The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has issued several recommendations to the EU and national authorities regarding access to rights for those with EU long-term resident status.
According to the report, which includes 51 experts and interviews from 267 non-EU nationals, the EU should make long-term status more attractive to applicants, which can be done by simplifying the application rules and issuing corresponding guidance.
The EU status provides more rights than national long-term schemes, and it allows people to move within the EU. In order to increase its uptake, the EU should make the rules easier and issue guidance on applicant’s further steps. The report agrees that EU countries could provide better information about the long-term residency EU status.
To apply for the EU long-term permit, migrants must prove continuous residence in a Member State for a five-year period and a stable income, which is a common challenge for many applicants. Migrants very often struggle to provide proof of accommodation and also find it difficult to meet the high language requirements that are required for applicants.
The same report also suggests that residency and income requirements should be simplified in order to make the status more accessible. The experts from FRA recommend easing accommodation and language requirements for the status and making language training more available for those who want to obtain long-term residency status.
In addition, non-EU nationals often face obstacles in finding jobs that match their qualifications. The EU could propose legislation to promote affordable and quick recognition systems of qualifications that are obtained abroad. The EU could also revise the rules to ensure there is no discrimination to access jobs and education on behalf of the applicants.
“Recognise qualifications and improve access to jobs and education, including by promoting quick and affordable qualification recognition systems and furthering work to prevent discrimination in access to jobs and education,” another recommendation from FRA’s report reads.
The same points out that the EU should ensure easier access to the status for children applicants and improve mobility within the EU among long-term residents. Moreover, the same report wants to find solutions for temporary protection holders, which indicates that the EU could allow temporary protection holders who have fled Ukraine and who currently live in the EU to apply for EU status.
This means that the EU scheme’s biggest advantage is the right to move within the EU. However, more than not, it is often not used, and the Agency urges the EU to simplify the rules and promote it among long-term residents.
