# EU residency rights for non-EU citizens



## Alltimegreat1 (Feb 25, 2015)

I am a US citizen with a permanent residency permit in Germany. I live with my German wife and German/American son.
I'd like to know if this permanent residency permit issued by Germany also entitles me to live and work in other EU countries?


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

As far as I know, "permanent residency" status in one EU country does not give you residency status in another EU country. OTOH, as the spouse of an EU national, you can get a residency permit in another EU country, as long as you are joining your EU spouse there (usually means that the EU spouse must be in the country with a job, a pension or as a student). 
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Yes, Bev is correct. It gives you no rights anywhere but in your country of residence, & hinges on your spouse also being resident in that country.


----------



## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Alltimegreat1 said:


> I am a US citizen with a permanent residency permit in Germany. I live with my German wife and German/American son.
> I'd like to know if this permanent residency permit issued by Germany also entitles me to live and work in other EU countries?


How did you obtain permanent residence?

Through your German spouse?

An employer sponsored work permit?

Some other way?


----------



## Alltimegreat1 (Feb 25, 2015)

ALKB said:


> How did you obtain permanent residence?
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Through my wife I believe. I also had to wait 3 years to get it and they asked me to prove sufficient income.


----------



## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Alltimegreat1 said:


> Through my wife I believe. I also had to wait 3 years to get it and they asked me to prove sufficient income.


Okay, that's definitely through spouse, all other paths take longer (unless you had BlueCard and you would know if that was the case).

In general, you'd have to qualify for a work-/residence permit in your own right unless your EU-spouse moves to that country and exercises treaty rights - being employed, self-employed, studying full time, being self-sufficient. Then you would get unrestricted work rights as a family member of an EEA national.

You can check individual countries' domestic immigration rules here:

EU Immigration Portal - Already in the EU - European Commission

If you do move, don't forget to inform the Ausländerbehörde beforehand to get a Fiktionsbescheinigung. Otherwise, your permanent residence may be lost.


----------



## Alltimegreat1 (Feb 25, 2015)

Thanks. The problem is that she doesn't work and my income alone supports the family.


----------



## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Alltimegreat1 said:


> Thanks. The problem is that she doesn't work and my income alone supports the family.


Which country are you thinking about?

Or is it just thinking about moving in an abstract way?

She could be self-sufficient through your income but that's a bit of a difficult way to exercise treaty rights and depending on which country we are talking about may require potentially expensive private health insurance on top of whatever is standard.

The easiest way would be for her to get a job in the country you want to move to - it doesn't have to be a qualified job or even full time. I think the minimum is 17 hours per week.


----------



## Alltimegreat1 (Feb 25, 2015)

Hungary


----------



## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Alltimegreat1 said:


> Hungary


Do you already have a job offer?

I am afraid I know nothing about how easy it is to apply for a residence card for family members of EEA nationals in Hungary, how long it usually takes (max. 6 months as per EU law) or what their stance is on self-sufficiency/how much money would be considered sufficient.

Have you read this?

EU Immigration Portal - Hungary - Employment - European Commission

Also:

Registering your non-EU family members in another EU country - Hungary


----------



## Alltimegreat1 (Feb 25, 2015)

Thanks for the info. I have my own business and can work from anywhere in the EU.


----------



## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Alltimegreat1 said:


> Thanks for the info. I have my own business and can work from anywhere in the EU.


Hm, self-employment generally tends to be more complicated than employment. With a self-sufficient EU spouse relying on a non-EEA national's business in the mix...

See it like this: Hungary will ask "Why exactly do you have to live in Hungary if nobody in your family is employed here/studies here/has any sort of ties?" 

Looks like you will definitely need private health insurance:

EU Immigration Portal - Hungary - Self-employed - European Commission

I guess you don't want to naturalize as German because you would have to renounce your US citizenship? Getting a German passport would do away with all obstacles when moving within the EU.

You really need to find somebody with Hungarian experience regarding their implementation of EU freedom of movement rules and that's relatively unlikely in the German forum.


----------



## Alltimegreat1 (Feb 25, 2015)

Thanks again. I doubt I'd even qualify for German citizenship but I wouldn't take it anyway. Like you said that would force me to renounce US citizenship. I also have a Dominican passport I'd have to give up.


----------

