BETA


2022/0134(COD) Long-Term Residents Directive. Recast

Progress: Awaiting Parliament's position in 1st reading

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead LIBE BOESELAGER Damian (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE) DÜPONT Lena (icon: EPP EPP), RUIZ DEVESA Domènec (icon: S&D S&D), AL-SAHLANI Abir (icon: Renew Renew), BUXADÉ VILLALBA Jorge (icon: ECR ECR), ARVANITIS Konstantinos (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Committee Opinion EMPL AL-SAHLANI Abir (icon: Renew Renew) Romeo FRANZ (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ (icon: PPE PPE), Konstantinos ARVANITIS (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL), Guido REIL (icon: ID ID), Marc ANGEL (icon: S&D S&D), Margarita DE LA PISA CARRIÓN (icon: ECR ECR)
Committee Recast Technique Opinion JURI ADAMOWICZ Magdalena (icon: EPP EPP)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 110, RoP 57, TFEU 079-p2

Events

2023/04/20
   EP - Committee decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations confirmed by plenary (Rule 71 - vote)
2023/04/17
   EP - Committee decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations announced in plenary (Rule 71)
2023/04/13
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading
Details

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Damian BOESELAGER (Greens/EFA, DE) on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents (recast).

The proposed directive seeks to update the long-term residents directive in order to facilitate the acquisition of long-term resident status by simplifying the conditions for admission and to strengthen the rights of residents and their family members, including the rights to move and work in another EU Member State.

The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows:

Subject matter

Members clarified the purpose of this Directive which is to create a harmonised EU long-term resident status and establish rules on the procedures and rights associated with that status. It aims to ensure the equal treatment of third-country nationals, foster their integration and social inclusion, and enhance the right to mobility for EU long-term residents within the Union (‘intraEU mobility’). The rules set out in this Directive also aim to increase the Union’s attractiveness to third-country skills and talents.

Duration of residence

The amended text stated that Member States should grant EU long-term resident status to third-country nationals who have resided legally and continuously within its territory for three years (as opposed to five years) immediately prior to the submission of the relevant application.

Expedited processing of applications

Members proposed to speed up the processing of applications. The competent national authorities should take a decision on the application and notify the applicant in writing as soon as possible but not later than 60 days from the date that the application has been submitted.

Free language courses

It is proposed that Member States may require a proof of language proficiency up to A2 level. In such cases, Member States should provide language courses free of charge.

Equal treatment

The report stipulated that EU long-term residents should enjoy equal treatment with nationals at least with regard to, inter alia: (i) access to employment and self-employed activity, terms of employment and working conditions, including conditions regarding dismissal and remuneration, working hours, leave and holiday, as well as health and safety requirements at the workplace; (ii) recognition of qualifications, including diplomas, certificates and other qualifications, in accordance with the relevant national procedures, and taking into account qualifications acquired in a third country; (iii) access to goods and services and the supply of goods and services made available to the public, including access to private housing, and to procedures for obtaining public housing ensuring a decent standard of living, as well as information and counselling services provided by employment offices.

Level-playing field between national permanent residence permit and EU long-term permit

Where Member States issue national residence permits of permanent or unlimited validity, they should grant third-country nationals to whom they issue the EU long-term resident status the same rights, procedural safeguards and advantages as those granted for under parallel national schemes, where such rights, safeguards and advantages are more favourable under the national permit.

Swifter family reunification

Members suggested that the dependent children of an EU long-term resident should acquire EU long-term resident status automatically , without being subject to any conditions. For the purpose of protecting family members, Member States should also grant an EU long-term residence permit to family members of an EU long-term resident, upon application, after two years of legal and continuous residence of those family members in the territory of the Member State concerned.

Member States should not examine the situation of their labour market in relation to family members and family members should have access to any employment and to self-employed activity in accordance with applicable requirements under national law.

Mobility between Member States

Lastly, for the purpose of exercising long-term mobility, an EU long-term resident should acquire the right to reside in the territory of a second Member State, provided that specific conditions are met.

