by the authorities, other procedural aspects, level of fees, concerns related to 
lack of equal treatment, in particular for the export of pensions, and categories excluded from 
the scope of the Directive. Complaints have been or are currently being followed up through an 
exchange  of  information  with  the  Member  States  concerned  or  through  infringement 
procedures.12 

III.   COMPLIANCE OF THE TRANSPOSITION MEASURES 

Article 1 — Subject matter 

Article  1(1)  sets  out  the  subject  matter  of  the  Directive,  which  is  to  determine  a  single 
application  procedure  for  issuing  a  single  permit  for  third  country  nationals  to  reside  for  the 
purpose of work in the territory of a Member State. This is in order to simplify the procedures 
for their admission and to facilitate the control of their status, and to lay down a common set of 
rights for third country workers legally residing in a Member State, irrespective of the purposes 
for  which  they  were  initially  admitted  to  the  territory  of  that  Member  State,  based  on  equal 
treatment with nationals of that Member State. 

8  

9  
10  
11  
12  

See in particular EMN ad hoc queries from 2010 to 2013: the Single Permit System (176); the transposition 
of Directive 2011/98/EC on a single application procedure for a single permit; on the level of fees (204 and 
205), parallel residence statuses (226); collection of a tax on residence permits (230), on the recognition of 
professional  qualifications  obtained  outside  the  EU  (271),  the  regulation  of  health  insurance  of  third 
country  nationals  (342),  duration  of  residence  permit  (428),  on  the  format  of  residence  cards  and  family 
permits (429). 
ICF(2018) . 
Discussions within the Legal Migration Contact Group (2013 – 2014). 
Belgium notified completed transposition early January 2019 and the infringement case has been closed. 
This  report  reflects  the  situation  as  of  January  2019,  and  does  not  necessarily  reflect  the  dialogue 
undertaken with Member States thereafter on key issues raised in this report. 

2 

 
                                                 
Overall, the Directive’s subject matter has been correctly reflected in the national legislation of 
all  Member  States.  In  general  terms,  23  Member  States13  transposed  the  Directive  through 
amendments  to  their  existing  national  legislation,  that  is  to  say  mainly  by  altering  the  acts 
regulating the entry and residence of third country nationals.  In Malta, a special self-standing 
law was adopted to transpose the Directive. 

The application of the Directive is, pursuant to Article 1(2), without prejudice to the Member 
States’  powers  concerning  the  admission  of  third  country  nationals  to  their  labour  markets. 
Almost all Member States perform the labour market needs test, and a variety of procedures are 
used. 

Article 2 — Definitions 

Article  2  contains  the  definitions  of  key  terms  used  in  the  Directive,  namely  ‘third  country 
national’, ‘third country worker’, ‘single permit’ and ‘single application procedure’. 

The definition of ‘third country national’, provided for in Article 2(a), stipulates that a person 
who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  Union  within  the  meaning  of  Article  20(1)  TFEU  is  considered  a 
‘third country national’. This definition has been correctly transposed. 

Article  2(b)  contains  the  definition  of  ‘third  country  worker’.  This  definition  is  important  to 
determine the personal scope of the Directive, notably in relation to the application of Chapter 
II  (equal  treatment).  All  Member  States,  except  Slovakia,  have  correctly  transposed  this 
definition. 

Article 3 — Scope 

Article 3 defines the personal scope of the Directive. 

Article 3(1) determines the categories of third country nationals to whom the Directive applies. 
In accordance with Article 3(1)(a), the Directive applies to third country  nationals who apply 
to reside in a Member State for the purpose of work. Member States issue various permits to 
third country nationals who apply to reside in a Member State for the purpose of work, which 
are considered single permits. 

