The A1 certificate is a form for the movement of persons, especially with EU & EFTA states*. With this certificate, the employee or self-employed person can prove that they are subject to the social security system of a specific EU & EFTA member state.
*EFTA states = EU states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
A Certificate of Coverage (CoC) is a document in which a person's social security cover is listed. The certificate of coverage documents that the legal provisions of the country of employment continue to apply and that there is therefore no double contribution.
Posting is when an employee moves from the home country to another country on the instructions of his employer in order to work there for that employer. A typical feature of a posting is the continuing domestic integration with pre-employment temporary abroad. This means that the employee returns to the home country after his stay abroad and resumes his regular work in home country.
Posting does not have to be limited to one state. A posting abroad is moreover the case where an employee is posted by his employer to another country for a pre-defined period of time and immediately after that works for the same employer in another state, provided that this assignment is also limited in time. This applies even if the further posting to another state is only agreed during the first posting.
The employer is required (duty of care) at the time the employer sends an employee to another EU & EFTA state to apply for a posting certificate (A1 certificate) and to give it to the traveler. It lays down binding rules for all Member States of the Community as to which social security legislation applies. An A1 certificate is to be requested per stay and destination.
The employer has the opportunity to provide the employee with a process of applying for the posting certificate.
The employee is obliged to carry on the A1 certificate during the stay abroad.
Increasingly, inspections are taking place in the EU & EFTA states. Failure to follow the A1 attestation can lead to significant consequences. In addition to fines, access to the company or trade fair grounds can be denied or social security contributions are collected immediately under the law of the state of residence.
The Deutsche Visa und Konsular Gesellschaft (DVKG) has prepared an online A1 application process. Once filled in, only the variable information will be needed in the future. An application can also be made flexibly via the smartphone or a tablet. The DVKG carries out the application for the A1 certificate for you. The A1 certificate will be sent directly to the employee.
