Ad-Hoc Query on the national criteria for employers of labour migrants from the third countries. Requested by CZ EMN NCP on 6 March 2015

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1 Ad-Hoc Query on the national criteria for employers of labour migrants from the third countries Requested by CZ EMN NCP on 6 March 2015 Reply requested by 7 April 2015 Compilation produced on 24 June 2015 Responses from Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom plus Croatia (22 in Total) Disclaimer: The following responses have been provided primarily for the purpose of information exchange among EMN NCPs in the framework of the EMN. The contributing EMN NCPs have provided, to the best of their knowledge, information that is up-to-date, objective and reliable. Note, however, that the information provided does 1. Background Information In 2014, the Czech Republic implemented the EU Single Permit Directive (2011/98/EU) and introduced a new type of long-term residence permit for the purpose of employment called the Employee Card. Since the introduction the Czech Republic has faced negative experience with certain employers that create job vacancies for third-country nationals (potential Employee Card holders). Thus, the Czech Republic intends to set more selective criteria for all legal entities and natural persons willing to employ labour migrants from the third countries.

2 In order to revise relevant Czech national legislation, we would like to ask other EMN NPCs: 1. Does your national legislation set any selective (positive or negative) criteria for legal entities or natural persons willing to employ third-country nationals applying for admission or already legally (temporarily) staying in the territory of your Member State? 2. If yes, specify these criteria (e. g. an employer must not be sanctioned for the breach of legal obligations regarding taxation, social security or labour rights, be wound up under national insolvency laws, be economically inactive or unavailable for inspection authorities etc.). 2. Responses 1 Wider dissemination? 2 Austria Yes 1. Yes 2. According to Art. 4 para 1 subpara 5 of the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals, in order to be issued (upon application) a work permit for a foreign national, an employer should not have employed repeatedly foreign nationals contrary to the provisions of the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals in the last 12 months before the application. In addition Art. 4 para 1 of the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals also prescribes that: - the guarantee appears to be given that the employer complies with the wages and working conditions including the regulations on social insurance - the agreement on the intended employment has not come about due to a forbidden job placement and the employer knew or should have known this - the employer has not within 6 months before or in the course of filing of application regarding the post in question or a similar post a) laid off an employee, who has reached the age of 50 or b) has refused the recruitment of an employee, who has reached the age of 50 unless he shows credibly, that the dismissal or refusal of recruitment did not occur due to the age of the employee Belgium Yes Non-EU workers coming to work in Belgium must have a work permit that can be obtained when the employer has requested and 1 If possible at time of making the request, the Requesting EMN NCP should add their response(s) to the query. Otherwise, this should be done at the time of making the compilation. 2 A default "Yes" is given for your response to be circulated further (e.g. to other EMN NCPs and their national network members). A "No" should be added here if you do not wish your response to be disseminated beyond other EMN NCPs. In case of "No" and wider dissemination beyond other EMN NCPs, then for the Compilation for Wider Dissemination the response should be removed and the following statement should be added in the relevant response box: "This EMN NCP has provided a response to the requesting EMN NCP. However, they have requested that it is not disseminated further." 2

3 obtained an employment authorization issued by the competent authority (i.e. the Region where the seat is established). A series of requirements are to be fulfilled for the employer to receive this authorization. These are essentially work-related requirements: Basically the occupation can t be contrary to public order and public security and the employer must comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to the employment of workers in Belgium. In particular, the pay conditions governing the occupation of Belgian workers (these conditions of remuneration should provide for the needs of the workers). If the requirements aren t met, the employment authorization is refused. Similarly, if the requirements aren t met over time, the employer loses the authorization to occupy and the worker loses his/her work permit. If the worker loses his/her work permit, he/she automatically loses his/her residence permit. Some of these requirements are verified by the Regions, others by the Immigration Office, especially before granting any residence right or issuing a residence permit. Social inspection services are also empowered to monitor the respect by employers of regulations concerning the employment of (foreign or not) workers. Sources: Federal Public Service Employment, Migration Cell Please find below detailed information on the requirements as stipulated in the Royal Decree of 9 June 1999 implementing the Law of 30 April 1999: Chapter VIII: Refusal and withdrawal of the employment authorization and of the work permit: The employment authorization and the work permit shall be refused: 1 when the request contains incomplete or incorrect data or when the requirements of the law or its implementing regulations are not met; 2 when the occupation is contrary to either public order or public security or the laws and regulations or international conventions and agreements on recruitment and employment of foreign workers; 3 when grounds of public order or public security based on the personal conduct of the worker require this; 4 if the employer doesn t comply with legal and regulatory requirements relating to the occupation of workers; 5 if the occupation isn t made in accordance with the terms of remuneration and other conditions governing the occupation of Belgian workers; 6 when they concern a job in which resources generated by its occupation don t allow the worker to meet his/her needs or those of his/her household. (7 when at the time of submission of the application, the foreign worker concerned receives a negative decision relating to his/her residence right/permit, which is subject to appeal with suspensory effect or which hasn t been suspended by the judge) The employment authorization is withdrawn: 1 when the employer has resorted to fraud or made inaccurate or incomplete statements to obtain it; 2 when the occupation is contrary to either public order or public security or the laws and regulations, or even the international 3

