On 24 April 2024, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive (EU) 2024/1233 aimed at establishing a single procedure for third-country citizens to apply for a single permit to reside and work in the territory of a Member State. The act amends Directive (EU) 2011/98, which previously governed legal relations in the area.

The new legislation took effect on 20 May 2024 and Member States have until 21 May 2026 to transpose the amendments into national legislation. The amendments are aiming at facilitating the procedure for issuing residence and work permits, as well as ensuring an extended range of rights for third-country citizens both during the application period and after obtaining the permit.

Key amendments to the previous Directive (EU) 2011/98

1. Shorter time period for the state authorities to decide

One of the most significant changes in the regulation is the shortened time limit for the state authorities to rule on residence and work applications. The previous regulation provided maximum time limit of 4 months for the examination of applications. The new legal framework foresees to reduce this upper limit to 90 days. This change is expected to speed up the overall process of issuing permits as well as to attract more third-country citizens and employers to the application procedure.

2. Extended range of the equal treatment right

A significant addition to the existing framework is the extension of the obligation to treat third-country national citizens equally. With the new legal framework, the right to equal treatment of individuals includes employment conditions, working time, leave, holidays, equal treatment of men and women, health and safety at work, the right to strike, equal access to protection against dismissal, legal proceedings etc.

3. Monitoring, evaluation, inspection and penalty measures

Measures are envisaged to prevent abuses and to impose penalties for breaches of equal treatment provisions by employers. In this regard, the new regulation provides for inspections in particular in sectors with a high risk of labour rights violations.

4. Legal status of workers

The Directive implies more favourable treatment of third- and non-member state workers. This is due to a number of innovations in the regulation, such as the explicitly regulated right of the worker to change his employer after a certain time period (maximum 6 months); the authorisation for the holder of a single permit to change his employer before the expiry of this minimum time period in duly justified cases of serious violation by the employer of the conditions of the employment contract; the explicit regulation that the unemployed status of a worker is not in itself a ground for withdrawing his residence permit (within 3 months); and the prohibition for the employer to recover the fees related to the procedure from the third-country citizen.

Conclusion:

The new Directive (EU) 2024/1233 introduces significant innovations to the single residence and work permit regime for third-country residents. The renewed legislation aims to implement procedures in a shorter timeframe and to improve the legal status of third-country workers by extending the right to equal treatment and taking measures to prevent abuses of labour rights.