New EU rules cut red tape for citizens living in another Member State

As of February 16, new EU rules to cut costs and formalities for citizens living outside their home country will start to apply across the European Union.

Currently, citizens moving to or living in another EU country must obtain a stamp to prove that their public documents (such as a birth, marriage or death certificate) are authentic. This is the case of around 17 million EU citizens.

Under the new regulation, this stamp and the bureaucratic procedures linked to it will no longer be required when presenting public documents issued in one EU country to the authorities of another EU country. Under the new rules, citizens are also no longer required to provide a sworn/ official translation of their public document in many cases. At the same time, the regulation foresees strong safeguards to prevent fraud.

"This is excellent news for citizens who live or want to live in another EU country", said Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers, and Gender Equality. "As of tomorrow, there will be no more costly and time-consuming bureaucratic procedures for citizens who need to present a public document to get married or start a job in the country they live in. It will make the daily lives of people living and working in another EU country easier and cheaper.”

New rules put an end to a number of bureaucratic procedures:

- Public documents (for example, birth, marriage, or the absence of a criminal record) issued in an EU country must be accepted as authentic by the authorities in another Member State without the need to carry an authenticity stamp;

- Regulation also abolishes the obligation for citizens to provide in all cases a certified copy and a certified translation of their public documents. Citizens can request a multilingual standard form, available in all EU languages, to present as translation aid attached to their public document to avoid translation requirements;

- Regulation sets safeguards against fraud: if a receiving authority has reasonable doubts about the authenticity of a public document, it will be able to check its authenticity with the issuing authority in the other EU country through an existing IT platform, the Internal Market Information System (IMI).

Regulation deals only with the authenticity of public documents, so Member States will continue to apply their national rules concerning the recognition of the content and effects of a public document issued in another Union country.

Background

Around 17 million EU citizens live in another EU country than their own. Around two million citizens are cross-border daily commuters who work or study in one country but live in another.

Rules were proposed by the European Commission back in April 2013, following feedback from citizens that there were long and cumbersome procedures. Rules were adopted in June 2016. EU countries had two and a half years to adapt to the new simplifications.

Source: European Commission Press Release