4 conventions and agreements on recruitment and employment of foreign workers; 3 when the employer doesn t comply with legal and regulatory requirements relating to the occupation of workers; 4 when the worker isn t employed according to the terms of remuneration and other conditions applying to Belgian workers; 5 when the employer doesn t comply with the conditions under which the employment authorization has been submitted; 6 in case of withdrawal of the work permit worker employed by the employer. The work permit is withdrawn: 1 if the employee has used fraudulent practices or made inaccurate or incomplete statements to obtain the work permit; 2 when the occupation of the worker is contrary to either public order or public security or to laws and regulations; 3 (when a negative decision has been made on the residence right/permit of the holder, which is not subject to an appeal with suspensory effect or hasn t been suspended by the judge 4 if the employee doesn t meet the conditions under which work permits are granted; 5 in case of withdrawal of the employer's employment authorization which occupies the worker. Source: Royal Decree of 9 June 1999 implementing the Law of 30 April 1999 relating to the employment of foreign workers Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Yes 1. YES Denmark 2. A third-country national cannot apply for an employment-related long-term residence permit (i.e. an Employee Card or an EU Blue Card) to be issued for a job vacancy created by an employer who was lawfully fined for allowing undeclared employment in the previous 12 months. Estonia Yes 1. Yes, our national legislation sets criteria for employers, who wish to employ third-country nationals. 2. Residence permit for employment is not issued to work for those employers who: have failed to meet the conditions provided for in this Act for searching an employee (i.e. labour market test), the salary or wages paid to employee is less than required by the law, the employer has tax arrears; a punishment is in force for misdemeanour for violation of conditions of employment or payment of remuneration less than wage rate specified in national law has committed a criminal offence for employing a third-country national staying in Estonia without legal basis, has failed to perform the notification obligation provided by law or there is a ground to doubt the employer s trustworthiness for any other reason. 4

5 Finland Yes 1. Yes 2. According to Section 72 (1)(3) of the Finnish Aliens Act, an employer shall attach to an application for a residence permit for an employed person upon request by an employment office, a statement confirming that the employer has met and will meet his or her obligations as an employer. According to Section 187 of the Finnish Aliens Act, an employment office may decide not to issue residence permits for employed persons as regards employment for an employer or contractor who has him or herself or through his or her representative given the authorities false or misleading information referred to in section 186(1)(2). A decision not to issue a permit is made for a fixed term or until further notice. A decision may not be made if a punishment has been imposed for the act. France Yes 1- YES 2- According to French labour code, a work permit can be refused to a TCN if the employer has been fined or sentenced for not complying with labour law and social security regulations as well as health and safety rules, for hiring migrants illegally, for not complying with the accommodation conditions of workers if this condition is included in the contract. It can also be refused if the employer does not provide all requested information and/or refuses the access of its premises so that the labour inspectors cannot verify if the related regulations are respected. Germany Yes 1. Yes. Greece Hungary Yes 1. YES. 2. In implementing Researcher Directive 2005/71/EC, a procedure for the approval of research institutions was introduced which, after successful completion, entitles such institutions to conclude admission agreements with researchers who, in turn, may obtain a residence permit for research purposes by way of a facilitated procedure on the basis of such admission agreements (Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz), Section 20, in conjunction with Residence Ordinance (Aufenthaltsverordnung), Sections 38a to 38f). In addition to administrative fines and penalties under criminal law, breaches of the law by an employer or a company may also have operational consequences, as a result of which the company concerned is no longer able or permitted to employ people - including foreign employees. This is the case when, as a resulted of the breaches concerned, the company does not meet or no longer meets the given requirements regarding reliability, for example, in view of which a licence which is required in order for the company to operate or to pursue gainful activities is to be refused or revoked. The Temporary Employment Act stipulates, for example, that the licence which an employer requires in order to loan out temporary workers to third parties is to be refused when the employer does not possess the necessary reliability. A lack of such reliability is to be assumed in particular where an employer fails to comply with the provisions of social security law, with the statutory provisions pertaining to the retention and payment of income tax on wages and salaries, to job placement, to recruitment abroad or to the employment of foreigners, the provisions of occupational safety law or their duties under labour law (Temporary Employment Act, Section 3). 5