Pursuant to Article 3(1)(b), the Directive also applies to third country nationals who have been 
admitted to a Member State for purposes other than work in accordance with Union or national 
law, who are allowed to work and who hold a residence permit in accordance with Regulation 
(EC)  No  1030/2002.  Most  Member  States  have  transposed  that  provision  correctly.  Member 
States  issue  various  permits  for  purposes  other  than  work.  This  category  of  third  country 
nationals is issued permits in accordance with Article 7 of the Directive. However, in the Czech 
Republic,  it  is  not  possible  to  ascertain  whether  certain  categories  of  third  country  nationals 
coming to the Czech Republic for purposes other than work have the possibility to work on the 
basis of their respective residence titles. In Portugal, the relevant national legislation explicitly 
excludes third country nationals who are family members of Portuguese citizens from its scope. 
The Directive, pursuant to Article 3(2)(a), excludes from its scope third country nationals who 
are  family  members  of  EU  nationals  who  have  exercised  the  right  to  free  movement  in 
accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC, not family members of all Portuguese citizens. 

13  

All except Malta. 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Finally, in line with Article 3(1)(c), the Directive applies to third country  nationals who have 
been admitted to a Member State for the purpose of work in accordance with Union or national 
law. All Member States have correctly transposed these provisions. 

Article  3(2)  determines  the  categories  of  third  country  nationals  excluded  from  the  scope  of 
application  of  the  Directive.  Most  exclusions  are  due  to  other  applicable  EU  legislation 
covering  those  third  country  nationals.  In  general,  it  should  be  noted  that  application  of  the 
Directive’s  provisions,  including  the  issuance  of  a  single  permit,  to  any  of  the  categories  of 
third country  nationals listed in Article 3(2) does not necessarily hamper the  implementation 
of  the  Directive.  Almost  all  Member  States14  transposed  Article  3(2)  in  its  entirety  in  a 
compliant manner. 

According to  Article 3(3), Member States may  decide that Chapter  II does not  apply to  third 
country  nationals  who  have  been  authorised  to  work  in  the  territory  of  a  Member  State  for  a 
period not exceeding 6 months or who have been admitted to a Member State for the purpose 
of  study.  18  Member  States  applied  this  option.  Cyprus,  Greece,  Lithuania,  Malta  and  the 
Netherlands  have  applied  the  option  in  relation  to  both  categories  of  third  country  nationals. 
Czechia,  Estonia,  France,  Hungary,  Portugal  and  Slovakia  have  only  applied  the  option  to 
workers who have been admitted to work in their territory for a period not exceeding 6 months, 
while Austria, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Latvia and Slovenia have only applied the 
option to students. 

In accordance with Article 3(4), Member States shall not apply Chapter II of the Directive to 
third country nationals who are allowed to work on the basis of a visa. All Member States have 
transposed the provision in a compliant manner. 

Article 4 — Single application procedure  

Article 4 of the Directive regulates key aspects of the single application procedure. 

In  line  with  Article  4(1),  an  application  to  issue,  amend  or  renew  a  single  permit  shall  be 
submitted  through  a  single  application  procedure.  Member  States  shall  determine  whether 
applications  for  a  single  permit  are  to  be  made  by  the  third  country  national  or  by  the  third 
country national’s employer. However, Member States may also decide to allow an application 
from  either  one.  If  the  application  is  to  be  submitted  by  the  third  country  national,  Member 
States shall allow the application to be introduced from a  third country or, if provided for by 
national law, in the territory of the Member State in which the third country national is legally 
present. 

In the majority of Member States the relevant application may be submitted only by the third 
country  national  15,  in  two  Member  States  only  by  the  employer  (BG  and  IT)  and  in  several 
others by either the third country national or the employer16 . 

In some Member States17 permits are not issued through a single administrative act. Instead, the 
applicable national procedures involve duplication of submission of documentation and/or long 
procedures. 

14  
15  
16  

See concerns regarding Portugal above. 
CZ, DE, EE, EL, FI, HU, LU, MT, PL, RO, SE and SK. 
AT, CY, ES, FR, HR, LT, LV, NL, PT and SI. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
The obligation to  obtain an employment clearance for market  tests  needs can sometimes also 
cause unnecessary prolongation of the single application procedure. In some Member States an 
employment clearance is a first step before the third country national can apply for a visa. The 
employment clearance is generally requested by the employer (FR, RO, ES, BG, PT). For other 
Member States  (e.g.  LV and LT), the registration of the vacancy by the employer is required 
before the issuance of the visa for the third country national to enter the country. 

