Moving within the European Union - Rights & Associations

When you request quotes by movers we advise you to make sure that the company you decide to go with, is associated to one or more of these associations.

Free moving quotes from European Union movers

So, you are moving to or from European Union. Compare movers by requesting free moving quotes. Comparing several quotes can help you determine who is the best mover for your European Union move.

European Moving Associations

FEDEMAC
The Federation of European Movers Associations
www.fedemac.com

BAR
Removal Company Trade Associations
www.bar.co.uk

GUILD
The National Guild of Removers and Storers.
www.ngrs.org.uk

British Standard Quality Assured
BS EN 12522.
www.bsi-global.com

R.H.A.
The Road Haulage Association.
www.rha.net

SSA
The Self Storage Association of UK and Europe.
www.ssauk.com

Germany moving associations
Transratio
Laderaumausgleich Deutscher Möbelspediteure
www.transratio-umzug.de

AMÖ Bundesverband Möbelspedition
(AMÖ)
www.amoe.de

In a nutshell - your rights as a:

Frontier worker

A frontier worker is an employed or self-employed person who pursues his occupation in a different Member State from the one in which he resides and to which he returns at least once a week.

As a frontier worker you are protected by the European provisions on social security in the same way as all the other categories of persons to whom these provisions apply. For example,

• you are insured in the country where you work;
• you are entitled to family benefits even for members of your family who reside in another country;
• you will receive a separate pension from each country where you were insured for at least one year.
  There are, however, some special rules in relation to sickness benefits and unemployment benefits:

As regards sickness benefits in kind, you have a right of option if you are a frontier worker: you may obtain these benefits either in the country where you reside or in the country where you work. In many cases, it will be more practical for you to receive sickness benefits in kind in the country where you work and where you spent a great deal of time. When you become a pensioner, you will, however, lose the status of "frontier worker" and, as a result, no longer be entitled to sickness benefits in kind in the country where you were previously employed.
Important: Members of the families of frontier workers enjoy the same right of option only in a few countries. Please contact your sickness insurance institution for more information.
As regards unemployment benefits, you are entitled to benefits - if you are wholly unemployed - only in the country where you reside, unless you can prove that you have closer ties with the country where you were last employed (the calculation of the amount of benefit is dealt with in Chapter 5.8. above).

Seasonal worker

A seasonal worker is a person who, for a period which may on no account exceed eight months, does work of a seasonal nature in a country other than the one in which he resides.

As a seasonal worker, you derive the same rights and obligations from the Community provisions on social security as do all the other categories of workers. In particular, you are insured in the country where you are employed during the season concerned. There are special rules only with regard to unemployment benefits:

As a seasonal worker who is wholly unemployed, you have a right of option: you can get unemployment benefits either in the country where you were a seasonal worker or in the country where you reside.
As a seasonal worker who is wholly unemployed and who receives unemployment benefits in the country where he was a seasonal worker, you can - under the same conditions as other unemployed persons (see Chapter 5.8. above) - go to another country in order to seek employment. In such cases the 3-month period for the retention of the right to benefit is limited, however, to the period remaining until the end of the season for which you were engaged.

Posted worker

A posted worker is a person who is normally employed in one country but temporarily sent to another country to work there for his undertaking. The maximum period for posting is 12 months; in exceptional cases it can be extended up to 24 months.

As a posted worker you remain insured in the country where you are normally employed. This means that you continue paying contributions to the social security system of that country and you continue acquiring new rights to benefits there.

• You are entitled to all necessary health-care benefits in the country to which you have been sent.
• You are entitled to family benefits from the country in which you remain insured, regardless of which country the members of your family reside in.
• In the event of unemployment, you are entitled to unemployment benefits in the country where you are normally employed. However, if you transferred your residence to the country in which you have been posted, you could also be entitled to unemployment benefits there.
• Before leaving the country where you are normally employed, you should apply for forms E 101 and E 111. You need these forms to prove that you have been posted and also to prove your entitlement to necessary health-care benefits.

Pensioner

As a pensioner (i.e. receiving old-age, invalidity or survivor's pension) you are offered considerable protection by the Community provisions on social security.

Important: This applies not only to former migrant workers but to all nationals of a Member State who are entitled to a pension under a legal pension scheme. Therefore, even if you never left your country during your professional career, you can rely on the Community provisions when you are a pensioner and you are residing or staying in another country.

In a nutshell, these are your rights:

- PENSIONS -

You are entitled to a separate pension from every country where you were insured for at least one year, provided you satisfy the conditions laid down in national law (e.g. pensionable age, waiting periods). If necessary, insurance periods completed in different countries will be aggregated.
Your pension will be paid wherever you reside within the European Union or the European Economic Area without any reduction, modification or suspension. This is not the case, however, for some pension supplements or means-tested social pensions (see Chapter 5.6. above).

