Denmark
Government proposes tightening permanent residence and family reunification rules
On 11 April 2024, the Ministry of Immigration and Integration presented a proposal to the Danish Parliament to change the rules regarding permanent residence permit and family reunification of spouses.
If the proposal is passed, the requirement not to have been convicted of certain crimes is tighten, so that also a charge or indictment of certain crimes in the future will hinder applicants from obtaining a permanent residence. The same applies to the transferred requirements for permanent residence permit, which must be met on application for family reunification of spouses if the spouse in Denmark is a foreigner but not a refugee.
According to the draft proposal, the new rules will apply on applications for permanent residence permit and for family reunification of spouses submitted from the time where the proposal is presented to the Danish parliament, unless a decision is made in such cases before the time of entry into force. This means applications for permanent residence permit and certain applications for family reunification of spouses submitted from and including 11 April 2024.
Germany
Measures to simplify and digitise passport and ID procedures
The Federal Government has adopted amendments to the passport and identity card administration regulations, which aim to simplify and digitise these procedures. The amending regulation must now be approved by the Federal Council.
The regulations implement the following facilitations:
- For persons immediately after naturalization, the application for German passports and identity cards will be simplified;
- Effective from the end of April 2025, the obligation to submit a paper-based passport photo will no longer apply. For this purpose, the government has created detailed regulations for the establishment of self-service stations at government offices for media-free digital recording of biometric information (photo, fingerprints, signature);
- The possibility of direct postal delivery of passports and identity cards to the domestic registration address of the applicant will be introduced from May 2025;
- On request, applicants will be able to store an email address, for example in order to receive a reminder for a renewal application in good time before the expiry of the respective identity document;
- The issuance of digitally generated change stickers will be simplified by eliminating the obligation of an official signature and date.
Romania
Changes to work immigration rules
Effective 22 March 2024, Emergency Ordinance no. 25/2024 introduced changes to the immigration law to transpose the decision (EU) 2024/210 on the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in Bulgaria and Romania, including the lifting of controls at the air and sea borders from 31 March 2024.
The main changes include the following:
- Employers must now have conducted business for at least one year in the field of activity for which an employment permit is requested and this may be checked by the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI).
- Employers must now conclude an individual employment agreement within 15 business days from the entry of the foreign national to Romania, or from obtaining a new employment permit (in the case of a long-stay visa for employment). From 21 April 2024, failure to comply with this requirement will be subject to a fine of between RON 5000 and RON 10,000, unless the failure to conclude the employment agreement in time is the fault of the foreign national;
- Foreign nationals who have entered Romania for the purpose of employment will be granted the right of temporary stay for the purpose of employment on presentation of their full-time employment agreement concluded within 15 business days from their entry into Romania or, as the case may be, from obtaining the new employment permit;
- The period within which the employer or, in the case of secondees, the beneficiary of the service must notify the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) about any amendment or termination of an employment agreement or about the termination of the secondment of the foreign national, is reduced from 10 days to 5 business days;
- Foreign nationals are required to declare to the Romanian Immigration Office which granted them the right of stay, any change in connection with their employment, within no more than three days instead of ten days;
- IGI will also allocate a personal number code to foreign nationals for whom employment or secondment permits have been issued.
- Foreign nationals holding a long-stay visa or residence permit issued by another Schengen state can enter Romania for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period preceding each day of stay in Romania, cumulative with the days spent in the other Schengen states, other than the state that issued their long-stay visa or residence permit.
- Foreign nationals who are visa exempt have the right to enter Romania and stay for 90 days in any period of 180 days preceding each day of stay in any Schengen state.