Documents
2023/03/28
   EP - Vote in committee, 1st reading
2023/03/28
   EP - Committee decision to open interinstitutional negotiations with report adopted in committee
2023/03/23
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2023/01/24
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2023/01/01
   EP - ADAMOWICZ Magdalena (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in JURI
2022/12/08
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2022/11/30
   CofR - Committee of the Regions: opinion
Documents
2022/11/21
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2022/10/20
   CZ_SENATE - Contribution
Documents
2022/10/20
   EP - Referral to associated committees announced in Parliament
2022/09/21
   ES_PARLIAMENT - Contribution
Documents
2022/09/19
   EP - AL-SAHLANI Abir (Renew) appointed as rapporteur in EMPL
2022/09/05
   EP - BOESELAGER Damian (Verts/ALE) appointed as rapporteur in LIBE
2022/06/22
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading
2022/04/28
   EC - Document attached to the procedure
2022/04/28
   EC - Document attached to the procedure
2022/04/28
   EC - Document attached to the procedure
2022/04/27
   EC - Legislative proposal published
Details

PURPOSE: to revise the long-term resident directive in order to facilitate the acquisition of long-term resident status-EU.

PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: the vast majority of migrants arrive and reside in Europe legally. The overall number of third-country nationals legally residing in the EU is 23 million, or 5.1% of the EU population. Of these, more than 10 million third-country nationals hold long-term or permanent residence permits. It is this target group that Directive 2003/109/EC concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents aims to cover.

The evaluation of the Directive in the context of the 2019 fitness check of EU legislation on legal migration and its implementation reports identified several shortcomings in the achievement of its objectives, as well as practical issues arising from the application of the Directive by Member States.

The problems identified fall into six main areas: (i) the long-term resident - EU status is underused; (ii) the conditions for acquiring the status are too difficult to fulfil; (iii) long-term residents face numerous obstacles in exercising their right to mobility within the Union; (iv) there is a lack of clarity and coherence in the rights of long-term residents and their family members; (v) the possibilities for circular migration of long-term residents - EU are limited; (vi) there is a risk of abuse of long-term resident - EU status in the context of residence-by-investment schemes.

This proposal aims to create a more efficient, coherent and fair system for obtaining long-term EU resident status . This system should contribute to fostering the integration of third-country nationals who have settled legally and permanently in the Union.

This proposal is part of a package of measures proposed as a follow-up to the Commission's Communication on a New Deal on Migration and Asylum, adopted on 23 September 2020, which highlighted the need to address the main shortcomings of the EU's legal migration policy, thus responding to the overall objective of attracting the skills and talents that the EU needs . The package also includes the recast of the Single Permit Directive 2011/98/EU.

CONTENT: the Commission proposes to update the long-term residents directive in order to facilitate the acquisition of long-term resident status by simplifying the conditions for admission and to strengthen the rights of residents and their family members, including the rights to move and work in another EU Member State.

Duration of residence

Although the required period of residence of five years remains the general rule, the recast proposal introduces an important change which aims to allow third-country nationals to cumulate periods of residence in different Member States , provided that they have resided legally and continuously for two years in the territory of the Member State where the application was lodged. All periods of legal residence should be counted, including periods of residence as students, beneficiaries of temporary protection, and periods of residence initially based on temporary grounds.

Control mechanisms

Member States should better monitor the residence requirement, in particular for applications for long-term resident status - EU by third-country nationals holding a residence permit granted in return for investment, in cases where the granting of such a permit has not been made subject to the requirement of continuous physical presence in the Member State or is merely subject to the requirement of the investors’ presence in the Member State for a limited time.

Conditions for obtaining the status

Applicants should prove that they have sufficient resources and health insurance, to avoid becoming a burden on the Member State. Member States could require applicants to meet integration conditions, for example by requiring them to pass a civic integration test or a language test.

With a view to promoting circular migration , the recast proposal extends the possibility for long-term residents - EU to be absent from the territory of the Union without losing their status from the current 12 months to 24 months. For longer absences, Member States should put in place a simplified procedure for the recovery of the status.

Equal treatment rights for long-term EU residents

The proposal (i) clarifies that long-term residents - EU should have the same right to acquire private housing as nationals; (ii) aligns the definition of social security and the right to export pensions and family benefits with the provisions of the latest EU directives on regular migration; iii) extends equal access to social protection and social assistance to long-term residents - EU

The proposal also establishes a mechanism to ensure a level playing field between the EU long-term residence permit and national permanent residence permits in terms of procedures, equal treatment rights and access to information, so that third-country nationals have a real choice between the two.

Family reunification

The proposal provides for an enhanced right to family reunification without integration conditions, with unrestricted access to employment for family members, while children of long-term residents who will be born on EU territory could immediately acquire the status.

