# Ability to work in other EU countries



## DanGi (5 mo ago)

Hi, I'm from the UK and I'm looking to live in Germany with my girlfriend after I finish my degree. However, we're not so sure that we will end up living there for the rest of our lives.
Since Germany doesn't offer dual citizenship but instead offers "permanent residency" does that then mean I don't have a chance of getting an EU passport and therefore wouldn't have the right to work in a country outside of Germany e.g. the Netherlands?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Permanent residency generally doesn't give you the right to work in any EU country other than the country you have your permanent residency in. However, some (not all) EU countries do grant an EU "Blue Card" to non-EU foreigners who have already 5 or more years of residence in another EU country - and this includes work rights. Or, if you wind up marrying your girlfriend, you would have the right to a residence permit based on being the spouse of an EU national - and that includes work rights (actually, all the same rights that your EU has in that country). So there are options, even if they include a bit more paperwork than simply flashing an EU passport.


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## *Sunshine* (Mar 13, 2016)

Bevdeforges said:


> However, some (not all) EU countries do grant an EU "Blue Card" to non-EU foreigners who have already 5 or more years of residence in another EU country - and this includes work rights.


You might want to read the actual rules regarding the Blue Card. The information you provided is completely inaccurate. 

@DanGi

Why don't you just move to a country that allows dual citizenship? Knowing what I know now, it is what I would have done.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

DanGi said:


> Hi, I'm from the UK and I'm looking to live in Germany with my girlfriend after I finish my degree. However, we're not so sure that we will end up living there for the rest of our lives.
> Since Germany doesn't offer dual citizenship but instead offers "permanent residency" does that then mean I don't have a chance of getting an EU passport and therefore wouldn't have the right to work in a country outside of Germany e.g. the Netherlands?


On what visa would you be moving to Germany? Are you planning to get married to your girlfriend? 

If yes, for maximum future mobility, it might be a good idea to then move to an EU country that allows dual citizenship as a married couple, as Sunshine said, and stay there until you naturalized.

After five years of legal residency, non-EU nationals can apply for "long residency EU" which makes it somewhat easier to live/work/study in countries other than the one that issued the long residency EU. It does not give automatic right of residency, though, there are still hoops to jump through.

The EU BlueCard makes it possible to carry residency in one country over to another EU country to count for permanent residency, as long as the the stay in both countries was under BlueCard rules. You´d still have to meet all the requirements for BlueCard in each country, which differ from member stat to member state. Depending on what kind degree and what kind of rare skills you might have, I think you´d probably struggle to meet the requirements for BlueCard fresh out of university.


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