European Union: Social Security Reforms Forthcoming

September 30, 2026

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Country / Territory

At a Glance

  • The European Council has agreed on the revision of rules coordinating national social security systems for people moving across borders in the European Union. Focusing here primarily on the reforms to the procedures for determining the national social security legislation applicable to cross-border workers, changes include: 
    • Requiring A1 certificate applications to be submitted before the start of the posting; 
    • An exemption for business trips and short-term activities from necessitating an A1 certificate; and 
    • Requiring employees to be affiliated with the social security system of a sending state for at least three months to be eligible for an A1 certificate for posted workers.
  • The European Parliament had separately approved the changes earlier in 2026. The specific reforms for posted and multi-state workers must now be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, and are expected to apply from November 1, 2028, two years after the legal framework enters into force.  

The situation 

The European Council has agreed on the revision of the rules coordinating national social security systems for people moving across borders in the European Union. The European Parliament had approved the changes earlier in 2026. These new rules must now be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The main substantive reforms are expected to apply from November 1, 2028, two years after the legal framework enters into force.  

A closer look 

 

DETAILS 

IMPACT  

A1 application necessary prior to posting. Applications for an A1 certificate will need to be submitted before the start of the posting; whereas currently, A1 applications can be submitted after the posting has already commenced.  

Where certificates are not issued automatically, authorities will need to provide an automatic acknowledgement. 

By reducing flexibility regarding when an A1 certificate application for a posting should be submitted, this change will require employers to be more robust in their management of A1 certificate applications.  

A1 certificate exemption. 

  • With limited exceptions, an exemption from filing A1 certificates will apply to individuals engaging in business trips (defined narrowly) or short-term activities (no longer than three consecutive business days within a 30-day period); whereas currently, an A1 application is necessary for any type of posting.  
     
    This exemption does not apply to the construction sector. 
  • For the purpose of this exemption, “business trip” is defined narrowly as a temporary activity carried out in the employer’s interest, excluding the provision of services or delivery of goods. Covered activities include attending business meetings, conferences, cultural or scientific events and training.  
  • The narrow scope of “business trip” means businesses will need to remain vigilant regarding their employees’ business travel; many business travelers may still require an A1 certificate.  
  • Since it is not clear how the 30-day period will be applied in practice, this adds some uncertainty for workers and employers seeking to benefit from this exemption. 
  • Furthermore, potential variation in scope across jurisdictions may create legal ambiguity and compliance risks for employers. 

Eligibility for A1. Employees will need to be affiliated with the social security system of the sending state for at least three months before they will be deemed to remain subject to the social security scheme of the sending state during the posting and therefore be eligible for an A1 certificate. Currently, this period is one month.  

This change will make it harder for new employees engaging in a posting to remain subject to their home country social security scheme. Employers may need to delay planned postings to ensure adherence with the three-month requirement.  

Other changes include: 

  • Cooling-off period now applies to any employee. Following a 24-month posting, a two-month cooling-off period will be necessary before any employee can be posted again to the same EU Member State for the same or similar activity. This cooling-off period therefore applies not only to the employee who was actually posted, but also to any other employee within the organization. This cooling-off period rule does not prevent employers from applying for an exceptional agreement that enables an A1 certificate valid for up to five years. 
  • 24-month A1 certificates. Multi-state workers will be able to request A1 certificates for a period of 24 months (subject to renewal), based on the projected travel patterns across the European Union for the upcoming 12 calendar months. Currently, such A1 certificates tend to be issued for only one year (though there is no maximum period stipulated in the legislation). 

Background 

  • Broader digitalization efforts. A preamble to these regulations observes that the European Commission and EU Member States are closely collaborating on advancing the digitalization of A1 applications, information exchange and real-time cross-border verification through the Digital Wallet ecosystem. The European Labour Authority (ELA) will support Member States in their enforcement efforts. 
  • Long-term negotiations. These reforms follow more than 10 years of negotiations since the European Commission first presented its proposal and represent a significant development for employers with a mobile workforce across the European Union. 

Looking ahead 

These new rules must now be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The main substantive reforms are expected to apply from November 1, 2028, two years after the legal framework enters into force.  

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen. 

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