Fact Sheets on the European Union
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Free movement of persons

This fact sheet explains the principles governing the freedom of movement and residence for persons in the European Union, the cornerstone of EU citizenship. It outlines the achievements since the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht, including the gradual phasing-out of internal borders under the Schengen Agreement and the adoption of the right of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the EU, as well as recent developments in strengthening identity documents.

Legal basis

  • Article 3(2) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) stating that the Union shall offer its citizens an area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers, in which the free movement of persons is ensured in conjunction with appropriate measures with respect to external border controls, asylum, immigration and the prevention and combating of crime.
  • Article 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) establishing the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.
  • Title IV TFEU on the free movement of workers (and people in general), services and capital; and Title V TFEU on the area of freedom, justice and security.
  • Article 45 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union on Freedom of movement and of residence.

    • The free movement of persons, a founding concept of the European project

    The free movement of persons has been at the very heart of European integration since the establishment of the European Economic Community in 1957 (Treaty of Rome). At that time, it covered the free movement of workers and freedom of establishment. As such, the freedom of movement of persons was tied to their status as employees or service providers. In 1993, the Treaty of Maastricht introduced the concept of EU citizenship which is enjoyed automatically by every national of a Member State of the European Union. It is this EU citizenship that underpins the right of persons to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon further reinforced this right, by including it in the general provisions on the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice.

    The Schengen area

    The Schengen Agreement is a key milestone in European integration for the free movement of persons as it abolishes internal borders and ensures the protection of a common external European border. This agreement was concluded in two phases, firstly through the signature of the Schengen Agreement on 14 June 1985, followed by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement, signed on 19 June 1990, which entered into force on 26 March 1995. The agreement was initially signed by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, while other countries joined progressively between 1995 and 2024.

    The Schengen Agreement set the stage for the gradual abolition of internal border controls between participating nations and the simultaneous strengthening the protection of the common EU external borders, establishing the basis for enhanced mutual trust.

    In 1997, a protocol annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam transferred the so-called Schengen acquis into the Treaties. This meant that the acquis, the body of legislation and case law that make up EU law, would also be considered primary law, and future legislation of the Union would have to respect it. Since 2009, the Schengen acquis is subject to parliamentary and judicial scrutiny. As most Schengen rules are now part of the EU acquis, since the EU enlargement of 1 May 2004, accession countries cannot ‘opt out’ of Schengen.

    A. Participating countries

    There are currently 29 full Schengen members:

    • 25 EU Member States;
    • Norway;
    • Iceland;
    • Switzerland;
    • Liechtenstein.

      • The two newest members of the Schengen border-free area are Bulgaria and Romania, since January 2025. Cyprus is currently in the process of joining the Schengen area.

      Through individual agreements during their accession to the European Union, Ireland and Denmark benefit from ‘opt-out’ agreements on the Area of Justice and Home Affairs. Ireland is not part of the Schengen area but it can ‘opt-in’ to selected parts of the Schengen body of law. Denmark chose to join the Schengen area in 2001, but it still enjoys an ‘opt-out’ for any new justice and home affairs measures, including on the Schengen area. Denmark is, however, bound by certain new measures under the common visa policy established for the Schengen area.

      B. Achievements of the Schengen area

      The Schengen area’s achievements include:

      • The abolition of internal border controls for all persons;
      • Measures to strengthen and harmonise external border controls (see 4.2.4): all EU citizens need only show an identity card or passport to enter the Schengen area;
      • A common visa policy for short stays: nationals of third countries included in the common list of non-member countries whose nationals need an entry visa (see Annex II to Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001) may obtain a single visa, valid for the entire Schengen area;
      • Police (see 4.2.7) and judicial cooperation (see 4.2.6): police forces assist each other in detecting and preventing crime and have the right to pursue fugitive criminals into the territory of a neighbouring Schengen state; there is also a faster extradition system and mutual recognition of criminal judgments;
      • The establishment and development of the Schengen Information System (SIS) (see 4.2.4).

        • C. Recent challenges faced by the Schengen area

        While the Schengen area is widely regarded as one of the primary achievements of the European Union, it faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, as some EU countries closed their borders to control the virus’ spread, before the introduction of the EU Digital COVID Certificate in July 2021.

        The Schengen area had also faced challenges and restrictions resulting from previous crises, including the 2015 migration crisis, as well as after terrorist attacks in various Member States.

        The free movement of EU citizens and their family members

        A. The consolidation of the free movement of EU citizens and their family members

        In 1990, to ensure that the European Union was transformed into an area that ensured freedom of movement for all EU citizens, various directives were adopted in order to grant residence rights to persons other than workers:

        • Council Directive 90/365/EEC on the right of residence for employees and self-employed persons who have ceased their occupational activity;
        • Council Directive 90/366/EEC on the right of residence for students;
        • Council Directive 90/364/EEC on the right of residence - this concerns nationals of Member States who do not benefit of the right of residence under other provisions of Community law and for members of their families.

