The Status of Third-Country Nationals, Refugees and Stateless Persons Under the EU Social Security Regulations and the Nordic Convention on Social Security

In the Nordic countries, the following instruments regulate the coordination of social security cases: Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems, the Nordic Convention on Social Security of 2012, and Regulation 1231/2010 which extends the application of Regulation 883/2004 to third-country nationals (TCNs). This article clarifies how the personal scope of these instruments intersect with one another regarding the status of TCNs, refugees and stateless persons. Since the Nordic countries are composed of both EU Member States and EEA/EFTA States, the applicable legal framework may vary depending on the countries involved. In particular because Denmark, Iceland and Norway are not bound by Regulation 1231/2010. To some extent, the Nordic Convention bridges the gap since it extends the scope of Regulation 883/2004 to TCNs. The effects of the Nordic Convention are nevertheless limited to intra-Nordic cases. Therefore, in a scenario involving eg. Norway and Germany, a TCN would not be able to benefit automatically from the EU/EEA coordination system. On the other hand, since refugees and stateless persons are covered by Regulation 883/2004 they would be able to rely on the coordination system in the same set of circumstances, ie. between Norway and Germany.