Scope:

Fitness check on the existing EU acquis on legal migration

Evaluation findings:

The fitness check found that:

• EU policy on legal migration remains broadly in line with the general objectives set at the 1999 European Council in Tampere and translated into the Lisbon Treaty, namely to ensure efficient management of migration flows to the EU and fair treatment for legally residing third-country nationals.
• Overall, the directives have brought a number of positive effects on the management of legal migration. National systems for legal migration were aligned to some extent as regards the categories of third-country nationals covered, with varying degrees of harmonisation for admission conditions, procedures and rights. The directives have had a generally positive impact on the level of rights granted to third-country nationals and on the protection of family life. Finally, the acquis has also contributed to the objective of a more efficient management of economic migration flows into the EU to help address labour and skills shortages on the EU labour market, thus contributing to making the EU more competitive overall.
• There are numerous benefits of harmonisation in the field of legal migration. Among others, the Fitness Check clearly stressed the EU added-value of the Long-term Residents Directive. In particular, the Directive has provided a positive contributions in terms of legal certainty and equal treatment, by providing a permanent status for third-country nationals who would not otherwise satisfy the conditions for acquiring nationality, and by providing them the right to move and reside in other EU countries.

Estimated savings and benefits

The evaluation of the Directive carried out under the Fitness Check on legal migration and the and the consultation process carried out during the impact assessment, have revealed a number of gaps, inconsistencies and shortcomings, arising in particular from the application of the Directive by the Member States. These problems have been clustered into three main problem areas:

1) barriers for third-country nationals to access the EU LTR status and benefit from it;

2) barriers to the integration of long-term residents, due to a lack of clarity and consistency in the rights granted by the EU status; and

3) barriers to the intra-EU mobility of long-term residents.

The evaluation and consultation process showed, in general, that migrants already residing in, or considering moving to, the EU are negatively affected by the shortcomings of the current Directive, which results in administrative burden, lengthy waiting times, uncertainty and confusion as to applicable rules and outcomes. All this may even discourage migrants from applying for EU LTR status. A limited set of rights, especially as regards their families and intra-EU mobility, may limit their integration in the host societies. It also impacts countries of origin indirectly, as limited remittances are linked to insufficient integration of their nationals in the host countries.

Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

The general policy objectives of the initiative are:

(1)       To ensure the efficient management of migration flows in the EU through the approximation and harmonisation of Member States’ national legislation;

(2)       To ensure the fair treatment of third-country nationals legally residing in the EU;

(3)       To strengthen the EU’s competitiveness and economic growth. The specific policy objectives correspond to the problem identified during the evaluation. In particular the initiative is expected to:

• To create a more coherent, efficient and fair system to acquire the EU long-term resident status;

• To facilitate the intra-EU mobility of long-term residents;

• To improve the rights of long term-residents and their family.

Estimated savings and benefits

The initiative would have positive impacts on businesses/employers, in particular with regards to the measures facilitating intra-EU mobility. As a result of these measures, which are especially positive for small and medium-sized enterprises, employers would benefit from access to a larger pool of qualified third-country nationals already legally residing in the EU.

The initiative would also have positive impacts for third-country nationals, who would benefit from the measures introducing a level-playing field by having a real choice between the EU long-term residence permit and the national long-term residence permits. They would be able to fulfil easier the conditions to acquire the EU long-term residence status and would benefit from better rights, including intra-EU mobility rights and circular migration opportunities.