The European Commission has issued directives aimed at facilitating legal migration into the European Union (EU), for individuals with “skills and talents” the union is experiencing a labor shortage.
Brussels intends to simplify work residence permits and visa procedures for nationals from various countries, including Morocco, in order to facilitate their access to the union’s member states.
The target countries are Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, followed by Senegal, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In exchange for migratory facilitations, the EU is requiring these countries “to make commitments in the fight against irregular migration.”
Health, technology, construction, and transport are among the fields most concerned with this targeted labor migration. The reform will allow interested individuals from North African countries to apply for a work permit from their country of origin.
This new work permit will no longer be linked to a single employer, and its beneficiaries will therefore be able to change jobs legally. The Commission also wants to ease granting long-term resident status, which can be given after five years of legal residence in an EU country.
The new directive suggests allowing for long-term residency as soon as the five-year period ends, which will allow the individuals’ free movement throughout the Union.
Time of study in the EU will be taken into account, according to the EU Commission, as well as the period of reception under temporary protection, of a maximum of three years.
In addition, long-term residency associated rights will be improved, particularly with regard to family reunification. According to the commission, there will be no integration conditions, while facilitating access to the labor market for family members, and immediate granting of long-term resident status to the immigrants’ children.
In terms of logistics, the EU executive would like to implement an EU-wide platform by summer 2023, where potential migrants can apply to job openings.
The Commission details, however, that the implementation of this new directive will not be compulsory for any member state.
According to the European Commission, in addition to the 125,000 to 200,000 people who enter the European Union each year without a residence permit, 10 to 15 times as many people arrive legally, a flow that is essential for the prosperity of the Union’s economy, and demographics.
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