The European Union has launched legal action against 17 of its member states over their implementation of new single permit rules for third-country nationals.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, confirmed the move, which targets countries that have not brought their national legislation into line with the bloc's framework on single permits. The permit combines two separate legal statuses — the right to work and the right to reside — into one document for non-EU nationals coming to live and work in a member state.

The action places the 17 countries at the start of the EU's formal infringement procedure, the mechanism the Commission uses to enforce European law when member states fail to apply it correctly. The procedure can escalate in stages. If a country does not respond adequately at the first step, the Commission can refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has the power to impose financial penalties on states that persistently breach EU rules.

Who is affected

The single permit matters to two broad groups. The first is third-country nationals who apply to live and work in an EU member state. Where the system works as intended, they submit one application and receive one permit covering both residence and employment, rather than navigating two separate procedures with two national authorities.

The second group is employers. Companies hiring workers from outside the EU rely on the single permit procedure to fill labour shortages, and delays or inconsistencies in national implementation translate directly into longer hiring timelines and legal uncertainty for sponsoring firms.

Why the Commission acted

EU law on the single permit has been in force for years, and member states were obliged to write its provisions into their national law. The Commission's decision to open legal action against 17 states at once signals that it considers the current state of national implementation unacceptable.

The scale of the action is unusual. Infringement procedures in the migration field typically target one or a handful of countries at a time. Opening cases against 17 member states simultaneously makes single permit rules one of the largest collective enforcement actions in this policy area in recent years.

What happens next

For the 17 governments, the immediate task is to bring national legislation and administrative practice into compliance with EU requirements. They now must respond to the Commission within the framework of the infringement procedure. Countries that correct their rules can close their cases before they reach the court stage.

For applicants and employers, the practical effect will not arrive overnight. National systems will continue to operate as they do now until each government amends its rules. Migrants and companies currently in the process should follow announcements from their national immigration authorities, which remain the official source for application procedures, fees and processing times in each country.

The European Commission publishes details of all infringement procedures, including the specific grounds against each member state, in its official documentation on enforcement of EU law. Readers tracking a specific country should consult those records and the relevant national immigration authority for the authoritative position.

This article reports the change at EU level. It does not constitute legal advice for individual cases.