Afschaffing verblijfsvergunning voor EU-burgers: migreren binnen de EU wordt makkelijker (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - An EU law aimed at allowing citizens to move around between member states as easily as nationals move around in their own countries went into force on Tuesday (2 May).

"The entry into force of this directive constitutes a milestone in the EU integration process by substantially enhancing the ability of EU citizens and their families to move and reside freely within the EU," said justice commissioner Franco Frattini.

The new directive means that citizens within the EU will no longer be obliged to obtain a residence permit when moving to another member state, although they may still be required to register with the relevant authorities.

Also, when an EU citizen travelling with their family to a European country which is not a part of the bloc's borderless agreement, the family members will not require a visa, even if they are not citizens of a member state.

But the main innovation of the law is the introduction of a right of permanent residence in the host member state.

After five years of continued legal residence, EU citizens and their families, even if they are third country nationals, will obtain the right of permanent residence.

It is thought around 7 million EU citizens are currently living in a member state other than their own.

The 30th of April was the deadline for member states to apply the necessary measures in order to comply with the directive.

Although only three countries had done so by the deadline - Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia - the law will still go into place because it applies to individuals and not just member states.

This means that EU citizens have a right to use the directive although their member state may not yet have adopted the law.

Mr Frattini also described the directive as an example of Brussels' commitment to better regulation.

"Existing legislation has been brought together into one coherent, transparent legal instrument easily accessible to individual citizens and national administration alike," he said.

The new directive puts together nine previous directives and one regulation.