6 2. If the issuance of the work permit or the seasonal agricultural work permit does not fall under the scope of the single application procedure, the application may be rejected even if the employment of third-country nationals is not justified based on other employment aspects, in particular: - if labour or labour protection fine was lawfully imposed on the employer by during the year preceding the submission of the application for employment, - if the employer was lawfully obligated to pay to the National Employment Fund because of allowing undeclared employment of third-country nationals during the year preceding the submission of the application for employment. Additionally, in case the work permit does not fall under the scope of a single application procedure, the following employment aspects might also justify the refusal of the application: - if, at the time of submission of the application, the on-going strike at the employer also concerns activities that the potential thirdcountry national worker would carry out, - if collective redundancy was implemented by the employer during the year preceding the submission of the application, Within the single application procedure, special authority examining the labour aspects of the applications can justify the rejection of supporting the issuance of the single permit by considering other employment aspects, such as the following: - if, during the year preceding the submission of the application, collective redundancy was implemented by the employer contracting the preliminary agreement, - if, at the time of submission of the application, the on-going strike at the employer contracting the preliminary agreement also concerns activities that the potential third-country national worker would carry out. Ireland Yes 1. Yes 2. Employers must be compliant with any requirement of the Companies Acts, the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1893 to 1978, the Friendly Societies Acts 1896 to 1977, the Trade Union Acts 1871 to 1990, and the Registration of Business Names Act 1963 where any requirement of these Acts pertain. They must be registered with the Revenue Commissioners as employers. They must not have committed an offence under the Employment Permits Acts , the Immigration Act 2004 or any enactment specified in Schedule 1 of the Employment Permits (Amendment) Act 2014 during the five years preceding any application for an employment permit that they are party to. They may not have made an employee redundant in the employment specified in an employment permit application during the six months preceding the application. 50% or more of the employees of an employer seeking to employ a third country national via the employment permits system must be EEA nationals. Italy Yes The Italian legal system was already in line with the simplification required by the EU Single Permit Directive (2011/98/EU). Therefore, implementing Legislative Decree No 40/2014 only included minor amendments to existing legislation. Hiring criteria for TCNs remained unchanged. In an application for work authorization, to be submitted electronically to the Single Desk for Immigration, an employer must specify the following: ( - Housing: the employer is required to indicate the worker s accommodation, which must complies with the requirements set in the regional law on social housing; - Income a) Domestic work (domestic helps and caregivers): the employer is required to have a minimum income that is at least twice the amount of the yearly pay (and social security contributions) of the worker to be hired. This provision does not apply if the person needing the care service is non-self-sufficient or has a certified disability. The name of the non-self-sufficient person who needs care services must be indicated. b) Undertakings: the income-generating capacity of a firm must be indicated, specifying the firm s turnover for the current year 6

