Workers

Updated : 12/2012

Work-related rights

Working and living in another EU country

Working

As an EU national, you don't need a work permit to work in another EU country and can live there for that purpose — subject to certain conditions.

Exception — Bulgarian and Romanian nationals still face temporary restrictions on working in the EU.

More on:

Temporary EU working restrictions

Living

If you work in another EU country, you and your family are automatically entitled to live there.

Any conditions that do apply depend on whether you have an employment contract or are self-employed.

• If you have an employment contract …

… you're entitled to live in another EU country, even if not working full-time or working on a fixed-term contract.

Though you might need to have your professional qualifications recognised.

• If you are self-employed …

… you're entitled to live in another EU country if you're engaging in stable and continuous economic activity there.

Though you might need to have your professional qualifications recognised.

If you start a new business, you should be aware that the formalities still vary widely within the EU — though you can get help with them from the points of single contact in each country.

Administrative formalities

As an EU national worker, you and your family are entitled to stay in another EU country — though the administrative formalities vary depending on how long you stay.

More on:

Residence rights/formalities when working abroad

Equal treatment and benefits

As a migrant worker, you and your family are entitled to be treated as nationals of your new country. This means you are entitled to the same benefits as native workers from the day you start working there.

You are therefore entitled to receive benefits:

• granted to nationals of the country because they are working there (employed or self-employed)
• granted to workers and their families for living in the country
• not directly connected to employment (the right to be accompanied by unmarried partners, railway fare-reduction schemes for large families, home renovation subsidies, etc.).

You may also be eligible for non-financial benefits (e.g. the right to interpretation during legal proceedings).

Staying abroad after losing your job

If you lose your job while living in the other country, you are still entitled to live there and have the same benefits as nationals if you are:

• temporarily unable to work because of an illness or accident
• registered with the relevant employment office as involuntarily unemployed after having:
  
  - been employed for over a year or
  
  - been employed for less than a year (in this case, you retain the right to equal treatment with nationals  for at least 6 months)

• starting vocational training (if you are not involuntarily unemployed, the training must be related to previous employment).

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