Background:

Estonia is currently preparing to recast the legislation governing the entry, residence, and employment of third-country nationals. One of the primary objectives of this recast is to establish a more streamlined and systematic framework for the entry, stay, and employment of third-country nationals, effectively integrating various permits into an efficient and user-friendly system.

In this context, the Estonian Ministry of the Interior requested information on national frameworks and pathways of entry and residence for third-country nationals. In particular, Estonia is interested in whether EMN Member Countries (EU Member States without Denmark) issue temporary authorisations/visas before the third-country national can receive the residence permit.

Respondents:

22 EMN Member Countries (including BE) provided a public answer to this ad hoc query.

Findings:

A preliminary analysis of the results of the ad hoc query shows that:

• In about half of the responding EMN Member Countries, visas, short-term permits, or temporary authorisations of stay are a pre-requisite to qualify for a residence permit.
• The prerequisites for a residence permit vary from one country to another. For example in BE, if a third-country national residing abroad qualifies for a residence permit, he or she will be issued a long-stay visa to travel to BE. The residence permit itself will always be delivered after arrival in BE. There is an obligation to present oneself at the municipality within the first 8 days after arrival, to register and receive the residence permit. In NL, third-country nationals (except certain nationalities that are exempt from this scheme) must obtain a provisional residence permit (MVV, or ‘machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf’) to enter the Netherlands and collect a residence permit. The MVV can be applied for in a single procedure alongside the residence permit from abroad.
• In EMN Member Countries in which such visas, short-term permits, or temporary authorisations of stay are a pre-requisite, there is generally no minimum period during which the person must have resided in that country in order to receive the requested residence permit.

For further information, please read the compilation of answers attached above.