EU Blue Card: Attracting Highly Qualified Talent to the EU

The EU Blue Card Directive establishes the rules for the entry and residence of highly qualified non-EU nationals in 25 EU Member States (excluding Denmark and Ireland).

As such, it is an important tool in the EU's strategy to attract highly qualified workers from non-EU countries, strengthening its economy, addressing labour and skill shortages, and enhancing productivity. Key sectors of the EU economy already suffer from specific labour and skill shortages that are expected to increase in the coming years. Therefore, the EU needs to attract more highly qualified workers in a world where international competition for talent is increasing.

This revised EU Blue Card Directive, adopted in November 2021, supports the objectives of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, by establishing clear and harmonised legal pathways for highly qualified migration, facilitating the intra-EU mobility of qualified professionals and enhancing the EU’s competitiveness in the global race for talent.

EU Member States had until 18 November 2023 to transpose the Directive into national law.

Main features of the revised EU Blue Card

Flexible and Accessible Admission

• Lower salary thresholds: Between 1 and 1.6 times the average gross annual salary, making the EU Blue Card accessible to more non-EU highly qualified workers.
• Shorter contract requirements: The minimum duration of an employment contract or job binding offers is reduced to six months.
• Professional experience equivalent to a higher education qualification is accepted in specific key sectors, including information and communication technologies.

Enhanced Rights and Mobility

• EU Blue Card holders can move to a second Member State under simplified intra-EU mobility rules after 12 months in their first Member State (without the need to repeat a labour market test).
• Family reunification is fast-tracked, allowing family members to join EU Blue Card holders and access the EU labour market.
• Highly qualified beneficiaries of international protection are eligible for the EU Blue Card.
• Simplified access to EU long-term resident status by considering time spent in different Member States.

For more details, please consult the Summary of EU Legislation – EU Blue Card or the full text of the revised EU Blue Card Directive.