These multiple step procedures could hamper compliance with the Directive if such procedures, 
and  the  time  needed  to  complete  them,  were  considered  to  be  outside  the  single  application 
procedure  and  therefore  the  four-month  deadline  established  by  the  Directive.  In  particular, 
employment authorisations should be considered part of the single application procedure when 
the required clearance relates to a specific third country national and for a concrete position. 

Pursuant to Article 4(2) of the Directive, Member States shall examine an application and adopt 
a decision to issue, amend or renew the single permit if the applicant fulfils the requirements 
specified  by  Union  or  national  law.  A  decision  to  issue,  amend  or  renew  the  single  permit 
constitutes  a  single  administrative  act  combining  a  residence  permit  and  a  work  permit.  The 
adoption of the single decision can be problematic in Bulgaria, Portugal and Romania for the 
same reasons indicated in relation to Article 4(1). 

Article 4(3) establishes that the single application procedure shall be without prejudice to the 
visa  procedures  that  may  be  required  for  initial  entry.  This  has  been  transposed  in  most 
Member  States18.  Recital  (11)  of  the  Directive  states  that  the  provisions  on  the  single 
application procedure and on the single permit should not concern a uniform or long-stay visa. 
What is considered a visa for initial entry is not defined in the Directive. However, Article 7(1) 
of  Directive  2009/50/EC  (Blue  Card)19  and  Article  5(3)  of  Directive  (EU)  2016/801  on 
Students and Researchers20 clarify that if the permit can only be obtained in the territory of the 
Member  State  once  the  admission  conditions  have  been  met,  Member  States  shall  issue  the 
third  country  national  with  the  requisite  visa.  In  the  case  of  the  single  permit  procedure,  the 
Commission  takes  the  view  that  the  visa  procedure  is  an  ancillary  procedure  which  must  be 
facilitated by the Member States. 

Article  4(4)  stipulates  that  where  the  conditions  provided  for  are  met,  Member  States  shall 
issue a single permit  to  third country  nationals  who apply for admission and to  third country 
nationals already admitted who apply to renew or modify their residence permit. This provision 
has been transposed in a correct manner by most Member States. 

Article 5 — Competent authority 

Article 5 establishes the obligation of Member States to designate a national authority who is 
empowered  to  receive  the  application  and  to  issue  the  single  permit.  It  also  provides  for  a 
number  of  procedural  safeguards,  such  as  the  time  limit  for  taking  a  decision  on  a  complete 
application,  the  consequences  if  there  is  no  decision,  the  compulsory  notification  of  the 
applicant and the consequences of an incomplete application. 

17  
18  
19  
20  

BG, PT, RO. 
All except DE. 
OJ L 155, 18.6.2009, p. 17. 
OJ L 132, 21.5.2016, p.21. 

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In  accordance  with  Article  5(1),  Member  States  must  designate  authorities  empowered  to 
receive the application and to issue the single permit. Most Member States correctly transposed 
the provision by designating one relevant competent authority. These are generally immigration 
offices, relevant departments in the Interior Ministries and the police administration or police 
station of the place of residence of the third country national. 

Article 5(2), 1st subparagraph, provides that the competent authority must adopt a decision on 
the complete application as soon as possible and in any event within 4 months of the date on 
which the application was lodged. There are concerns about the overall time limit for issuing a 
decision  in  9  Member  States21,  mainly  due  to  the  lack  of  specific  time  limits  determined  in 
national  law,  but  also  to  the  time  implications  of  requirements  to  register  in  different 
institutions with  the involvement  of several  authorities (e.g. social  security, medical  services) 
and  the  obligation  to  obtain  an  employment  clearance  which  can  prolong  or  cause  delay  in 
practice the whole procedure. 

In  exceptional  circumstances  linked  to  the  complexity  of  examining  the  application,  Member 
States  have  the  possibility  to  extend  the  four-month  time  limit  for  adopting  a  decision  on  a 
complete application as set out in the second subparagraph of Article 5(2). 17 Member States22 
have applied this option. 

Article 5(2), 3rd subparagraph, stipulates that where no decision is taken within the time limit 
provided for in this paragraph, any consequences shall be determined by national law. 