7 and the operating income, as stated in the yearly corporate income tax return. If the firm is newly established or if there is no income tax return to refer to, the employer can indicate the estimated turnover for the first year of activity. As regards farmers, the calculation of their economic capacity is not limited to their agricultural income (which is rarely enough for the purposes of meeting the minimum income criterion), but it can include other assets. c) Working hours and pay: Irrespective of the employer s income or turnover, the worker s pay cannot be lower than the amount specified in the industry-wide National Collective Agreement for the duties involved. It should be noted that the employer must first check with the relevant job centre that no worker is available on national territory (Article 22(2) of the Consolidate Act on Immigration); moreover, the work authorization requested by the employer is not granted if he/she already applied for other work authorizations in the past, without hiring TCNs afterwards (rule drawn from an interpretation of Article 22(2) of the Consolidated Act). At any rate, the key requirement for obtaining a long-term resident s EU residence permit is having been in Italy for five-year, and not having an employment contract (without prejudice to the minimum income requirement, whereby the TCN must prove he/she has an income that is not lower than the amount of the yearly social allowance). Latvia Yes 1. Yes. 2. Legal entity that is going to employ a third-country citizen shall not have any tax debts and shall be paid in full all amount of statutory capital. If illegal employment or any other violation of employment rules has taken place, the legal entity may be subject to prohibition to invite an employee for a period up to one year. If the legal entity has provided falsified information on the registration as a tax payer in Latvia, it may be subject to a prohibition to invite a foreigner for one year also. Lithuania Yes 1. YES 2. Employer (legal entity) willing to employ third-country nationals must satisfy these criteria: - must be registered in the Republic of Lithuania - must be not bankrupt or be in the bankruptcy proceedings - must not have tax arrears to the state budget -must not have any administrative penalty for illegal work and/or valid penalty for illegal employment of third country nationals. An employer is not allowed to submit documents for a work permit of third-country nationals, if: - An employer did not provide information about the projected need for employment of third country nationals to the Labour exchange office at least 3 months before the date of request to issue a work permit. This requirement does not apply to an employer who in the following 6 months, plans to employ not more than 5 third country nationals of the same professional qualifications. - one month before the submission of the application an employer did not register the vacancy or if a third country nationals already has a valid work permit to another company. - within 3 calendar days did not submit written notification to the Lithuanian Labour Exchange on termination of employment with a third country national. Luxembourg Yes 1. According to article 43 (2) of the amended law of 28 August 2008 on the free movement of persons and immigration (Immigration Law) a third-country national (TCN) will be granted a residence permit as salaried worker if : 7

8 a. s/he is in possession of the authorisation of stay of the salaried worker. The authorisation of stay of the salaried worker will be granted if the following conditions are fulfilled (article 42 (1) of the Immigration Law): the priority in matters of recruitment and employment accorded to certain workers under Article L (4) of the Labour Code is not thereby affected (EU citizens or legal third-country national residents); the pursuit of the activity in question serves the country's economic interests; the third-country national possesses the professional qualifications needed to pursue the activity in question; the third-country national has an employment contract concluded in respect of a position which has been declared to the Agency for the Development of Employment (ADEM) as being vacant, in accordance with the formal requirements and on the conditions provided for by the relevant legislation in force. b. s/he proves that s/he has adequate lodging. For the labour market test, the employer must declare the position as being vacant to the ADEM. If there are no registered job seekers with an employment priority that can fulfil the position after three weeks, the employer will ask the ADEM for a certificate to hire the person of his/her choice. The residence permit is valid for one year and during this period the beneficiary has a limited access to the labour market. The access is limited to one sector and one profession but it is valid for any employer. If an employer wants to hire a TCN with a residence permit as salaried worker according to the conditions mentioned above but it implies a change of sector and profession during the first year, the beneficiary has to file an application for doing so (article 43 (3) of the Immigration Law). After the first year, the salaried worker residence permit can be renewed and the beneficiary can do any salaried activity in any sector and in any profession for any employer. The ADEM does not verify the condition that the exercise of the activity serves Luxembourg s economic interests. If the ministry in charge of immigration considers that the conditions mentioned above (answer Q.1.a) are not fulfilled, the Ministry requests the opinion of the Consultative Commission of Salaried Workers. The Luxemburgish legislation does not impose any limitation for hiring TCNs residing inside the territory with the exceptions mentioned above. The sanctions against employers of irregularly staying TCNs do not affect the possibility of hiring third-country nationals. Articles L to L of the Labour Code 3 deal with financial fines, imprisonment, temporary or definite closing of the business, but do not limit the capacity of hiring TCNs. Malta Yes 1. Yes 2. Applications for third country nationals will be considered favourably if employers fulfill the national minimum wage provision. Furthermore, application for third country nationals will be considered more favourably if employers indicate in their application that the wage to be granted, reflects the average wages in the relevant occupation or sector. However, applications for third country nationals from companies that have effected redundancies in the post in question, or in similar positions to that being applied to, in the preceding twelve months will not be entertained. In addition, employers found employing Third Country Nationals illegally are also black listed for a period of one year. Below is an abstract from ETC s Employment Licences Guidelines: 3 Labour Code, amended law of 31 July 2006 as modified by the law of 1 July

