Report on the application of Directive 2003/109/EC concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents

Directive 2003/109/EC concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents (LTRs) was adopted on 25 November 2003. It was the second Directive on legal migration adopted after the Treaty of Amsterdam introduced the competence to legislate in this field at EU level.

The new status created by the Directive was called for by the European Council in 1999 with a view to fostering the integration of LTRs in the Member States and promoting economic and social cohesion. To achieve that objective, LTRs are granted a secure residence status, including a set of uniform rights which are as close as possible to those enjoyed by the citizens of the EU and, under certain conditions, the right to reside in other Member States.

The Directive is therefore a major milestone in the development of EU immigration policy, which concerns more than half a million third-country nationals in the 24 Member States to whom the Directive applies. Its scope was recently extended to beneficiaries of international protection by the amending Directive 2011/51/EU.

This report gives an overview of the transposition and implementation of the Directive by Member States and identifies possible problematic issues. It has been drawn up on the basis of a study conducted on behalf of the Commission and other sources, including a number of ad-hoc queries launched through the European Migration Network, individual complaints, questions, petitions, discussions with Member States on practical issues arising from application of the Directive and other studies.