The legislation of a number of Member States23 establishes tacit rejection and the right to take 
legal  action  against  such  a  rejection.  Other  Member  States  have  established  tacit  approval  or 
the  right  to  take  action  if  the  administration  fails  to  act  within  a  specified  time  limit.  This  is 
done  through  specific  implementing  legislation  or  by  reference  to  the  general  administrative 
law. 

However, some problematic national legislation or practices have been observed. In Germany, 
for example, conformity can be impaired due to the failure to explicitly include the four-month 
time  limit  for  the  single  permit  procedure  in  national  legislation.  In  addition,  the  remedies 
applied  in  some  Member  States  do  not  appear  to  be  appropriate  and  can  lead  to  legal 
uncertainty  for  long  periods  of  time  (FI,  SE),  and  in  the  case  of  Sweden  are  combined  with 
excessive processing times. 

Article 5(4) requires the competent authority to notify the applicant in writing if the application 
is  incomplete,  and,  if  so,  of  the  additional  information  or  documents  required,  setting  a 
reasonable deadline to provide them. The four-month time limit referred to in Article 5(2) may 
be  suspended  until  the  competent  authority,  or  other  relevant  authorities,  have  received  the 
additional information required. Most of the Member States apply this provision correctly. 

Moreover, the administrative authority of Czechia does not have the obligation to suspend the 
proceedings, but only the possibility to do this. In the case of Italy, the time limit for adopting a 
decision on a complete application set in Article 5(2) starts again from the moment when the 
competent authority receives the completed documentation. 

21  
22  
23  

AT, DE, ES, IT, LT, LU, LV, RO and SE. 
BG, CY, CZ, EE, EL, FI, HR, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, RO, SE, SI and SK. 
CZ, EE, EL, ES, FR, HR, HU, IT, LT, LU, PL, PT, RO and SK. 

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A  possible  application  issue  has  been  identified  in  Malta  for  incomplete  applications.  The 
Maltese authorities are found to refuse to accept incomplete applications or reject them without 
any notification in writing, which means that applicants are rarely aware of the status of their 
application. 

Article 6 — Single permit 

Article 6 applies both to those who apply to be admitted and those admitted for the purpose of 
work. The first subparagraph of Article 6(1) stipulates that as laid down in Regulation (EC) No 
1030/200224,  Member  States  must  issue  a  single  permit  using  the  uniform  format  and,  in 
accordance with point (a) 7.5-9 of the Annex to the Regulation, must indicate the information 
relating  to  the  permission  to  work.  This  provision  has  been  complied  with  by  most  Member 
States  either  explicitly25  or  implicitly26    on  the  basis  of  the  national  provisions  on  permits 
equivalent to the single permit. 

According to the second subparagraph of Article 6(1), Member States may indicate additional 
information  related  to  the  employment  relationship  of  the  third  country  national  (such  as  the 
name and address of the employer, place of work, type of work, working hours, remuneration) 
in  paper  format,  or  store  such  data  in  electronic  format.  This  option  has  not  been  applied  in 
most Member States. The option has been applied for both the paper and electronic format in 
Cyprus, Malta and the Netherlands. In the case of Spain, France and Slovakia, the option has 
only  been  applied  for  the  paper  format,  whereas  Hungary  only  applied  the  option  for  the 
electronic format. 

Article  6(2)  establishes  that  Member  States  may  not  issue  additional  permits  as  proof  of 
authorisation to access the labour market in addition to the single permit. Most Member States 
comply with this. Some transposed this requirement explicitly (Cyprus, Latvia and Malta) and 
others  implicitly27  on  the  basis  of  the  national  provisions  on  permits  equivalent  to  the  single 
permit. Transposing provisions are not clear in Germany. 

Article 7 — Residence permits issued for purposes other than work 

Article 7 applies to those admitted for reasons other than work, but who have the right to work, 
such  as  family  members,  students  and  others,  including  those  who  have  national  permanent 
residence status. 

Pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 7(1), when issuing residence permits in accordance 
with Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002, Member States must indicate the information relating to 
the  permission  to  work  irrespective  of  the  type  of  the  permit.  That  provision  has  been 
transposed  in  most  Members  States  either  explicitly  (CY,  LV  and  MT)  or  implicitly28  on  the 
basis of the national provisions on permits equivalent to the single permit issued for purposes 
other than work. 

