More favourable provisions
1. This Directive shall apply without prejudice to more favourable provisions of:
(a)
Union law, including bilateral and multilateral agreements between the Union, or the Union and its Member States, on the one hand and one or more third countries on the other; and
(b)
bilateral or multilateral agreements between one or more Member States and one or more third countries.
2. This Directive shall be without prejudice to the right of Member States to adopt or maintain provisions that are more favourable to the persons to whom it applies.
Information to the general public
Each Member State shall make easily accessible to the general public a regularly updated set of information, including through sources accessible in relevant third countries:
(a)
concerning the conditions of third-country nationals’ admission to and residence in its territory for the purpose of work;
(b)
on all the documentary evidence needed for the application for a single permit;
(c)
on entry and residence conditions, including the rights, obligations and procedural safeguards, of the third-country nationals and their family members.
Reporting
1. Periodically, and for the first time no later than 21 May 2029, the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Directive in the Member States and shall propose amendments it deems necessary.
2. For the first time no later than 30 June 2028 and annually thereafter, Member States shall communicate to the Commission (Eurostat) statistics on the volumes of third-country nationals who have applied for a single permit, those who have been granted a single permit and those whose single permit has been renewed or withdrawn during the previous calendar year, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 25 ) . Those statistics shall relate to reference periods of one calendar year, be disaggregated by type of decision, reason for the decision„ length of validity of permits, citizenship, sex and age and, where available, by occupation and be transmitted within six months after the end of the reference period.
Transposition
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Article 2, point (2), Article 3(2) and (5), Article 4(1), (2) and (4), Article 5(2), (3) and (4), Article 6(1), Article 7(1), Article 8(2), (3) and (4), Article 9, Article 10, Article 11(1), point (d), Article 11(2) to (6), Article 12(1), points (a), (b), (g) and (h), Article 12(2), point (d)(ii), Articles 13, 14, 16 and 17 by 21 May 2026. They shall immediately communicate the text of those measures to the Commission.
When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. They shall also include a statement that references in existing laws, regulations and administrative provisions to the Directive repealed by this Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made and how that statement is to be formulated.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main measures of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
Repeal
Directive 2011/98/EU is repealed with effect from 22 May 2026, without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limit for the transposition into national law of the Directive set out in Annex I.
References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex II.
Entry into force and application
This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Article 1, Article 2 points (1), (3) and (4), Article 3(1), (3) and (4), Article 4(3) and (5), Article 5(1), Article 6(2), Article 7(2), Article 8(1), Article 11(1), points (a), (b) and (c), Article 12(1), points (c) to (f), Article 12(2), points (a), (b), (c) and (d)(i), Article 12(3) and (4) and Article 15, shall apply from 22 May 2026.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
