Background:

Similar to other EU Member States, Finland’s success and international competitiveness are based on high levels of skills and competence. In accordance with the Government Programme of Prime Minister Orpo, employment must at first be promoted among unemployed jobseekers already in Finland. Where necessary, the labour force is supplemented primarily from EU/EEA countries, while also promoting international recruitment from selected third countries of specialists and workers in sectors suffering from labour shortages. In this context, the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment launched this ad hoc query to collect data from other Member States to map the processing times of work-based permits across the EU. The information is used to build a comprehensive overview for policymaking and communicational purposes.

Respondents:

24 EMN Member and Observer 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:

• Out of 24 responding countries, 23 countries report having a maximum processing time for work-based residence permits in their national legislations. These maximum processing times are difficult to compare, as responding countries reported on different kinds of work permits, and apply different calculation methods for these processing times. In BE, applications are processed by both the Immigration Office (for the residence permit) and one of the four regional authorities (for the work authorisation). The date on which the Region declares the application admissible is the starting point of a dual deadline: An initial period of 15 days within which the Region must send a copy of the file to the Immigration Office. A second period of 4 months, within which the Region and the Immigration Office must decide on the single application. The Region or the Immigration Office may extend this second deadline in exceptional circumstances related to the complexity of the application. If the Region and the Immigration Office do not make any unfavourable decision within the 4-month deadline, potentially extended, the residence and work authorisations will be considered as being granted.
   
• Aside from these legal requirements, 7 countries report having fixed objectives for the issuance of work-based residence permits, either by administrative practice or policy. In BE, the Immigration Office aims to handle every application within a 3-week deadline, but no such objectives were reported by the regions.
   
• The maximum processing times of work-based residence permits are made publicly available in 3 countries, including BE. 10 countries report not compiling statistics on average processing times.
   
• Finally, 12 countries reported having a fast-track procedure for highly-skilled professionals. This is not the case in Belgium, although regions try to process applications for highly-skilled professionals within two weeks on average.

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