The European Commission this week launched legal action against 17 member states over the application of the new directive on the single permit, a combined procedure that grants third country nationals both a work and residence permit instead of applying separately for them.
The single permit directive was first adopted in 2011 and was revised in 2024 as part of plans to make Europe more attractive to non-EU workers.
The new rules had to be incorporated into national legislation by May 21st 2026. But the Commission said 17 member states – Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden – have failed to communicate its “complete transposition” by the deadline.
The Commission sent letters of formal notice urging countries to take action, the first step in a legal procedure that could see them taken to the EU Court of Justice. The countries have now two months to respond and notify the transposition of updated single permit rules into national measures.
No longer tied to one employer