9 4.5 What happens if a third country national is found working without a licence? Netherlands Yes 1. Yes Such instances are reported to the Immigration Police as they constitute a violation of the provisions of the Immigration Act (Cap 217) and the employer would be subject to prosecution and penalties while the foreign national concerned may be removed from Malta. Employers found guilty by the Courts of Law of illegally employing third country nationals will be barred from applying for any new or renewed licence for twelve months. 2. If an employer wants to bring a foreign employee to the Netherlands to work for the organisation, the employer will be his sponsor. The sponsor has rights and obligations. For certain labour-related purposes of residence, the employer may choose to be recognised as a sponsor. Recognition is not mandatory for all purposes of residence. One of the advantages as a recognised sponsor is that the employer can send less documentary evidence to the IND. (for more information see: In order to be recognised as a sponsor, the organisation must follow a procedure with the IND. After the organisation has been recognised as a sponsor, it will be listed in a public register. This way, foreign employees can check whether the employer is a recognised sponsor. General conditions The following applies to all organisations who want to become a recognised sponsor: The organisation must be listed in the Commercial Register, unless this is not required under the Commercial Registers Act 2007; Your organisation may not be insolvent, nor may there be a suspension of payment; Your organisation, the managing directors and other persons involved in the organisation must be reliable. The IND may reject an application for recognition if: The organisation or the natural persons/legal entities involved in the organisation have become bankrupt/insolvent over the past 3 years; A tax negligence penalty has been imposed on the organisation over the past 4 years; 3 or more penalties under the Aliens Act, Labour Act for Aliens or Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act have been imposed on the organisation over the past 4 years; The organisation, managing directors or other persons involved in the organisation have been prosecuted. Poland Yes 1) Yes. 2) The work permit will not be granted if the employer applying for the permit was repeatedly found guilty of illegal employment of foreigners, or was sentenced for trafficking in human beings as well as serious offences against the rules on employment of foreigners Same rules apply to temporary residence and work permit (in case of which the applicant is a third country national residing in Poland). 9

10 Portugal Yes 1. The Portuguese legal framework does not have formal restrictions for employing third-country nationals applying for admission or already legally (temporarily) staying in the territory, however there is a requirement to comply with certain procedures, which are not more than guarantees for the national and EU citizens (n.ºs 2 and 3 of the Article 56º). Although, in recent years Portugal did not defined a global quota for labor needs, this does not mean that are not being granted residence visas for subordinate activity. This situation is possible under the exceptional cases, and regardless of the quota established, according to n.º 8 of the article 59º. Romania 2. If the employer does not have their legal status regularized and if it is not currently on approved recovery plan, it may not employ third-country nationals applying for admission or already legally (temporarily) staying in the territory. Slovak Republic Yes 1. No, Slovak legislation does not set any selective criteria for employers of third country nationals. Illegal employment shall result in sanctions as stipulated in the Article 39 (1) (d) of the Act no. 404/2011 on Residence of Aliens and Amendment and Supplementation of Certain Acts according to which the Police Department shall refuse the application for the issuance of a Blue Card, if an employer who should employ the third country national has violated in the past five years the ban on illegal employment as per a special regulation (Article 3 (2) of the Act no. 82/2005 Coll. On Illegal Work and Illegal Employment and on the Amendment and Supplementation of Certain Acts as Amended by Act no. 223/2011 Coll). 2. N/A. Slovenia Yes 1. Yes Spain 2. In principle, an employer is banned for certain period of time from employment of and work by aliens, along with the issuance of an employment or work permit, if a fine was imposed on them for an offence stipulated in the Employment and work of aliens Act or in the Employment Relationships Act. Additionally, the employer is banned from employment of and work by aliens for ten years, along with the issuance of a work permit, if they are convicted by a final judgement of criminal offences of prostitution abuse, of establishing slavery relations, of trafficking in human beings, of infringement of fundamental rights of workers, of illegal employment or infringement of rights deriving from social insurance. Sweden Yes 1. Yes. 2. In the context of labour immigration to Sweden, there is no mandate for the Swedish Migration Agency to check whether an employer that wants to recruit employees from abroad pays taxes and/or contributions, whether his/her business is profitable or whether a business is economically capable of recruiting and employing additional staff. There is, however, a mandate for the Migration Agency to counteract the misuse of residence permits for employment purposes in general, and sham employment in particular. To be able to do so, the Migration Agency has gradually introduced certain control measures. Since 2012, companies in the cleaning, hotel and restaurant, service, construction, staffing, commerce, agriculture and forestry and automobile repair sectors as well as all new enterprises, must be able to prove that they are able to actually pay salaries during the foreseen employment period of the third-country national worker. Similar requirements were previously introduced for the berry picking sector (in 2011). Further to this, on 1 August 2014, the Migration Agency was given the mandate to conduct follow-up checks and revoke permits if the conditions for the work permit (e.g. requirements concerning the terms of employment, including salaries) are no longer met or if the employment does not begin within four months. 10