- SICKNESS BENEFITS -

You are entitled to all sickness benefits in kind in the country where you reside, even if you were never insured in that country. The only condition is that you would be entitled to sickness benefits under the legislation of one of the countries from which you draw a pension if you resided in that country.
During a temporary stay in another country, you are entitled to all the benefits in kind which become necessary during that stay.

- FAMILY BENEFITS -

You are entitled to family benefits for the members of your family, regardless of where you or the members of your family reside within the European Union or the European Economic Area. These benefits are paid by the institution of the country from which you draw your pension. If you are entitled to several pensions from different countries, you will normally get the highest amount of benefit provided under the legislation of one of these states

Student

An increasing number of young people choose to follow part or all of their studies in another country. Among the problems which they often face (besides language problems, recognition of diplomas, accommodation, etc.), access to health-care and sickness benefits is certainly not the least important. The Community provisions on social security offer practical solutions:

Students residing in the state where the studies are pursued are entitled to all sickness benefits in kind provided under the legislation of that country. For this purpose, they need form E 109 which will be delivered at their request by the institution with which they or their parents are insured.
Students staying temporarily in the state where the studies are pursued are entitled to all immediately necessary health-care benefits in kind. For this purpose, they need form E 111 which will be delivered at their request by the institution with which they or their parents are insured. For all other benefits (i.e. benefits which are not immediately necessary), they have to ask for a prior authorization (form E 112) or have to return to the state where they normally reside.
Important: As a student staying or residing in another country, you are not automatically protected by the Community provisions on social security. At present, you can rely on these provisions only if you are insured with a sickness insurance institution for workers or if you enjoy sickness-coverage as a member of the family (of an employed or self-employed person or of a pensioner). Please ask your sickness insurance institution if these conditions are fulfilled in your case.

Foreign countries - foreign languages: not necessarily a problem!

Whenever you work, reside or stay in a foreign country, foreign languages may present a problem, especially where difficult terms in the field of social security are concerned. Unfamiliarity with foreign languages can easily give rise to misunderstandings and could therefore be a handicap when claiming benefits, in observing deadlines and in lodging appeals.

For this reason, the Community rules on social security provide explicit provisions which can help you to avoid and to overcome language problems in your dealings with foreign institutions.

The different forms you will get when moving to another state should be available in all official languages of the European Union and the European Economic Area:

Danish
Dutch
English
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Icelandic
Italian
Norwegian
Portuguese
Spanish
Swedish

Whenever you present a form to a foreign institution, it can compare it with a model-form in its own language so that there are no language problems in understanding the contents of the form. Therefore, do not worry about presenting your forms to foreign institutions: they will know what to do with them!

Claims and documents which you present to the institutions or courts of another Member State, may not be rejected on the grounds that they are not written in the official language of that state. In other words, you may present your claims, letters and certificates in your mother-tongue (if it is amongst the 13 official languages mentioned above!) whenever you consider it necessary or appropriate. Of course, this might delay the decision on your particular claim, but in many cases it will help you to express yourself clearly and to avoid misunderstandings. A Community mechanism has been established, the purpose of which is to help the national institutions to speed up the translation of documents presented in a foreign language.
With regard to the particularly important decisions on claims for pensions, you are entitled to a summarized statement in your own language on all decisions made by foreign institutions. The decisions in full will be appended to this statement.
Language problems as such are in no way an insurmountable obstacle when claiming your social security rights while moving within the European Union or the European Economic Area. Nevertheless, being able to speak a foreign language will always be an advantage and a personal enrichment.

The social security institutions of the Member States: your point of contact for any problems

When confronted by foreign social security laws and regulations, difficult forms and unknown terms, you should not hesitate to ask the competent institution of the place where you work, reside or stay for help and information. As a rule, these institutions are prepared and willing to provide guidance, even in difficult cases.

Sometimes, it may be appropriate to consult a special liaison body which has specific experience in dealing with cross-border social security matters.

The addresses of the relevant institutions can be found on the back of the appropriate form or in the description of the national social security schemes in Part II of this guide.

In particular, you can get information on procedures and deadlines to be observed, as well as on remedies and appeals under national law.

Whenever you doubt whether any information delivered by a national institution is correct and is in accordance with the Community provisions on social security, you should first contact the institution concerned so that it can recheck it. This also applies to formal decisions on the entitlement to benefits, but do not forget the deadlines for formal appeals.

Source: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-prot/schemes/guide_en.htm