Meridian · Freshness tracker

What's changed.

Dated updates to visa, tax, residency, citizenship, housing, and labour policy across every country tracked. Every entry cites its primary source and the date we last verified it.

Subscribe via RSS ↗ · 15 entries shown

Country All countriesFRFranceDEGermanyIEIrelandITItalyNLNetherlandsPTPortugalESSpainGBUnited Kingdom
Category All categoriesVisa & immigrationResidencyCitizenshipTaxationLabourHousingHealthcareOther
In force 1 Jan 2026
Announced Labour
ITItaly

Decreto Flussi 2026–2028 announced — continuing at current volumes

The government announced the next three-year flows decree covering 2026–2028 with overall quota levels broadly similar to the 2023–2025 cycle. Implementing decree for 2026 is expected to retain the sector prioritisation and the controversial click-day allocation mechanism. Ongoing political discussion about replacing click-day with a merit- or date-based allocation.

Who it affects: Non-EU workers and Italian employers planning 2026-onwards hiring cycles.

Governo Italiano ↗ · Ministero dell'Interno ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2025
In force Labour
ESSpain

Minimum Interprofessional Salary (SMI) raised 4.4% to €1,184/month for 2025

Retroactively effective 1 January 2025, the SMI rose from €1,134 to €1,184 per month (14 payments per year). This has flow-through effects on residence-permit income thresholds pegged to SMI — notably the Digital Nomad Visa minimum income requirement (200% SMI = €2,368/month) and derivative permits.

Who it affects: Low-wage employees; DNV applicants and other permit categories with SMI-linked income thresholds.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · La Moncloa — Spanish Government ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2025
In force Labour
PTPortugal

National minimum wage raised to €870 per month

The national minimum wage (Retribuição Mínima Mensal Garantida) rose from €820 to €870 per month (14 payments per year) on 1 January 2025, in line with the tripartite agreement on income and competitiveness. The minimum wage anchors the D8 digital-nomad visa income threshold (4× minimum) at approximately €3,480/month.

Who it affects: Low-wage employees, self-employed workers, and D8 / other salary-threshold visa applicants.

Portuguese Government Portal ↗ · Diário da República ↗ · verified 2026-04-18

In force 1 Jan 2025
In force Labour
NLNetherlands

Minimum hourly wage raised for January 2025

Statutory minimum hourly wage adjusted upward on the standard 1 January indexation cycle. For workers aged 21 and over the gross hourly wage was raised in line with inflation; lower tranches for younger workers were adjusted proportionally. Reconfirm the exact hourly figure at government.nl before relying on it for contract negotiation — the amount is formally gazetted each adjustment.

Who it affects: Low-wage workers; employers administering payroll and platform-work agreements.

Government of the Netherlands ↗ · Staatscourant (Dutch Government Gazette) ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2025
In force Labour
IEIreland

National Minimum Wage raised to €13.50 per hour

The National Minimum Wage rose from €12.70 to €13.50 per hour on 1 January 2025, continuing the stepped trajectory toward a Living Wage pegged at 60% of median hourly earnings (statutory target 2026).

Who it affects: Low-wage employees, part-time workers, and employers of minimum-wage labour.

Government of Ireland ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2025
In force Labour
DEGermany

Statutory minimum wage raised to €12.82 per hour

The Minimum Wage Commission's recommendation was adopted and the statutory national minimum wage (Mindestlohn) rose from €12.41 to €12.82 per hour on 1 January 2025. A further increase to €13.90 is scheduled for 1 January 2026.

Who it affects: Low-wage employees nationwide; mini-job thresholds also adjusted accordingly.

Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales ↗ · Bundesregierung (Federal Government) ↗ · verified 2026-04-18

In force 1 Jun 2024
In force Labour
DEGermany

Western Balkans Regulation quota doubled to 50,000 per year

The annual quota under the Western Balkans Regulation (Westbalkanregelung) — which allows nationals of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia to take up any employment in Germany regardless of qualification — was doubled from 25,000 to 50,000 places per year and was made permanent.

Who it affects: Workers from the six Western Balkans countries seeking any category of employment in Germany.

Bundesregierung (Federal Government) ↗ · BAMF — Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge ↗ · verified 2026-04-18

In force 9 Apr 2024
In force Labour
IEIreland

Department rebranded: DETE (from DETE) — Enterprise, Tourism and Employment

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment was renamed the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in April 2024 under a ministerial reshuffle. Employment-permits functions and staff remained unchanged; only the brand and tourism-policy consolidation are new. Existing URLs are redirecting correctly at enterprise.gov.ie.

