Activities abroad (from 2nd april 2024)

This page provides the required information for the integration of the DEMDET.xml and DETRET.xmlfiles, which have to be used from April 2^nd 2024 on for requests relating to situations in which a person carries out one or more professional activities abroad (DEMDET procedure).

From this date forward, the current procedure, under the heading posting, will no longer be applied by the Social Security Center (CCSS).

Workflow

New from 2 April 2024

Format and coding

To align with technological progress, the file formats for DEMDET and DETRET will switch from DTA to XML (like the CALCUL.xml file migrated in October 2021). Consequently, the current DTA file format will no longer be used.

As far as the new procedure is concerned, SECUline members must validate the DEMDET.XML files with the XSD schema before sending them to CCSS. This approach aims to significantly reduce declaration errors and ensure high-quality data.

The XML files in the DEMDET procedure will use the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard for country code encoding.

Segmentation

The new DEMDET file will be divided into 5 procedures, each of which responds to a specific legislative scope of the activity abroad, namely:

• Application for A1 certificate for civil servants, seafarers and crew in the field of aviation (Art. 11 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004).
  
• Posting in a Member State (Art. 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004).
• Regular activities in two or more Member States ("Multistate work" - Art. 13 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004).
• Regular activities of Rhine boatmen (Art. 16 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004).
• Posting in a third country (with or without agreement).

The purpose of this segmentation is to speed up and clarify the processing of DEMDET applications with regard to the various legislative applications.

Persons concerned

SECUline members (employers and authorised representatives) and providers of software solutions who integrate or plan to integrate the generation of SECUline files as part of the DEMDET procedure.

Temporary work agencies are not affected by this migration and will continue to make their declarations via the DECINT procedure (specific declaration of entry/termination form/posting).

Timetable for the new procedures

• February to March 2024: Testing phase with the exchange of DEMDET.xml files (Employer->CCSS) and DETRET.xml files (CCSS->Employers).
• April 2, 2024: Production launch of DEMDET.xml and DETRET.xml files. Final discontinuation of receiving DEMDET.dta files and sending DETRET.dta files.

Transmission

From April 2nd 2024 on, the month of the definitive changeover to the DEMDET.xml file, only the XML format will be accepted by the CCSS via SECUline. The same applies to the DETRET file and the new rejection file sent by the CCSS.

Please note that there will be no transition phase allowing files in DTA and XML format to be exchanged simultaneously.

Specification of files