The  second  subparagraph  of  Article  7(1)  gives  Member  States  the  possibility  to  indicate 
additional information about the employment relationship of the third country  national (such as 

24  
25  
26  
27 
28  

As amended by Regulation (EU) 2017/1954, OJ L 286, 1.11.2017, p. 9–14. 
CY, FR, LV, MT and RO. 
CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, HR, HU, LT, LU, PL, SE, SI and SK. 
AT, CZ, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IT, LT, LU, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI and SK. 
CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, LT, LU, PL, RO, SE, SI and SK. 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
the  name  and  address  of  the  employer,  place  of  work,  type  of  work,  working  hours, 
remuneration)  in  paper  format,  or  store  such  data  in  electronic  format.  Most  Member  States 
have  not  applied  this  option.  The  option  has  been  applied  for  both  the  paper  and  electronic 
format  in  Cyprus,  Malta  and  the  Netherlands.  In  the  case  of  Spain  the  option  has  only  been 
applied  for  the  paper  format,  whereas  Hungary  only  applied  the  option  for  the  electronic 
format. 

Article 7(2) requires that when issuing residence permits in accordance with Regulation (EC) 
No  1030/2002,  Member  States  may  not  issue  additional  permits  as  proof  of  authorisation  to 
access the labour market. 

Most  Member  States  transposed  this  provision  either  explicitly  (CY,  LV  and  MT)  or 
implicitly29  on  the  basis  of  the  national  provisions  on  permits  equivalent  to  the  single  permit 
issued for purposes other than work. In Hungary, however, it cannot be ascertained whether all 
permits which could be considered as single permits for purposes other than work also grant the 
right to work and therefore whether additional permits as proof of authorisation to access the 
labour  market  are  required.  Finally,  in  the  Netherlands,  although  the  work  permit  in 
conjunction  with  the  residence  document  functions  as  a  single  permit,  no  specific  provisions 
explicitly designate the use of the uniform format as required by the Directive, and thus it is not 
ensured that additional documentation is not given as proof of a work permit. 

Article 8 — Procedural guarantees 

Article  8  provides  for  certain  procedural  guarantees  given  to  the  applicant  of  the  permit, 
namely the obligation to state reasons in writing for decisions rejecting an application to issue, 
amend or renew a permit, as well as the guarantee that written information will be provided on 
the authority where the applicant may lodge an appeal and the time limits. 19 Member States 
have transposed the procedural guarantees in accordance with the Directive’s provisions30. The 
transposition into national law is done by introducing specific legislation or referring to general 
administrative  rules.  Conformity  issues  relating  to  Article  8(1)  and  (2)  include  that  the 
applicable  rules  in  some  Member  States  do  not  guarantee  that  the  applicant  will  receive 
information  in  writing  about  the  reasons  for  rejection,  the  name  of  the  authority  where  the 
applicant can lodge an appeal and the time limit for review (MT and PL). 

Article 8(3) stipulates that an application may be considered inadmissible on the grounds of the 
volume of admission of  third country nationals  coming for employment  and, on that basis, it 
does not need to be processed. Most Member States have not applied this option.31 Others have 
applied it in a compliant manner, explicitly (CY, EL and IT) or implicitly (EE, HR, HU, MT, 
NL, RO and SK).  

Article 9 — Access to information 

Article  9  obliges  Member  States  to  provide,  upon  request,  adequate  information  to  the  third 
country  national  and  the  future  employer  on  the  documents  required  to  make  a  complete 
application. This provision has been transposed by the majority of Member States either though 
explicit  transposition  (CY,  EL,  LU  and  MT)  or  on  the  basis  of  the  general  principles  of 

29  
30  
31  

AT, CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, IT, LT, LU, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI and SK. 
BG, CY, CZ, DE, EE, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, LT, LU, LV, NL, PT, RO, SE, SI and SK. 
AT, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI, FR, LT, LU, LV, PL, PT, SE and SI. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
administrative law which ensure access to information32 and with the (additional) possibility to 
obtain  information  on  the  necessary  documents  via  the  websites  of  the  competent  authorities 
(AT, CZ, DE, FR, HR and SK). Some Member States (BG, EE, PT and SI) do not clearly set 
out  an  obligation  for  the  competent  authorities  to  provide  adequate  information  on  the 
documents required to make a complete application. 

