EU Residence Permit - Long Term European Residence Permit

What Is EU Permanent Residency

The EU permanent residency visa, also known as the EU long term residence permit, is a visa for non-EU nationals who are currently residing in one of the EU member countries. After successfully acquiring the EU permanent residency visa they will be able to permanently live in any of the EU member countries.

Those people are eligible for this visa who are third-country nationals and have been living in the EU member country from where they are applying for at least five years.

Who Is Eligible?

The eligibility criteria for long term residency candidates is as follows:

1. The person must have lived for at least five years in the EU country where they are applying from
2. The person must have evidence of the fact that they can financially support themselves, and their dependents
3. The person must be reasonably proficient in the official language of the EU country that they are applying from
4. The person must at least have a basic understanding of the legal and social system and the way of life in the country that they are applying from
5. The person has sufficient living space for themselves and their family

Application Process

One needs to initiate the process for the EU long term residency permit while their temporary residence permit is still valid. The steps for the application process are as below:

1. Send in the necessary documents to the immigration authorities. Depending on where the person is located they may be required to submit the documents in person or through the post. Verify you have all the necessary paperwork and forward that to the immigration office.
2. Biometric scans. After the authorities receive the applicants’ paperwork they will be invited to provide biometric information. In some cases the biometric information may be taken on the same day when the documents are submitted by the applicant in person.
3. The fees for the EU long term residence varies from country to country and will be charged before the application processing begins.
4. Wait for process completion. After all the required information has been collected and the associated fees has been charged the immigration authorities will begin processing and will notify the applicant about the decision made.

In the case that the applicant is selected to be awarded the EU long term residence permit they will be invited to collect the document. If the decision is negative the authorities will automatically start processing the application to check for eligibility for a permanent residence permit. If a permanent residence permit is also not possible then the application will be forwarded to check if it is eligible for an extension in the current temporary residence permit. This processing will take anywhere from four to six weeks to process.

Required Documents

The EU long term residence permit application has no interview, therefore the documents submitted are of even more importance. Below are the documents applicants need to submit. It is important to ensure that all documents are up to date and valid.

1. Passport
2. One photo according to Schengen photo rules
3. Color copies of all passport pages containing personal data and all pages that contain stickers and stamps
4. Evidence of residing in the host EU country for the past five years

• • A valid certificate of registration of first arriving in the country
  • Utility bills and rental agreements which prove you have been living in the country
  • Bank statements, pay cheques, tax returns and any other documents which prove you have been working, studying, doing business or looking for work
  • Evidence of income such as work contracts, pay slips or bank statements
  • Evidence of accommodation which can include rental contracts or home ownership documents which will also illustrate the area of residence
  • Health insurance evidence either by public or private service providers

These are some generic documents which all EU member states require, individual EU members have their own specific requirements which should also be catered to when submitting the application.

EU Long Term Residency Permit Validity

This permit has no expiry date in general, however it also depends on the country you are applying from. This permit is automatically renewed and whenever it comes near expiry the permit holder receives a notification of extension for another period.

Though the EU member state can also cancel the permit at any time and if this happens the permit holder will also receive details about this decision.

Reasons For Rejection Of Application

Below are some of the main reasons why applications are rejected for the EU long term residence permit

1. The applicant is considered a public threat and unsafe
2. The applicant has not been consistently present in the country where they are applying from in the past five years before the application submission
3. The applicant is suspected of fraud or criminal activities
4. The number of non-EU citizens already admitted by the EU member state the application is for has reached its maximum

Benefits Of The EU Long Term Residence Permit

After the actual citizenship of an EU member state, the authorization which can yield the most benefits is the EU long term residence permit. The benefits include:

1. Access to employment and authority to conduct self-employed activity
2. Access to educational and vocational training
3. Access to social protection and assistance, at least to the basic services. The level of service will also depend on available facilities
4. Access to goods and services

EU Long Term Residence Permit Fee

All EU member states have their own fee structure and it varies on the member state. The general rule which applies to all states is that the long term residence permit fee will cost the same as the local nationals pay for their identity cards.