The Commission is sending today letters of formal notice to Bulgaria for failing to implement and to Germany for not implementing correctly the new card format for residence permits for non-EU nationals (Regulation (EC) 1030/2002).
To prevent falsifications, the Regulation was amended in 2017 to introduce a new card format for residence permits with upgraded security features that rely on biometric data. Bulgaria is currently not issuing the new residence permits, which had to be in place by 10 July 2020. In certain cases, Germany is still issuing residence permits, EU Blue Cards and cards for intra-corporate transfers in sticker format, with unlimited validity for exceptional hardship cases. The sticker does not include facial or fingerprint biometrics, making it difficult to verify the identity of the holder.
The Member States concerned have two months to respond to the arguments put forward by the Commission. Otherwise, the Commission may send a reasoned opinion.