Article 10 — Fees 

Article  10  allows  Member  States  to  require  applicants  to  pay  fees,  where  appropriate,  for 
handling  applications  in  accordance  with  the  Directive.  Such  fees  are  levied  by  all  Member 
States  for  processing  the  application.  In  some  cases,  the  Commission  takes  the  view  that  the 
fees  are  excessively  high,  and  contrary  to  the  principle  of  proportionality  endangering  the 
Directive’s effet utile. The Court of Justice confirmed this in two judgments33. The Commission 
engaged  in  exchanges  with  the  national  authorities  and  launched  a  number  of  infringement 
procedures  against  Member  States  for  charging  excessive  and  disproportionate  fees  for 
residence permits under different Directives, including the single permit Directive34. 

Article 11 — Rights on the basis of the single permit 

Points (a) to (d) of Article 11 establishes the rights granted on the basis of the single permit: 
entry and residence, free access to the entire territory, right to exercise the specific employment 
activity authorised and right to be informed about the holder’s own rights. Most Member States 
transposed Article 11 in its entirety35.  

The transposition provisions of Article 11, point b (free access to the entire territory) in Poland 
and of Article 11, point d (exercising the specific employment activity) in Austria, Germany, 
Estonia, Luxembourg and Slovenia are not clearly identified. Information on the rights granted 
does  not  seem  to  be  available  in  these  Member  States.  Only  in  a  small  number  of  Member 
States  did  third  country  workers  have  the  same  rights  as  nationals  to  change  their  job  or 
employer (FI, FR, IT and SI). 

Article 12 — Right to equal treatment 

Under the terms of Article 12 of the Directive, single permit holders enjoy equal treatment with 
nationals  in  a  number  of  areas,  including  working  conditions,  freedom  of  association,  social 
security  benefits,  education,  recognition  of  academic  and  professional  qualifications,  tax 
benefits,  access  to  goods  and  services  and  advice  services  (points  (a)  to  (h)).  Generally, 
Member States transposed this Article in a compliant manner. 

Article 12 further allows restrictions to equal treatment in respect of some of the specified areas 
and clarifies that equal treatment should be without prejudice to the right of Member States to 
withdraw  or  to  refuse  to  renew  the  residence  permit.  Despite  the  existence  of  these  optional 
restrictions, few Member States have made use of them. 

Moreover, Article 12 addresses equal treatment in relation to the portability of pension benefits. 
Pursuant to Article 12(1), the Directive’s provisions on equal treatment apply not only to those 

32  
33  
34  
35 

AT, CZ, DE, ES, FI, HR, HU, IT, LT, LV, PL, NL, RO, SE and SK. 
26 April 2012, C-508/10, Commission v. Netherlands; and 2 September 2015, C-309/14, CGIL & INCA. 
BG has been closed following changes in national legislation. EL, NL and PT still ongoing. 
BG, CY, CZ, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, IT, LT, LV, MT, NL, PT, RO, SE and SK. 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
admitted to  work under  EU or national  law, but  also  to  those who are permitted to  reside on 
other grounds, provided that they are allowed to work. 

Article  12  is  transposed  either  into  national  laws  through  specific  provisions,  general  equal 
treatment clauses or through provisions regulating each of the specified areas under points (a) 
to (h). 

A number of complaints lodged in this area indicate that there can be some problems in practice 
with transposition, especially where the principle of equal treatment has to be implemented by 
a range of different regional and local authorities. 