Who it affects: Employers and applicants interacting with the employment-permits service — minor administrative context.

Government of Ireland ↗ · Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Apr 2024
In force Labour
NLNetherlands

IND recognised-sponsor scheme tightened

IND tightened oversight of its recognised-sponsor scheme for Highly Skilled Migrant and Intra-Corporate Transferee employers, including enhanced review of sponsor cost structures, abuse-risk indicators, and annual reconfirmation requirements. Employers already on the register continue to operate normally; new applicants face longer review cycles (typically 8–12 weeks).

Who it affects: Employers applying for IND recognised-sponsor status; indirectly their Highly Skilled Migrant hires.

IND — Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst ↗ · Government of the Netherlands ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2024
In force Labour
NLNetherlands

Minimum wage switched from monthly to hourly basis

From 1 January 2024 the Dutch statutory minimum wage switched from a monthly basis (which previously disadvantaged workers on longer working weeks) to a uniform statutory hourly rate for workers aged 21 and over. The hourly rate is adjusted twice per year. This change materially altered the effective minimum pay for employees working more than 36 hours per week.

Who it affects: All employees at or near the minimum wage, and employers with part-time or shift-work structures.

Government of the Netherlands ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 2 Dec 2023
In force Labour
ITItaly

Three-year Decreto Flussi 2023–2025 enacted — 452,000 permits

The Meloni government adopted a multi-year Decreto Flussi for 2023–2025 (Law 176/2023) allocating 452,000 non-EU work permits over three years — roughly triple the previous three-year total. Sectors prioritised: agriculture, construction, tourism, care, and specific industrial roles. The practical effect has been mixed: click-day allocation is instantly oversubscribed, and Questura processing backlogs partly blunt the quota increase.

Who it affects: Non-EU workers applying through the annual quota-based work-permit system.

Gazzetta Ufficiale (Italian Official Gazette) ↗ · Ministero dell'Interno ↗ · Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 May 2023
In force Labour
PTPortugal

Agenda do Trabalho Digno enters force

Lei n.º 13/2023 (Agenda do Trabalho Digno) strengthened provisions around temporary-contract abuse, stricter rules on the conversion of fixed-term contracts to permanent, new framework for platform-work classification (addressing Uber/Bolt driver status), enhanced parental-leave rights, and the effective abolition of the healthcare "moderator fee" (taxa moderadora) for most SNS interactions.

Who it affects: Employees on fixed-term or platform-work contracts; patients using the SNS.

Portuguese Government Portal ↗ · Diário da República ↗ · Segurança Social ↗ · verified 2026-04-18

In force 1 Jan 2023
In force Labour
DEGermany

Bürgergeld replaces Hartz IV (Arbeitslosengeld II)

The Bürgergeld reform came into force on 1 January 2023, replacing the previous Arbeitslosengeld II ("Hartz IV") regime. Standard rate raised, asset-protection thresholds materially expanded for the first two years of receipt, and sanction rules softened. Further rate increase applied on 1 January 2024.

Who it affects: Jobseekers and low-income residents in Germany.

Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales ↗ · Bundesregierung (Federal Government) ↗ · verified 2026-04-18

In force 1 Jan 2023
In force Labour
ESSpain

Self-employed (autónomo) contributions reform — income-based from 2023

Real Decreto-Ley 13/2022 replaced the long-standing flat-rate autónomo social-security contribution with a 15-band income-based contribution system from 1 January 2023. Low-income self-employed benefit; high-income autónomos face higher contributions. Gradual transition running through 2032.

Who it affects: All self-employed workers in Spain — including DAFT-style permit holders structured as autónomos.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · Tesoro Público (Spanish Treasury) ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 12 Aug 2021
In force Labour
ESSpain

Riders Law establishes presumption of employment for delivery platform workers

Real Decreto-Ley 9/2021 ("Riders Law"), in force from 12 August 2021, established a legal presumption that delivery-platform workers (Glovo, Deliveroo, Uber Eats) are employees rather than self-employed. Expanded by jurisprudence through 2023–2025. A precedent-setting piece of EU platform-work legislation, influential for the subsequent 2024 EU Platform Workers Directive.

Who it affects: Platform-work couriers and delivery-platform operators in Spain.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · La Moncloa — Spanish Government ↗ · verified 2026-04-19