NIM33310 - Special Cases: International: Going to or Coming from Abroad: EEA Regulation 1408/71 (before 1 May 2010): third country nationals

Note: This page is under review and the content may only be appropriate to periods beginning before 1 January 2021 and for those covered by a Withdrawal Agreement

From 1 June 2003 the EC Regulations were extended to include Third Country National (although Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein & Switzerland did not extend the regulation to third party nationals). This means that the Regulations apply to Third Country Nationals as well as

• EC Nationals
• Stateless people and
• Refugees

The relevant Legislation that enables this is council Regulation (EC) Number 859/2003.

People, regardless of nationality, who are legally resident in a Member State, will be covered by the Regulation if they move to another Member State:

‘provided they are legally resident in the Territory of a Member State and are in a situation which is not confined in all respects within a single Member State.’

This means the rules do not apply to a Third Country National in a single Member State.

For example a United States (US) national working in the United Kingdom (UK) will not be affected by the European Economic Community (EC) Regulations unless they move to another Member State.