EU WORK PERMIT GLOSSARY

§24a BeschV

The provision of the German Employment Regulation that allows a non-EU professional driver to enter Germany without an EU driving licence and obtain the German C/CE licence and Code 95 within a fixed window, while employed by the sponsoring haulier.Where this applies · Official source

A1 certificate

A certificate confirming which EU country's social security system a worker remains covered by while working temporarily in another member state. It is the document that makes a posting lawful from a social-security point of view, and an inspection in the destination country will ask for it.Where this applies · Official source

Code 95

The EU professional driver qualification, marked as code 95 on a driving licence. It sits alongside the licence itself: a driver may hold a valid C or CE licence and still not be allowed to drive professionally without it. Introduced by Directive 2003/59/EC.Where this applies · Official source

EN ISO 9606

The international standard for qualification testing of welders. A certificate is specific to the process, material, thickness and position tested, which is why a welder certified for one configuration is not automatically qualified for another — and why coupon tests are run in the position the employer actually needs.Where this applies

GVVA (single permit, Netherlands)

The Dutch combined residence and work permit. Obtaining one requires a UWV labour-market test showing no suitable EU candidate is available, which is rarely passed for blue-collar roles — the reason most non-EU staffing into the Netherlands runs through posting instead.Where this applies · Official source

Identità

The Maltese agency responsible for identity documents and residence, and the body that issues the single permit for third-country nationals working in Malta.Where this applies · Official source

Jobsplus

Malta's public employment service. In the single-permit process it is the body that checks a vacancy was advertised to Maltese and EU candidates before a third-country national can be approved for it.Where this applies · Official source

Labour-market test

A requirement that an employer demonstrate no suitable local or EU candidate is available before a non-EU worker can be approved. Where it applies it is usually the slowest part of the process. Lithuania removed it in 2025 and Poland in June 2025; the Netherlands and Malta still apply one in different forms.Where this applies

Mediation letter (tarpininkavimo raštas)

A Lithuanian employer's written undertaking, filed in support of a named worker's application, confirming the job and the terms on offer. It is employer-specific and worker-specific: it is not a general permission to recruit.Where this applies

Migration Department (Migracijos departamentas)

The Lithuanian authority that decides residence permits and national visas, and publishes the figures showing how much of the annual quota has been issued.Where this applies · Official source

National (D) visa

A long-stay visa issued by a single member state, as distinct from a short-stay Schengen visa. In several routes it is the instrument that lets a worker travel and begin work while the residence permit process completes.Where this applies

NVA (State Employment Agency, Latvia)

The Latvian public employment service. A vacancy must be registered with the NVA for a set period before a non-EU worker can be sponsored for it.Where this applies · Official source

OCMA / PMLP

Latvia's Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde), which handles the sponsorship or invitation and issues the residence permit.Where this applies · Official source

Posting of workers

Sending a worker who is employed in one EU member state to carry out temporary work in another, while the original employer remains the employer. It is governed by EU posting rules, which bring registration, pay and documentation obligations in the destination country. It is not a substitute for a permanent permit.Where this applies · Official source

Quota (Lithuania)

An annual ceiling on newly issued permits for non-highly-qualified non-EU workers in Lithuania. It applies to issuance, not to applications, and renewals for workers already in the country sit outside it. Once it is exhausted, only roles above set salary thresholds remain available.Where this applies

Skills Pass

A Maltese requirement for third-country nationals taking hospitality roles, completed before the permit application. It adds a step and time to an already long Maltese process.Where this applies

Temporary residence permit (TRP)

A permit allowing a non-EU national to live and work in a member state for a fixed period, tied to a specific employer in most employment routes. It is the main instrument for employing non-EU workers in Lithuania and Latvia.Where this applies

Third-country national

Anyone who is not a citizen of an EU or EEA member state or Switzerland. The term appears throughout permit legislation and is the category all the routes described on this site apply to.Where this applies

Type-A work permit (Poland)

The Polish work permit issued to an employer for a named foreigner working for that employer in Poland. Since June 2025 applications are filed electronically and no labour-market test applies; the worker then applies for a national visa.Where this applies · Official source

Definitions last checked: September 2026.