Free movement of workers

The free movement of workers is one of the four freedoms laid down in the European Union (EU) treaties, the others being the free movement of goods, capital and services. A number of EU treaty articles have a bearing on the free movement of workers, the most important being Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

Article 45 gives citizens of an EU Member State the right to:

look for a job in another Member State;
work there without the need for a work permit;
reside there for that purpose;
stay there even after their employment has finished;
enjoy equal treatment with nationals in access to employment, working conditions and all other social and tax advantages.

These rights apply to individuals who exercise their right to free movement for work purposes. There are limitations based on considerations of public security, public policy, public health grounds and employment in the public sector.

Where an EU national is working abroad in another Member State, family members also have the right to reside and work in that Member State, regardless of their nationality. Children also have the right to be educated in the Member State to which their parent has relocated.

Under the EU’s legislation on mutual recognition of professional qualifications, people working in certain occupations for which the receiving Member State requires particular professional qualifications have the right to get their professional qualifications recognised in that state.

There are also rules protecting EU citizens’ social security rights when they move from one Member State to another.

In 2019, the European Labour Authority, a body designed to help ensure fair labour mobility across the EU and support the coordination of social security systems, was set up.

Free movement of workers also applies to citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, whose countries belong to the European Economic Area. Other non-EU nationals may have the right to work in a Member State or to be treated equally with EU nationals as regards conditions of work. These rights depend on their status as family members of EU nationals and on their own nationality (a number of countries have agreements with the EU).