PD A1 form

Have you been posted abroad by your employer or are you a freelancer and have been contracted to work abroad?

What is PD A1 form and what is it used for?

The PD A1 form is needed to prove that you have paid social security in your home country. It is a document which confirms that the employee that has been posted abroad has a permanent employment relationship in the home country, or the freelancer carrying out a contract abroad is doing business under a trade licence issued in the home country.

If the employee or freelancer does not have a PD A1 form issued, they must be covered by social security abroad. There is an exception to "avoid" this obligation:

Social security abroad does not have to be paid if the employee or freelancer has a valid PD A1 form and has worked abroad for no more than 24 months.

In other words, if this exemption did not exist, it would mean that if an employer posts an employee to Slovakia for 5 days to perform work, for example, this employee would have to be socially insured in Slovakia and would have to register with the Slovak Social Security Agency. The same applies to freelancers.

Where can I get a PD A1 form?

You can obtain the PD A1 form in person for free at any social security office in the country where you are insured.

PD A1 form for employee and freelancer:

The conditions for obtaining a PD A1 form differs depending on the country in which the employee or freelancer applies for the form.

In most cases, the form is requested by the employer, in fewer by the employee. In some countries, the responsibility is on the employee. The freelancers applies on their own. The type of application is different in each EU country.

The application can usually be submitted:

• electronically,
• in paper form.

The contact details of the individual institutions responsible for issuing the portable PD A1 form can be found HERE.

Both employees and freelancers must take the original PD A1 form with them when travelling abroad. In the event of a social security check from abroad coming to the workplace, this document must be presented to claim the exemption.

The form does not need to be translated into a foreign language. The form is standardised across the whole EU.

Attachments to the application

The application for a PD A1 form must be accompanied by the attachments specified by the country in which the PD A1 form is requested.

Validity of the form

The form is issued with a time limit depending on the duration of the work abroad. The date of return is indicated on the application and this date is also the last day of validity of the form. The maximum possible period of validity is 24 months. After returning back to the home country, the PD A1 form must be cancelled by the home social security institution.

Therefore, you should pay attention to the deadlines for ending your work abroad. In practice, it is common that the work abroad extends by several days. The form will then not be valid for the extended period, which may result in the need to register for the social security abroad for the extended period.

For this reason, it is a good to count with the time reserve in the application.

Read also:

European forms: The brief

Working abroad? What forms are used in EU countries and what are they for?

What happens if I do not issue the form?

It is not obligatory for an employee or a freelancer to carry a PD A1 form abroad, but it is their right and recommendation. If the employee or freelancer does not apply for the form (eg. because of a time delay), he/she is not able to claim an exemption, and the employee and freelancer will have to pay the social security contribution for the whole period of staying abroad.

If an employee or freelancer does not apply for a PD A1 form or sign up to pay social security contributions abroad, they may face a fine. The amount of fine mey differ depending on the legislation in force in each EU country.

What to remember when changing your mind about travelling abroad

The employer or employee, as well as the freelancer, is obliged to notify the home social security institution about any changes regarding the business trip abroad.

Which changes must be reported to the social security institution?

• if the requested posting abroad did not take place,
• if the posted abroad has ended before the expiration of the PD A1 form,
• if the posted abroad has been interrupted for than two months,
• if the posted employee has been assigned by the home country employer to another employer (not applicable to freelancers).