EU countries approve draft updating work permit rules for non-EU citizens

BRUSSELS

EU member states on Thursday approved a draft bill updating the rules for issuing work permits to non-EU citizens.

In a statement, the Council of the EU announced that it had “agreed its position on an update of an EU law that deals with legal migration to the EU labor market.”

The proposal updates the bloc’s so-called “Single Permit Directive” adopted in 2011.

The new rules aim to simplify the application procedure and ensure “more rights for third-country workers and their equal treatment compared to EU workers,” the statement said.

The permit grants rights both to work and reside in the EU, and non-EU nationals can apply for it from outside the bloc or in the EU territory.

EU member states remain free to decide which and how many workers they want to admit to their labor market, but under the new rules, they would be obliged to decide on the file within four months after receiving the application.

As an important update, foreign workers are allowed to change employers and even to stay up to two months in the EU within the expiry date of the permit to look for another job if they lose their employment.

As the European Parliament adopted its negotiating position in March, the EU institutions will start soon talks on the final version of the bill.