This article covers just the salary and related benefits of the Intermediate Level European Border and Coast Guards. If you want to get a broader overview, read this article about the European Border and Coast Guard Standing Corps.
The ‘full salary package’ of the Intermediate Level Frontex border guard greatly depends on whether you are a foreigner in Poland and whether you have dependents. Read below on how this is calculated.
* Polish residents without children can expect a monthly paycheck of EUR 2748.
* Foreigners without children can expect a monthly paycheck of EUR 3399.
* Foreigners with children can expect a monthly paycheck of EUR 3961.
Basic salary and benefits
Remember that the ‘basic salary’ forms only approximately 50-60% of the total remuneration package, plus, there are significant other benefits of employment like health insurance and pension rights.
| Type of benefit | Amount in EUR |
|---|---|
| Basic salary (after deductions) | AST 4, step 1 = EUR 2328 AST 4, step 2 = EUR 2416 |
| Household allowances | AST 4, step 1 = EUR 187 AST 4, step 2 = EUR 189 |
| Expatriation allowance | AST 4, step 1 = EUR 464 – 629 AST 4, step 2 = EUR 484 – 649 |
| Foreign residence allowance | AST 4, step 1 = EUR 116 – 157 AST 4, step 2 = EUR 121 – 162 |
| Dependent child allowances for each child | EUR 281 |
| Preschool allowance | EUR 69 |
| Education allowance | EUR 382 |
| Shift allowance | EUR 420 – 946 |
| Standby duty allowance | EUR 2 per hour during weekdayEUR 4 EUR per hour during weekends / public holidays |
A sample calculation
The below table and text is an overview of the full-benefits package of a successful candidate in three scenarios:
1) Polish resident with no children
2) Foreigner in Poland with no children
3) Foreigner in Poland with 2 children
If you are a Polish citizen or have resided in Poland for the past five years, you will not receive the Household, Expatriation and Foreign residence allowances. However, you can count on the rest of the benefits.
| Type of benefit | Polish resident, no children | Non-Polish resident, no children | Non-Polish resident, 2 children |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic salary (after deductions) | EUR 2328 | EUR 2328 | EUR 2328 |
| Household allowances | EUR 0 | EUR 187 | EUR 187 |
| Expatriation allowance | EUR 0 | EUR 464 | EUR 464 |
| Foreign residence allowance | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dependent child allowances for each child | EUR 0 | EUR 0 | EUR 281 x 2 = EUR 562 |
| Preschool allowance | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Education allowance (up to) | EUR 382 x 2 = EUR 764 (not applicable if children attend European School), not included in the final calculation | n/a | EUR 382 x 2 = EUR 764 (not applicable if children attend European School), not included in the final calculation |
| Shift allowance | EUR 420+ | EUR 420+ | EUR 420+ |
| Standby duty allowance | Depends on duties | Depends on duties | Depends on duties |
| TOTAL: | At least EUR 2748 | At least EUR 3399 | At least EUR 3961 (not counting Education allowance) |
Allowances and other benefits for employees of the European Commission and other EU institutions
Several allowances and other benefits can boost your income by as much as 100% depending whether you are an expat and have a spouse and children. When considering a job at an EU institution, people too seldom take these benefits into account. Important – these benefits are available to both temporary agents (AD 5-16 and AST 1-11) and contract agents (FG I to FG IV).
- Travel costs on taking up duties
- Daily subsistence allowance (during probation period)
- Installation allowance and coverage of removal costs (one-time payments)
- Expatriation allowance or Foreign Residence allowance
- Household allowance
- Dependent child allowance
- European School enrollment for children or Education allowance if there is no local EU school
- Healthcare costs reimbursement to a level of 80-85% through the EU’s Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS) for the employee and any direct family members and dependents. 100% reimbursement of costs in case of a serious illness
- Accident insurance
- Annual travel compensation. If your institution is in Brussels, for a 4-person family from Rome this will amount to EUR 2781. For a single person the amount will be EUR 677.
- Birth grant
- Parental leave
- Unemployment allowance
- Removal expenses when leaving your home country and again when leaving your EU institution
- EU pension, survivors and orphan’s pensions, invalidity allowance
- Lump sum payments in case of permanent invalidity or death
- Lump sum funeral expenses, around EUR 2350
Contract duration and probation period
Contract type. Under the ‘Intermediate Level’, candidates are offered an initial contract of 5 years that can be prolonged once to another 5 years. This means that after 10 years in one post the officer’s contract will run out. If you will want to stay with Frontex, you will have to get another post before the 10-year deadline.
This is contrary to the European Commission practice that temporary agents (grades AD and AST) are granted indefinite contracts after serving two 5-year contracts.
There is a probation period of nine months. It is unclear from the Frontex vacancy announcement when the probation period is started – 1st day of training of 1st day of assuming duties with the agency.
Vacancy announcement
You can download the full Frontex Border Guard 2019 vacancy announcement here. It should be very similar to all the upcoming rounds of selections of the European Border and Coast Guard Officers.
You might also want to read these articles:
– Salary and benefits – European Border and Coast Guard Officer, Basic Level (FG IV)
– Salary and benefits – European Border and Coast Guard Officer, Advanced Level (AD7)
Do you have question or suggestion for this article? Please share in a comment below and let’s make this resource better for you and other readers!
5 responses to “Salary and benefits – Frontex Border Guard Officer, INTERMEDIATE Level (AST 4)”
Hello. Im 42 yo lady,with no any university degree ,with 14+ years working in airport , 4 languages speaking, for which kind of position i can apply in Frontex?
Hi! Please check the article on Standing Corps Basic officrers, https://euemployment.eu/salary-and-benefits-european-border-and-coast-guard-officer-basic-level/, particularly, the vacancy announcement: https://euemployment.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Selection-Notice-European-Border-and-Coast-Guard-Officer-Intermediate-Level-AST4.pdf
It really depends if you have undergone any professional training and for how long. Please see the section “Education” in the announcement to see whether you qualify.
When are you going to recruit new polimen? I am 49 years old, could I apply? Nowadays working as a sergeant in the Spanish National Police, border service.
Hi! I believe this article would be useful for you: https://euemployment.eu/how-to-become-frontex-border-guard/
In short, Intermediate and Advanced Levels have no age limits. Everyone up to the age of 65 can apply.
For the Basic Level, a candidate must be younger than 47 when applying.
There seem to be no Standing Corps vacancies at the moment, however, you could apply to become headquarters staff, as Frontex is looking for Officers (AD7) in Deployment Management Division: https://microsite.frontex.europa.eu/en/recruitments/RCT-2023-00002
You can also try your luck by writing to jobs@frontex.europa.eu. Please let us know if you get a response!
Which level of salary would I get with twenty years of duty experience? Both for AST4 (intermediate) and FGIV (basic)