EU long-term resident status: how long can you stay outside the EU?
Twelve months in a row. Under the EU directive, long-term resident status is lost after 12 consecutive months outside the EU, or 6 years outside the country that granted it. Countries may allow longer: France allows 3 years outside the EU.
When do you need to be back in the EU?
Pick your status and the day you leave or left. You get the last day to be back before the limit runs out.
EU long-term resident: the limits at a glance
| Status | Time away | How it’s counted | Past the limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under the EU directive | 12 months in a row outside the EU | Or 6 years outside the country that granted it | The status is lost |
The rule in the EU directive
Article 9 of Directive 2003/109/EC says a long-term resident loses the status:
- after 12 consecutive months outside the EU;
- after 6 years outside the country that granted it — even if you lived in another EU country.
Countries may allow longer absences, or absences for specific or exceptional reasons, without losing the status. If you lose it for either absence, the country must offer an easier way to get it back. Ireland and Denmark don’t take part in the directive.
How countries apply it
| Country | Outside the EU | Outside the country |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 12 months in a row; 24 after a Blue Card | 6 years |
| Italy | 12 months in a row | more than 6 years |
| Spain | 12 months in a row; 24 after a Blue Card | 6 years |
| Portugal | 12 months in a row | 6 years in a row |
| France | 3 years in a row | 6 years in a row |
| Netherlands | more than 12 months in a row, outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland | more than 6 years in a row |
| Sweden | 12 months in a row; 24 after a Blue Card | 6 years in a row |
| Poland | 12 months in a row; 24 after a Blue Card | more than 6 years |
| Finland | 2 years in a row | 6 years in a row |
| Austria | more than 12 months in a row, outside the EEA; 24 after a Blue Card | — |
| Czech Republic | more than 12 months in a row, unless for a serious reason; 24 after a Blue Card | more than 6 years in a row |
| Cyprus | 12 months in a row | 6 years in a row |
In the Netherlands, a short stay back in the EU, EEA or Switzerland starts the 12 months again.
Long-term status and your national permit
EU long-term status sits on top of a country’s own permits, which often have shorter limits: a German settlement permit ends after 6 months away, an EU long-term permit after 12 months outside the EU. Check which one you hold — see residence permit absence rules by country.
How FlySee counts it
FlySee doesn’t have an EU long-term resident tracker yet. Its Log records every day and the country you were in, and rebuilds past trips from your photos, so you can see how long you’ve been outside the EU and outside your country of residence. The calculator above counts calendar months from the day you leave the EU.