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ECOWAS Right of Residence for Employment

TogoFree movement

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Explore pathways in Togo Read the five questions ↓

Which citizenship, status or regional agreement creates the person's right to move/reside?

The legal right is ECOWAS Community citizenship under the Supplementary Protocol A/SP.1/7/86 on the Right of Residence (second phase of the Protocol on Free Movement, Residence and Establishment): the right of a national of one Member State to reside in another Member State, evidenced by a residence card or permit that may or may not carry a right to work.

See recorded sources

Under which circumstances can the person reside: worker, self-employed, student, jobseeker, self-funded person or another recognised basis?

The recognised residence basis under this Protocol is seeking and carrying out income-earning employment: each Member State grants Community citizens who are nationals of other Member States the right of residence in its territory for the purpose of seeking and carrying out income-earning employment, including the right to apply for jobs effectively offered.

See recorded sources

What entry, registration or residence-document formalities remain?

A Community citizen admitted without a visa and wishing to reside must obtain an ECOWAS Residence Card or Residence Permit, applied for at the host state's Department of Immigration; the application may not delay the immediate execution of an employment contract already concluded by the applicant.

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Which non-member-country family members can accompany or join, and what broad rights do they receive?

Migrant workers and members of their family are protected against collective or arbitrary expulsion, and host states must hold consultations to promote healthy, fair and humane migration conditions for workers and their families. The Protocol does not itself set out a distinct entry, registration or accompanying-rights procedure specifically for a worker's non-member-country family members joining under this right of residence.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The Protocol protects the family in the context of expulsion and general migration-policy consultation but does not itself state a distinct accompanying/joining procedure or rights scope specific to a resident worker's family members.

When do permanent/long-term rights arise and what continuity, absence or retention conditions matter?

The Protocol does not state when permanent or long-term rights arise, nor any continuity, absence or retention rules; the Residence Card or Residence Permit is applied for at the host Member State's Department of Immigration under the rules and regulations of each Member State.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The Protocol foresaw harmonising the issuance conditions into an ECOWAS Residence Card within one year of entry into force, but the document does not state any resulting duration.
  • Togo — Supplementary Protocol A/SP.1/7/86, Article 6
    The applicant for the RESIDENCE CARD or RESIDENCE PERMIT in the territory of any Member State, shall deposit with the Department of Immigration of the host Member State, an application for a Residence Card or Residence Permit in accordance with the rules and regulations existing in each Member State.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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