On 28 March, members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties adopted the report by Damian Boeselager (Greens/EFA, German) on improving the status of long-term residents in the EU by 36 votes to 13 with 16 abstentions (see EUROPE 13076/14).
The adopted report foresees that a long-term permit can be granted after 3 years of legal residence in a Member State, as opposed to 5 years in the European Commission’s text. It will be possible to grant it to persons with temporary protection status, while long-term resident status will be granted automatically to dependent children.
Long-term EU residents should also be able to move to another EU country without additional restrictions. “Long-term resident status in the EU, with its associated rights, allows third country nationals to integrate and be socially included, and makes it easier for them to settle in another EU country than national residency status”, said the European Parliament in a statement.
Under the new rules, holders of EU long-term resident status will be able to move to a second Member State to work or study without additional requirements (such as labour market controls or integration requirements).
MEPs who want to reduce to 3 years the period during which a person must be legally resident in a Member State, also propose the inclusion of periods of legal residence in different Member States, as well as time spent under temporary protection, seasonal work, periods of study or vocational training in the calculation of legal residence.
The decision pertaining to an application for long-term residence should not take more than 60 days from the date of application.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/63a (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)