Transposition issues on equal treatment arise, in particular, in relation to the following aspects: 

-  General exclusion of visa holders (Portugal); 
-  Recognition  of  diplomas,  certificates  and  other  professional  qualifications  in  the 

Netherlands (recognition of diplomas only for permanent residents); 

-  Access  to  branches  of  social  security  in  the  Netherlands  (restriction  of  access  to 
sickness  cash  benefits  and  unemployment  benefits  for  persons  with  a  temporary 
residence),  Slovenia  (only  one  type  of  family  benefits  —  the  child  supplement  —  is 
available to third country  nationals); Italy (single permit holders excluded from certain 
types of family benefits)36,  Sweden (restrictions to social security benefits for stays of 
less than 1 year); 

-  Access to goods and services in Cyprus (third country workers do not have the right to 

buy real estate property for housing purposes). 

Optional restrictions 

Pursuant  to  Article  12(2),  Member  States  have  the  option  to  restrict  equal  treatment  in 
accordance  with  points  (a)  to  (d)  of  Article  12(1).  Most  Member  States  have  not  applied  all 
these options, only Cyprus has chosen to adopt all optional restrictions, whereas some (BG, CZ, 
ES, HR, LU, RO and SK) did not apply any of the options. 

Pursuant  to  Article  12(3),  the  right  to  equal  treatment  laid  down  in  Article  12(1)  should  be 
without  prejudice  to  the  right  of  the  Member  State  to  withdraw  or  to  refuse  to  renew  the 
residence  permit  issued  under  this  Directive,  the  residence  permit  issued  for  purposes  other 
than  work,  or  any  other  authorisation  to  work  in  a  Member  State.  Poland  did  not  transpose 
Article 12(3). The remaining Member States have transposed this provision either explicitly or 
through other national legislation. 

Export of pensions 

In line with Article 12(4), third country workers moving to a third country, or their survivors 
who reside in a third country and who derive rights from those workers, are entitled to receive 
statutory pensions for old age, invalidity and death.  The pensions must be based on the third 
country workers’ previous employment and acquired in accordance with the legislation referred 
to  in  Article  3  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004,  under  the  same  conditions  and  at  the  same 
rates as the nationals of the Member States concerned when they move to a third country. 

36  

See Case C-449/16 Martinez Silva. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Thirteen Member States37 allow for the transfer of pensions (covering old  age, invalidity and 
survivors’ benefits) to third countries. Nationals and third country nationals are treated equally 
in  this  regard.  Problems  were  identified  in  Slovenia,  France,  the  Netherlands  and  Bulgaria. 
According  to  Slovenian  law,  the  beneficiary  who  as  a  foreign  national  relocates  permanently 
outside  of  Slovenia,  will  receive  a  pension  in  a  foreign  country  if  an  international  agreement 
has  been  signed  with  the  country  of  relocation  or  if  that  state  recognises  such  a  right  to  the 
Slovenian nationals. However, for nationals Slovenia pays the pension to the beneficiary living 
abroad in all circumstances. In France, invalidity and death pensions are not exportable to third 
countries. In the Netherlands the rates appear to be reduced for the export of pensions affecting 
the return to third countries. Bulgarian legislation allows the export of pensions only if there are 
bilateral agreements with third countries. 

Article 13 — More favourable provisions 

Article  13  allows  the  application  of  more  favourable  provisions.  In  accordance  with  Article 
13(1)(a),  the  provisions  of  this  Directive  shall  apply  without  prejudice  to  more  favourable 
provisions of Union law, including bilateral and multilateral agreements between the Union, or 
the Union and its Member States, on the one hand and one or more third countries on the other. 
The large majority of Member States transposed this provision in a compliant manner. 

In  accordance  with  Article  13(1)(b),  the  provisions  of  the  Directive  shall  also  apply  without 
prejudice to more favourable provisions of bilateral or multilateral agreements between one or 
more Member States and one or more third countries. No problematic issues were observed. 
In line with Article 13(2), the application of this Directive should be without prejudice to the 
right of Member States to adopt or maintain provisions that are more favourable to the persons 
to whom it applies. No problematic issues were observed. 

Article 14 — Information to the general public 

Article  14  requires  Member  States  to  make  regularly  updated  information  available  to  the 
general public concerning the conditions of third country nationals’ admission to and residence 
in its territory in order to work there. All Member States comply with this obligation. Explicit 
transposition  in  the  legislation  has  been  provided  in  ten  Member  States38.  The  study39  on the 
practical  application  of  the  EU  legal  migration  framework  carried  out  for  the  fitness  check 
pointed  to  generally  insufficient  information  provided  by  competent  authorities  on  admission 
conditions and rights attached to permits. 

