The “EU Blue Card” will now be much easier to achieve as European Commission and Parliament reach a new agreement on a number of changes in eligibility criteria. The EU Parliament and the EU Council will still need to confirm formally the political agreement by adopting the EU Blue Card Directive. The Member States will have 2 years to transpose the rules into national law once the Directive is formally adopted.
The good news came out on 17.05.2021 where many changes were made to make the eligibility criteria easier and effective to attract more Non-EU citizens for highly qualified jobs. The new rules comprise flexible admission conditions, enhanced rights, and the possibility to move and work more easily between the EU Member States.
All EU member states (25 countries) except Denmark and Ireland give this facility to professionals from all around the world to apply for the “EU Blue Card”. This program was started in Europe in 2011, a demand-driven, residence and work permit. Till now, professionals from all around the world have successfully gained this opportunity to settle here in Europe.
Major changes announced
The EU Commission and the EU parliament have agreed upon the following major changes in EU blue card eligibility criteria:
- EU card for all – highly skilled beneficiaries of international protection will be eligible to apply for an EU Blue Card.
- The salary threshold previously practiced has been reduced as it was very high. This now will be reduced to between 1 and 1.6 times the average gross annual salary.
- Job contract upfront for a long time is not that easy for new entrants. Companies prefer to recruit the candidates first for mostly6 months in the EU countries. The new law has some good understanding of this and requires the minimum duration for a contract of employment to be reduced to 6 months.
- The degree will not be mandatory for all jobs in the labor market of the EU. New rules will facilitate the recognition of professional skills for occupations in the information and communication technologies sector. Applicants with professional experience equivalent to a higher education qualification in some specific sectors will also be eligible to apply.
- During the first 12 months, EU Blue Card holders need only complete a new labor market test if they wish to change position or employer. Only after this period, EU Blue Card-holders may be subject to an obligation to notify a change in their situation to the relevant national authorities.
- Family members of EU Blue Card-holders will be able to accompany them and access the EU labor market.
- Permanent residency rules have also been made easy as EU Blue Card holders, and their family members will be able to move to a second Member State based on simplified mobility rules after 12 months of employment in the first Member State. Periods of time spent working in different Member States will also be taken into account, facilitating easier access to the EU long-term resident status.
Requirements and procedure of EU Blue Card
Major requirements and procedure of getting an EU Blue card of member states are as follows under the currently implemented laws which will be in the time 2 years replaced by the new one:
Salary threshold (old but valid till new is confirmed)
EU member states published new minimum wages required by EU employers to pay third country residents for their services in January 2021. These same countries have implemented the EU Blue Card directive – and the threshold salaries have risen again. This old threshold will remain valid until the newly announced proposals become law and are implemented by each EU member state individually. The current minimum salary requirements for example in Germany are as under:
- Shortage occupations from €43,056 to €44,304 annual salary
- Non-shortage occupations from €55,200 to €56,800 annual salary
EU Blue Card Details and Requirements
All EU states offer EU Blue cards except Ireland and Denmark major requirements for the EU Blue Card are:
- You are educated or professionally experienced. European or recognized foreign or comparable foreign university degree;
- An employment contract or a binding job offer (no restriction of having a job from shortage occupation list)
- You are a non-EU citizen
How to apply for jobs in Europe?
There are many job portals online that help you find a really good job in all European countries. But the best one right now is EURES. This is an online job portal basically designed for the nationals and citizens of all EU countries, but people from all over the world can also find here jobs, create a CV online, and contact employers. Click here to open the EURES JOB PORTAL.
For other online job portals, please click here.
Benefits of EU Blue Cared
- Blue Card program is a merit-based system; interpreting a person with ‘merits’ as one who received adequate education or, through professional experience possesses sought-after skills.
- Though this program covers many features the best is that it is a non-points-based program to apply for. So you don’t need to worry about specific points lacking even if you have performed well in other CV credentials.
- You can apply through two basic streams: with a high qualification or through professional work experience (ideally more than 5 years) with an associate degree etc.
- Working and salary conditions equal to EU nationals
- Freedom of association
- Permanent residence perspective (it even gets you the citizenship)
- Favorable conditions for family reunification
- Free movement within the Schengen area
- Entitlement to a series of socio-economic rights (e.g. unemployment benefit)
Permanent residency options
Yes, you surely can. Each country has its own scenario for the application of PR or citizenship. But there is no doubt that through the EU blue card stream, you can get PR in a faster way. For example, if you pass 22 months in Germany on an EU Blue card, and have also had German-language B1 level cleared, you can apply for PR. If on the other hand, you don’t have German language proficiency, you can still apply for PR after having worked in Germany on an EU blue card for 33 months.
How to apply for the EU Blue Card?
Once you get a job in the labor market of a country in Europe, you will have to apply in that country for a visa. Currently, there are 25 EU countries that run the EU blue card program for professionals. You can apply for any country you want to be provided that you have a job offer from that specific country. Check below country by country information on requirements and procedure of applying for an EU blue card (click on each link to find more information):