The requirement to obtain a Vander Elst visa for workers posted to Germany who are nationals of third countries as an example of a violation of the freedom to provide services

Abstract

Posting employees who are third-country nationals to Germany as part of the provision of services requires them to obtain a Vander Elst visa. In the pre-posting procedure, German diplo matic representations verify the legality of employment of these persons in the posting country and the conditions of their employment in the host country. The need to submit a visa application in per son, which is possible only at designated diplomatic missions, after about a month of waiting for the deadline, in the uncertainty of not accepting the application as incomplete in the opinion of the host, and the time of processing the application significantly affect the possibility of starting the posting of non-citizens in accordance with German law third countries. The anticipation of the procedure for obtaining a Vander Elst visa, its complexity, the uncertainty of obtaining a visa and the impact of the need to obtain a Vander Elst visa on the dynamics of the provision of services make it possible to conclude that the requirement for undertakings established in a Member State to post only those workers who are nationals of third countries holding a visa Vander Elst violates Art. 56 TFEU.