A-Z on social security coordination (FAQs) - Refugees and Residence

A refugee is a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail him/herself of the protection of that country. Their status is governed by the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, signed in Geneva on 28 July 1951.

Refugees are covered by the regulation on the same terms as Member State nationals, i.e. when they reside in a Member State and they are insured under the social security legislation of a Member State. Their family members and survivors are also covered. Moreover, their situation must not be confined in all respects within that Member State.

Please note that asylum seekers – i.e. those whose application for the refugee status is pending – are not refugees. Asylum seekers may be covered by the coordination regulation provided they legally reside in a Member State and their situation includes a cross-border element (see the keyword third-country nationals).

The concept of residence plays an important role in the coordination regulation, both when it comes to the determination of the legislation applicable (see the keyword applicable legislation) and when it comes to the substantive coordination rules for the different benefits (see e.g. the keywords special non-contributory benefits, family benefits, unemployment benefits or medical care). For coordination purposes, residence has a community-wide meaning, which differs from the notion of residence used in other parts of EU law, such as in Directive 2004/38 on the right of residence. In the coordination regulation, residence refers to the place where the habitual centre of a person’s interests is situated.

A number of criteria are taken into account in order to establish whether this is the case. These include: the length and continuity of the person’s presence on the territory of the State concerned; (where applicable) the fact that the person is in stable employment in the State to which s/he moved and the duration of any work contract; the person’s family status and ties; the fact that the person carries out a non-remunerated activity; (in the case of students) the source of the person’s income; the person’s housing situation; the person’s residence for fiscal purposes; and finally the person’s intention and reasons which have led him/her to move. The latter criterion is more important than the length of residence in the territory, which is not a decisive factor. A person cannot be deemed not to reside on the territory of the State to which s/he moved on the sole ground that the period completed in that State is too short.

In case the institutions of the Member States disagree about the determination of the place of residence of an insured person, they must establish his/her residence by common agreement, based on an overall assessment of all relevant facts, especially the abovementioned criteria. If they cannot settle the matter in this way, they will decide by reference to the intention, as it appears from all the circumstances, and especially the reasons which led the person to move. In case of doubt, the Member State where the family is residing is often decisive.

Please note that residence differs from (temporary) stay, which, in accordance with the regulation, refers to shorter periods of presence on the territory of a State, without transferring one’s centre of interests there. Stay encompasses very short presences (e.g. a one- or two-day business or leisure trip) but also study or posting periods of one year or more could – depending on the circumstances - qualify as stay. In the regulation’s rules, stay is mainly relevant for medical care (see the relevant keyword).