Non-EU Long term resident migrating to another member state

hocknlim · Post by **hocknlim** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 12:12 pm

Hi All, I hope someone can help me.

I am a non-EU citizen, holding a Dutch permanent EU Residence permit (renewable every 5 years). I am thinking of migrating permanently to Malta (another EU member state). That means that I would want to de-register from The Netherlands (e.g. tax, healthcare, etc) and register myself in Malta.

Does anyone know what are the steps I have to do to start this migrating procedure? How do I inform the Maltese authorities that I want to be a permanent resident in Malta? My Dutch EU permit is up for renewal in 2012. Do I renew that card in Malta or The Netherlands?

Any information will help. Thanks!!

daexpat · Post by **daexpat** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 6:24 pm

86ti · Post by **86ti** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 6:36 pm

I think first you would first have to make sure that Malta doesn't have any quotas on residence permits of that kind, see Directive 2003/109/EC.

Rozen · Post by **Rozen** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 7:06 pm

daexpat wrote:1) Why do you have to de-register from your current place? Is it not possible to have em both?

The Netherlands requires you to de-register if you are moving to another country, EU or not.

hocknlim · Post by **hocknlim** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:37 am

Hi,

To answer your questions.

1. Like someone else have mentioned, you have to de-register from the local council. In addition, taxes and healthcare costs are high here. I want to domicile myself in Malta instead of The Netherlands. Health insurance per month in Holland can be as high as 100 euro/month compared to Malta's 40 euro/month

2. Yes, you can live in another EU member state when you have a EU PR card. However, my PR card is up for renewal in 2012. If I move to Malta now, in which country do I have to renew it?

daexpat wrote:Sorry to stray from the main topic, ...

1) Why do you have to de-register from your current place? Is it not possible to have em both?

2) If you are already holding the PR from one EU state, can you not live in another EU state? Do you need a new PR?

Cheers

86ti · Post by **86ti** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:51 am

hocknlim wrote:2. Yes, you can live in another EU member state when you have a EU PR card.

Can you clarify please: are we talking here about a residence card issued to a family member of an EEA national or are we talking here a long-term residence permit EC?

hocknlim · Post by **hocknlim** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:08 am

I'm talking about a Non-EU citizen holding a permanent EU residence card looking to move from Netherlands to Malta. I don't think I mentioned family members at all in my threads.

86ti wrote:
hocknlim wrote:2. Yes, you can live in another EU member state when you have a EU PR card.
Can you clarify please: are we talking here about a residence card issued to a family member of an EEA national or are we talking here a long-term residence permit EC?

86ti · Post by **86ti** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:30 am

But you keep using 'residence card' which is reserved for family members. What you have, I think (what's the actual title of the document?), is a long-term residence permit EC according to Directive 2003/109/EC. UK, Ireland and Denmark opted out of this Directive and other member countries may impose limitations. Hence, my previous hint regarding quotas. If you intent to work you may find it very difficult to get a residence permit in another member state. I would be surprised if it would be easy in a small country like Malta.

hocknlim · Post by **hocknlim** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:33 am

Thanks for the info.

I don't quite understand what you mean. I thought EU permanent residence permit holder is free to move around in member states (except as you mentioned UK, Ireland Denmark).

The only thing I want to clarify is: If I move to Malta, from which member state do I have to renew my residence permit. My preference is of course Malta as I do not want to renew it in Netherlands given the high costs of tax, health insurance etc.

86ti wrote:But you keep using 'residence card' which is reserved for family members. What you have, I think (what's the actual title of the document?), is a long-term residence permit EC according to Directive 2003/109/EC. UK, Ireland and Denmark opted out of this Directive and other member countries may impose limitations. Hence, my previous hint regarding quotas. If you intent to work you may find it very difficult to get a residence permit in another member state. I would be surprised if it would be easy in a small country like Malta.

86ti · Post by **86ti** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:50 am

hocknlim wrote:I don't quite understand what you mean. I thought EU permanent residence permit holder is free to move around in member states (except as you mentioned UK, Ireland Denmark).

