New EU rules designed to speed up work-and-residence applications for non-EU nationals have become fully operational across the bloc, alongside a new EU-wide “Talent Pool” system that is due to be built over the next 18 months.
Europe’s workforce is facing labour shortages linked to demographic change, and the EU economy is increasingly relying on workers from outside the EU, the European Commission said in a release on Monday.
The updated Single Permit Directive provides one permit covering both the right to work and the right to live in an EU country, it added.
Under the updated rules, people who already hold a valid residence permit can apply for a single permit from within the EU without returning to their country of origin.
EU countries must decide on a single permit application within 90 days, including any potential “labour market test” — a check on whether the role could be filled locally.
The rules also include measures intended to protect non-EU workers, including requirements for EU countries to inform them about their rights, allow them to change employer under certain conditions, and allow them to remain in the country if they become unemployed while the permit is valid.
EU countries had until May 2026 to adjust national laws to the updated directive, and the rules do not apply in Denmark or Ireland.
EU Talent Pool platform launched in law, still being built
A separate initiative, the EU Talent Pool, entered into force in June 2026 as the first EU-wide digital platform intended to connect non-EU jobseekers with employers in participating EU countries, the Commission said.
The European Commission is still developing the platform, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2027.
The platform is set to let jobseekers from outside the EU create profiles listing skills, qualifications, work experience and language knowledge, while employers will be able to post job vacancies.
Efforts to facilitate legal migration and resettlement are part of the EU’s broader approach to migration and asylum, and sit alongside work to tackle irregular migration through the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.
