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.

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)

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