          • B. Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the EU

          To consolidate the legislation on free movement, a new comprehensive directive was adopted in 2004. The directive (2004/38/EC) is designed to encourage EU citizens to exercise their right to move and reside freely within the Member States, to cut back administrative formalities to the essentials, to provide a better definition of the status of family members, and to limit the scope for refusing entry or terminating the right of residence. Under this directive, family members include:

          • The spouse (including for persons in same-sex marriages, as per the 2018 Coman judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU (C-673/16));
          • The registered partner, if the legislation of the host Member State treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage;
          • Direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependants, and those of the spouse or registered partner;
          • Dependent direct relatives in the ascending line and those of the spouse or registered partner.

            • A large majority of Member States also apply the directive to guarantee free movement rights to same-sex registered partners and partners in a durable relationship.

            1. Rights and obligations imposed by the directive

            For stays of under three months, the only requirement for EU citizens is that they possess a valid identity document or passport. The host Member State may require the persons concerned to register their presence in the country.

            For stays of over three months, EU citizens and their family members, if they are not working, must have sufficient resources and sickness insurance to ensure that they do not become a burden on the social services of the host Member State during their stay. EU citizens do not need residence permits, although Member States may require them to register with the authorities. Family members of EU citizens who are not nationals of a Member State must apply for a residence permit, valid for the duration of their stay or a five-year period.

            EU citizens acquire the right of permanent residence after a five-year period of uninterrupted legal residence, provided that an expulsion decision has not been enforced against them. This right is no longer subject to any conditions. The same rule applies to family members who are not nationals of a Member State and who have lived with an EU citizen for five years. The right of permanent residence is lost only in the event of more than two successive years’ absence from the host Member State.

            Restrictions on the right of entry and the right of residence may, however, be imposed on EU citizens or members of their family, who may be expelled from the host Member State on grounds of public policy, public security or public health. Guarantees are provided to ensure that such decisions are not taken on economic grounds, comply with the proportionality principle and are based on personal conduct, among other considerations.

            Finally, the directive enables Member States to adopt the necessary measures to refuse, terminate or withdraw any right conferred in the event of abuse of rights or fraud, such as marriages of convenience.

            2. The implementation of the directive on the right of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the EU

            Since the adoption of this directive evidence emerged of serious shortcomings in implementation. Continuing obstacles to free movement have been highlighted by Commission reports and Parliament studies on the application of the directive. Infringement proceedings against Member States for incorrect or incomplete transposition have also been launched, and the large volume of petitions have been submitted to Parliament. Member States have raised concerns about the alleged abuse of free movement rules by EU citizens for the purposes of ‘benefits tourism’.

            In December 2023, the European Commission issued a new guidance document entitled ‘Guidance on the right of free movement of EU citizens and their families’, which aims to enhance the effective and uniform application of free movement legislation across the EU. It provides clarification to assist national authorities in combating abuses and fraud related to free movement rights.

            C. Physical and Digital Documents

            In 2025, the Council adopted a regulation strengthening the security of identity cards of EU citizens and of residence documents issued to EU citizens and their family members exercising their right of free movement.

            This regulation requires EU Member States to issue identity cards containing a highly secure contactless chip with the holder’s photo and two fingerprints. However, it does not require EU Member States to issue identity cards when this type of documentation is not provided for under their national law.

            By improving document reliability and harmonising security features, this new regulation aims to reduce fraud and forgery and facilitate the recognition of identity and residence documents throughout the EU, thereby supporting the effective exercise of free-movement rights under Directive 2004/38/EC and Article 21 TFEU.

            On 8 October 2024, the Commission adopted a legislative proposal that would allow EU citizens to create so-called digital travel credentials based on their identity cards. Digital travel credentials are essentially a digital copy of the data in the chip of the identity card, except for fingerprints. This would enable EU citizens to use their identity card-based digital travel credential when travelling to or within the EU.

            D. Non-EU nationals

            Provisions applying to non-EU nationals who are not family members of an EU citizen are explained in the fact sheet on immigration policy (see 4.2.3).

            Role of the European Parliament

            The European Parliament has championed the right to free movement, which it regards as a core principle of the European Union. In its resolution of 16 January 2014 on respect for the fundamental right of free movement in the EU, Parliament rejected efforts to curtail free movement rights and called on the Member States to comply with the Treaty provisions on EU rules governing freedom of movement and to ensure that the principles of equality and the fundamental right of freedom of movement are upheld for all Member States. In its resolution of 15 March 2017 on obstacles to EU citizens’ freedom to move and work in the internal market, and its resolution of 12 December 2017 on the EU Citizenship Report, Parliament called once more for the removal of obstacles to the right to free movement.

            With regard to the Schengen area, in its resolution of 30 May 2018 on the annual report on the functioning of the Schengen area, Parliament condemned ‘the continued reintroduction of internal border checks’, as they are ‘detrimental to the unity of the Schengen area and harmful to the prosperity of European citizens and the principle of freedom of movement’.

            Furthermore, the European Parliament’s Research Service published a briefing on the free movement of EU citizens and their family members in May 2024, which offers an overview of the conditions and rights outlined in Directive 2004/38/EC for EU citizens and their family members.

            On 24 April 2024, Parliament formally adopted in plenary a legislative resolution to reform the Schengen Borders Code, strengthening free movement, clarifying rules and reducing temporary border controls.

            This fact sheet is prepared by the Policy Department for Justice, Civil Liberties and Institutional Affairs. For more information, please visit the website of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

             

            Clémence Rogalski