Free but conditional on national law (hint: some countries are rumoured to be less than enthusiastic about immigration... Malta is a small country and I would be surprised if they would not keep tight control on the number of immigrants).

hocknlim wrote:The only thing I want to clarify is: If I move to Malta, from which member state do I have to renew my residence permit.

You need the permit from the country you reside in. As far as I understand you have the right to return to the country where you originally got the permanent residence until you get a new one from the new country. At that point your Dutch permant residence permit will become invalid.

Rozen · Post by **Rozen** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:05 pm

If I were you hocknlim, I would give IND in Nederland a call (no need to tell 'em your real name), and ask them what is the procedure for renewing your PR RP out of country. For all you know, you might be able to do it at the Nederland consulate in Malta!
But I have a feeling that you may lose your Dutch PR if you stay away too long.
Your PR circumstance is not very clear. Do you not qualify for Dutch citizenship? It would make your life/migration a whole lot easier.

charles4u · Post by **charles4u** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:19 pm

Rozen wrote:If I were you hocknlim, I would give IND in Nederland a call (no need to tell 'em your real name), and ask them what is the procedure for renewing your PR RP out of country. For all you know, you might be able to do it at the Nederland consulate in Malta!
But I have a feeling that you may lose your Dutch PR if you stay away too long.
Your PR circumstance is not very clear. Do you not qualify for Dutch citizenship? It would make your life/migration a whole lot easier.

Atleast in Europe.

I'm surprised someone wants to cancel his or her Dutch PR for just Malta..indeed life and people are unpredictable

hocknlim · Post by **hocknlim** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:33 pm

Yes, You will be amazed some people (like me) are sick and tired of the (greedy) system in The Netherlands. Funny thing is, some people think NL is a good place to move to

Ha ha ha...

charles4u wrote:
Rozen wrote:If I were you hocknlim, I would give IND in Nederland a call (no need to tell 'em your real name), and ask them what is the procedure for renewing your PR RP out of country. For all you know, you might be able to do it at the Nederland consulate in Malta!
But I have a feeling that you may lose your Dutch PR if you stay away too long.
Your PR circumstance is not very clear. Do you not qualify for Dutch citizenship? It would make your life/migration a whole lot easier.
Atleast in Europe.

I'm surprised someone wants to cancel his or her Dutch PR for just Malta..indeed life and people are unpredictable

Rozen · Post by **Rozen** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:48 pm

hocknlim wrote: Funny thing is, some people think NL is a good place to move to Ha ha ha...

I'm one of 'them'!

Don't regret moving from the UK for a single moment! Despite the high tax, health insurance, etc...
You get what you pay for! And I see proof of this in Nederland. Schools, hospitals, etc.. High quality and standards!
Each to their own...
Good luck to you in Malta!

hocknlim · Post by **hocknlim** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:13 pm

I guess everyone will have their soft-spot for certain countries. I'm a veteran here in Netherlands. Have been here more than 10+ years. Had enough of it already

Rozen wrote:
hocknlim wrote: Funny thing is, some people think NL is a good place to move to Ha ha ha...

I'm one of 'them'!
Don't regret moving from the UK for a single moment! Despite the high tax, health insurance, etc...
You get what you pay for! And I see proof of this in Nederland. Schools, hospitals, etc.. High quality and standards!
Each to their own...
Good luck to you in Malta!

mastermind · Post by **mastermind** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:34 am

Read "Right of residence in the other Member States" section at the following link:
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/ ... 034_en.htm

But if I were you I'd also check if Malta implemented (integrated into their national law) that directive properly. For example I know of a guy who moved from Germany to Cyprus, exchanged his German LTPR (long time resident permit) to a Cypriot one but his wife (who also had German LTPR) was denied Cypriot LTPR but was given a one-year(renewable yearly) residence permit without right to work! Clearly Cyprus is in violation of the EU directive here but still, that couple is struggling with this problem for over a year already (complained to SOLVIT and took the gov. to court but courts are very slow in Cyprus, it can take years to wait for court decision).

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Non-EU Long term resident migrating to another member state

Non-EU Long term resident migrating to another member state