Article 15(2) — Reporting 

Article 15(2) obliges Member States annually, and for the first time by 25 December 2014, to 
communicate to the Commission statistics on the volumes of third country nationals who have 
been granted a single permit during the previous calendar year, in accordance with Regulation 
(EC)  No  862/2007.  In  the  majority  of  Member  States40  the  information  obligations  are  not 
explicitly  transposed  in  the  national  legislation,  but  are  fulfilled  in  the  context  of  the 

37  
38  
39 ‘ 

40  

AT, CY, EE, ES, HR, IT, LT, MT, NL, PL, RO, SE and SK. 
CY, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, LT, MT, PT and SK. 
Evidence  base  for  practical  implementation  of  the  Legal  Migration  Directive’s  Annex  2A  ICF  (2018) 
report. 
AT, BG, CZ, DE, EE, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IT, LU, LV, MT, PL, PT, NL, RO, SE, SI and SK. 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
administrative  procedures.  Only  Cyprus,  Greece  and  Lithuania  regulate  such  obligations  in 
their legislation. Greece and Belgium have not, however, reported any statistics yet. 

IV. CONCLUSIONS 

Promoting the integration and non-discrimination of third country nationals is a long-standing 
commitment  of  the  EU.  The  Single  Permit  Directive  is  a  crucial  tool  for  achieving  this 
objective. Since the expiry of its transposition deadline at the end of 2013, the Commission has 
launched a number of infringement procedures and exchanged information with Member States 
to ensure that they have correctly transposed and implemented its provisions. 

A key aspect of the Directive is the establishment of a ‘one-stop-shop’ mechanism at national 
level.  This  is  particularly  important  when  dealing  with  the  organisational  structure  of 
governmental  institutions  where  the  issue  of  work  and  residence  permits  for  third  country 
nationals  is  under  the  responsibility  of  different  authorities  —  namely  the  Ministry  of  the 
Interior and the Ministry of Labour. All Member States have stepped up their efforts to set up 
this  type  of  mechanism.  However,  there  are  still  problematic  issues  with  the  procedure.  The 
remaining problems mainly relate to the multiple administrative steps required, the time needed 
to  obtain  the  entry  visas  and  labour  market  clearance  and  the  respect  of  certain  procedural 
safeguards. 

The Directive also guarantees to third country nationals who are holders of a single permit an 
extended  set  of  rights  and  promotes  the  principle  of  non-discrimination.  Equal  treatment 
provisions are a key element of the EU legal migration framework. Most Member States have 
complied  with  the  provisions  on  equal  treatment  and  a  limited  use  has  been  made  of  the 
provisions  allowing  certain  rights  to  be  restricted.  This  report  reveals,  however,  certain 
deficiencies in the transposition of the Directive (for example, restrictive interpretation of equal 
treatment provisions in a few Member States) which should lead to further steps being taken at 
EU  and  national  levels.  Finally,  the  fitness  check  on  legal  migration  showed  a  lack  of 
information among third country nationals about the possibility of obtaining a single permit and 
the rights attached to it. 

The  Commission  will  continue  its  efforts  to  ensure  that  the  Directive  is  correctly  transposed 
and implemented across the EU. In order to achieve this result, the Commission will make full 
use  of  its  powers  under  the  Treaty,  including  by  launching  infringement  procedures,  where 
necessary. At the same time, the Commission will continue working with the Member States at 
the  technical  level.  Some  legal  and  technical  issues  could  be  further  discussed  and  clarified, 
such as visa and labour market test requirements, equal treatment coverage and issues related to 
the format of the permits and the information it should contain. Moreover, single permit holders 
should be better informed about their rights under the Directive. 

The  Commission  will  make  the  best  use  of  existing  websites,  mainly  via  the  updated 
Immigration  Portal  and  will  encourage  and  support  Member  States  in  launching  awareness-
raising campaigns to  inform  potential applicants  of rights  and procedures to  obtain the single 
permit. 

12