Easier mobility within the EU

The recast proposal aims to facilitate the intra-EU mobility, by removing a number of barriers that have so far hampered it. In particular, the second Member State should no longer be entitled to carry out a check of the labour market situation when examining applications submitted by EU long-term residents for the exercise of an economic activity in an employed or self-employed capacity, and any pre-existing quotas for EU long-term residents residing to other Member States should be abolished. Furthermore, EU long-term residents should be entitled to apply while still residing in the first Member State, and to begin employment or study at the latest 30 days after having submitted their application.

In order to speed up the integration in the second Member State for persons who have already integrated in another EU Member State, the proposal for a recast provides that the required period of residence in the second Member State should be three years . For the purpose of acquisition of EU long-term resident status in a second Member State, it should not be possible to cumulate periods of residence in different Member States.

Documents

Votes

Résidents de longue durée - Long-Term Residents - Langfristig aufenthaltsberechtigte Drittstaatsangehörige - A9-0145/2023 - Damian Boeselager - Décision d'engager des négociations interinstitutionnelles (article 71 du règlement) #

2023/04/20 Outcome: +: 391, -: 140, 0: 25
DE ES RO FR NL SE PT AT IE LT SK DK BE HR LV SI LU FI BG IT MT CY EE EL ?? HU CZ PL
Total
80
54
20
62
28
19
16
16
12
7
13
13
18
10
6
6
5
9
11
56
3
3
5
7
1
19
16
41
icon: S&D S&D
112

Lithuania S&D

2

Belgium S&D

For (1)

1

Latvia S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Bulgaria S&D

2

Malta S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Czechia S&D

For (1)

1
icon: PPE PPE
129

Lithuania PPE

2

Denmark PPE

Abstain (1)

1

Latvia PPE

2

Slovenia PPE

Abstain (1)

3

Luxembourg PPE

1

Finland PPE

For (1)

1
5

Malta PPE

For (1)

1

Estonia PPE

Abstain (1)

1

Greece PPE

2

PPE

1
3
icon: Renew Renew
83
3

Austria Renew

For (1)

1

Ireland Renew

For (1)

1

Lithuania Renew

1

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Latvia Renew

Abstain (1)

1

Slovenia Renew

2

Luxembourg Renew

2

Finland Renew

2

Italy Renew

For (1)

1

Estonia Renew

2

Greece Renew

1

Hungary Renew

2

Czechia Renew

3

Poland Renew

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
60

Romania Verts/ALE

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Italy Verts/ALE

3

Czechia Verts/ALE

2

Poland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: The Left The Left
29

Germany The Left

2

Netherlands The Left

For (1)

1

Sweden The Left

For (1)

1

Portugal The Left

4

Denmark The Left

1

Belgium The Left

For (1)

1

Finland The Left

For (1)

1

Cyprus The Left

2

Greece The Left

1

Czechia The Left

Against (1)

1
icon: NI NI
36

Germany NI

Against (1)

2

France NI

Against (2)

2

Netherlands NI

Against (1)

1

Slovakia NI

2

Croatia NI

2

Latvia NI

1
icon: ECR ECR
55

Germany ECR

Against (1)

1

Netherlands ECR

4

Sweden ECR

3

Lithuania ECR

1

Slovakia ECR

Against (1)

1

Finland ECR

2

Bulgaria ECR

Against (1)

1
icon: ID ID
52

Austria ID

Against (2)

2

Denmark ID

Against (1)

1

Estonia ID

Against (1)

1

Czechia ID

Against (2)

2
AmendmentsDossier
472 2022/0134(COD)
2022/11/14 EMPL 166 amendments...
source: 738.590
2022/12/08 LIBE 306 amendments...
source: 739.731

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

forecasts
  • date: 2024-04-22T00:00:00 title: Indicative plenary sitting date
forecasts
  • date: 2024-04-22T00:00:00 title: Indicative plenary sitting date
forecasts
  • date: 2024-04-22T00:00:00 title: Indicative plenary sitting date
forecasts
  • date: 2024-04-22T00:00:00 title: Indicative plenary sitting date
links
Research document
links
Research document
forecasts/0/date
Old
2024-04-10T00:00:00
New
2024-04-22T00:00:00
forecasts
  • date: 2024-04-10T00:00:00 title: Indicative plenary sitting date
docs/8/date
Old
2022-10-19T00:00:00
New
2022-10-20T00:00:00
docs/9/date
Old
2022-09-20T00:00:00
New
2022-09-21T00:00:00