Jobseekers - residence rights
As an EU national, you have the right to take up residence and look for work in another EU country.
If you have been working in another EU country and you lose your job, or if you are self-employed and you run out of work, you can keep your right to live there under certain conditions.
Choose a situation:
- I moved to another EU country and I am looking for a job.
- I have already worked in my host EU country but I lost my job there.
When you arrive
As an EU citizen, you can stay in another EU country for up to 3 months before you are required to register your residence. However, please note that some EU countries require you to report your presence to the relevant authorities within 3 months of arrival (often at the town hall or local police station).
If you register as a jobseeker, the authorities will grant you a period of time to allow you to find a job. This period usually lasts 6 months, though you might be asked to provide evidence that you are looking for a job and/or taking steps to help you get a job during that time.
Registering with the employment services
If you are being paid unemployment benefits from your home country, you will have to register with the employment service in your host country. You and your family will still be covered by the social security system in your home country, for instance for healthcare costs.
Even if you don't receive unemployment benefits from your home country, you may still be covered by its social security system: check with the social security authority in your home country.
While you're being covered by your home health insurance during your stay abroad, healthcare procedures may be simpler if you have a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).
Sample story
No need to register your residence immediately
Marta is Portuguese and moved to Spain 4 months ago to try to find a job there. At the moment, she is living at a friend's house. The Spanish police asked her to register her residence at the town hall and to prove she had sufficient means to support herself while in Spain.
As a jobseeker, Marta is entitled to stay in Spain for at least 6 months without having to register her residence there. She only has to prove that she is a jobseeker who is actively looking for a job. The Spanish authorities cannot require her to demonstrate she can support herself financially.
Still looking for a job after 6 months
Assessment of your right to stay
If you have not found a job during the first 6 months of your stay, the national authorities can assess your right to stay longer. For this, they will ask for evidence that you:
- are actively looking for a job and
- have a good chance of finding one.
Always keep copies of your job applications, responses from potential employers, invitations for interviews and so on.
You are not required to register with the employment services in your new country unless you are receiving unemployment benefit from your home country. But if you do register, it will help you to prove that you are actively looking for a job.
Can you be deported or asked to leave?
Your host country can ask you to leave if you can't prove that you have a realistic chance of finding work there.
In exceptional cases, your host country can deport you on grounds of public policy, public security, or public health - but only if it can prove you pose a serious threat.
The deportation decision or request to leave must be given to you in writing. It must state all the reasons for your deportation and specify how you can appeal and by when.
Equal treatment
As a jobseeker, you are entitled to be treated in the same way as nationals of your host country with regard to:
- access to work
- support from employment services to find a job
Your host country might wait until you have established a genuine link with the local job market before granting certain types of financial support to help you find work - such as low-interest loans for unemployed people to do training courses. Being in the country and looking for work for a reasonable amount of time may count as a genuine link.
However, during your stay as a jobseeker, you don't have a right to non-contributory welfare benefits.
If you have been working in another EU country and you lose your job, or if you are self-employed and you run out of work, you can keep your right to live there under certain conditions.
How long you can stay will depend on how long you have been working in your new country and the type of contract you had before you lost your job.
If you are temporarily unable to work as a result of an illness or accident, you can stay for as long as this condition lasts and prevents you from working.
Equal treatment
While you stay in your host country after losing your job, you should continue to enjoy the same rights as nationals of that country, including:
- welfare benefits (including unemployment benefit)
- access to employment
- assitance from public employment services
Can you be requested to leave or be deported?
In exceptional cases, your host country can deport you on grounds of public policy, public security, or public health - but only if it can prove you pose a serious threat. The deportation decision must be given to you in writing. It must state all the reasons for your deportation and specify how you can appeal and by when.
Check your rights to stay according to your situation:
- I have worked in my host country for less than 1 year
- I have worked in my host country for more than 1 year
- I am following vocational training
If you had a permanent contract or a fixed-term contract for less than 1 year and you lost your job before the end of the 1-year period, you have the right to stay in your host country for at least another 6 months, provided you are looking for work.
The 6-month period starts from the moment your contract ends.
You must register with the public employment service as involuntarily unemployed and look for work.
Sample story
You can stay abroad even if you lose your job
Sabrina is a German national who went to Greece to work in a small hotel. She had a 9-month contract, but her employer decided to stop her contract after the first 4 months. After she registered as involuntarily unemployed with the Greek unemployment services, she was allowed to stay for another 6 months while she was looking for a new job.
If you lose your job after having worked in your host country for more than 1 year, you have the right to continue to live there, provided you are registered as a jobseeker and continue to meet the conditions required to be considered as a jobseeker.
To keep the right to stay in your host country when you lose your job or are not professionally active (self-employed), you must register as a job seeker with the employment service in your host country.
You can stay as long as you are registered as a jobseeker with the public employment service and continue to meet the conditions required for jobseekers.
If you become involuntarily unemployed and begin vocational training, you have the right to stay in your new country for the entire duration of your training.
If you have become unemployed voluntarily, you have the right to stay in your host country for the whole duration of your training but only if that training is related to your previous employment.
If it is not, you can stay in your new country under the same conditions as students.
Read more about rights and conditions for students.
To keep the right to stay in your new country for the whole duration of your vocational training, you must register as a jobseeker with the authorities in your host country. This also applies if you are voluntarily unemployed.