For years, Germany has required third-country nationals legally employed by EU companies to obtain an additional national visa (so called “Vander Elst”) before being posted to Germany — despite the fact that EU law provides no legal basis for such a requirement. This practice has systematically hindered the posting of workers and the cross-border provision of services.
On 30 January 2026, the European Commission formally confirmed that this practice is incompatible with EU law by launching infringement proceedings against Germany (INFR(2025)4025) as part of the January Infringement Package.
The Commission explicitly found that the requirement to obtain a “Vander Elst” visa hinders the freedom to provide services guaranteed by Article 56 TFEU. Germany now has two months to respond to the Commission’s findings or face further steps under Article 258 TFEU.
This decision was triggered by the legal analysis and documented evidence prepared by Stefan Schwarz and Marcin Kiełbasa at the European Labour Mobility Institute which demonstrated that the German visa requirement constitutes an unjustified and disproportionate restriction on the free movement of services and violates the autonomy of EU-law concepts.
This decision matters — not only legally, but because it shows that:
▫️ facts can prevail over political hesitation,
▫️ long-term, consistent engagement works,
▫️ cooperation between NGOs and public authorities can deliver results at EU level.
For the European Labour Mobility Institute (ELMI), this moment reflects years of research, legal analysis, dialogue with institutions, publications, and persistent advocacy focused on one objective: making EU freedom to provide services work in practice, not just on paper.