11 United Kingdom Yes 1.Yes There are also positive selection criteria: In 2012, the Swedish Migration Board introduced a possibility for employers that frequently recruit workers from third-countries under the Swedish system for labour immigration, and that have proven to be trustworthy, to become certified. A certification is an agreement between an employer and the Migration Agency that allows for easier and faster processing. The agreement means that the employer submits a fully completed application online and the Migration Agency makes a decision within a maximum of 20 days. The number of certified employers has gradually increased, also throughout 2014, meaning that a higher number of employers and an increasing number of workers from third-countries have benefitted from simplified and quick procedures. 2. Employers who wish to sponsor migrant workers under Tier 2 or Tier 5 of the UK s Points-Based System must hold a sponsor licence. Sponsorship provides two main assurances: It provides evidence that the migrant will fill a genuine vacancy that cannot be filled with a suitably qualified or skilled settled worker. It involves a pledge from the sponsor that it accepts certain monitoring and reporting duties, for example ensuring that the employee continues to be employed in an appropriate role and paid an appropriate salary, and reporting if their employment with the sponsor ends. In order to obtain a licence for sponsoring an employee, an employer must not have unspent criminal convictions for immigration offences or certain other crimes, such as fraud or money laundering. any history of failing to carry out their sponsorship duties UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI, part of the UK Home Office) will review any application for sponsorship including any documentation provided. They may decide to visit the business to ensure that the rules around sponsorship will be observed. Please see the link below for more detailed information about the restrictions When applying for a licence it is necessary for someone within the business to be appointed to manage sponsorship process. There are 3 roles that must be filled (by one or more people) The roles are: authorising officer a senior and competent person responsible for the actions of staff and representatives who use the SMS key contact main point of contact with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) level 1 user responsible for all day-to-day management of licence using the SMS Staff responsible for sponsorship monitoring must not have: 11

12 an unspent criminal conviction been fined by UKVI in the past 12 months been reported to UKVI or broken the law been a key person at a sponsor that had its licence revoked in the last 12 months failed to pay VAT or other excise duty Employers and staff must: be based in the UK most of the time not be a contractor or consultant contracted for a specific project not be subject to a bankruptcy restriction order or undertaking, or a debt relief restriction order or undertaking not have a history of non-compliance with sponsor requirements Croatia Yes 1. YES. Please see the link below for more information about sponsorship monitoring: employers/sponsorship-management-roles 2. The issuance of a residence and work permit to a foreigner may be refused if an employer is in breach of employment regulations, health and pension insurance regulations. Also, regarding employment, an employer may employ a foreigner only for such jobs for which he was issued a residence and work permit or a work registration certificate. An employer may not employ a foreigner staying in the Republic of Croatia illegally and he may not use his work. An employer must ask a foreigner before the employment, to provide for review a valid residence and work permit, work registration certificate or residence permit, a copy of which an employer must keep throughout the term of employment. If a foreigner presented an invalid permit, an employer shall not be responsible for the employment of a foreigner residing in the Republic of Croatia illegally, unless an employer was aware that the document submitted to him as a residence and work permit was falsified. An employer who employs the foreigner who can work without residence and work permit or registration certificate (foreigners granted temporary residence for the purpose of family reunification with a Croatian national, a foreigner on permanent residence, an asylee and a foreigner who was granted subsidiary or temporary protection; temporary residence under humanitarian grounds; autonomous residence; the status of a regular scholar or student where they perform their work through authorized agents, without contracting employment; temporary residence for the purpose of scientific research) shall be obliged to, within 8 days from the date of contracting employment with a foreigner or from the beginning of work of a foreigner, notify the competent Police Administration or Police Station thereof. Also, the Police Administration or Police Station may refuse to issue the residence and work permit EU Blue Card if an employer is in breach of employment regulations, and an employer may assign the holder of the EU Blue Card only to such jobs for which a residence and work permit was issued. 12

13 Norway Source: Ministry of the Interior ************************ 13