What’s going on?
The EU Blue Card is going through a major overhaul. The immediate cause is the revised EU Directive on Highly Skilled Migrants (of which the Blue Card is a corollary). Under the old Directive for Highly Skilled Migrants, the Blue Card suffered from popularity problems due to the stricter requirements compared to the national Highly Skilled Migrant Scheme. For example, the Blue Card had a higher salary requirement and higher education requirements. Whereas more than 12,000 highly skilled migrant permits were granted in 2021, only 150 Blue cards were issued that year.
“The revised Highly skilled migrants Directive aims to create a level playing field for the European Blue Card and the national highly skilled migrant scheme in terms of procedural rights and equal treatment, procedures and access to information,” the Secretary of State said in the explanatory statement. Clearly, the intention is to equalize the Highly Skilled Migrant Scheme and the Blue Card.
What has changed?
Quite a bit has changed about the Blue Card. Below is a list (not exhaustive) of some of the most important changes:
- Lowering the minimum duration of the employment contract from 12 to 6 months.
- Adjustment of the salary standard: Previously, the Blue Card had a salary requirement of €6,245 gross per month. This will now be brought on par with the salary standard for highly skilled migrantsover 30 namely €5,331 gross per month. In addition, a reduced salary criterion of €4,265 gross per month will be introduced for graduates who have completed a higher education program for up to three years prior to application.
- The recognition of work experience as a higher professional qualification. Until now, only a completed HBO or University education was considered proof of higher professional qualification. Now professional experience of at least five years will also count as proof of as higher professional skills.
- Longer periods of unemployment will be allowed if the holder of the EU Blue Card has held this permit for two years or more. For Blue Card holders who have been holders for two years or more, unemployment is allowed to last up to 6 months before it affects the residence permit. Furthermore, it has been chosen not to cumulate periods of unemployment.
- The extension of the scope of the Highly Skilled Migrants Directive. Persons enjoying international protection in one of the member states will now have the right to apply for an EU Blue Card.
- The length of stay in the first member state before long-term mobility can be used is reduced from 18 months to 12 months. (Note “long-term mobility” means that the person can take the accumulated period of residence to the new Member State instead of having to start over).
- Under the new Directive, recognized employers (sponsors) can obtain an EU Blue Card for their workers through a simplified procedure. The Blue Card previously always had a decision period of three months, where for Highly Skilled Migrants there is always a target period of two weeks.
Blue card versus the Highly Skilled Migrant Scheme
Is this level playing field for the Blue Card now done with the national highly skilled migrant scheme? Certainly not. There are still a number of differences from the Blue card that in many cases make choosing the highly skilled migrant scheme more attractive:
- Unlike the Blue card, the highly skilled migrant scheme has a lower salary standard for persons under 30, namely €3,909 gross per month.
- The reduced salary criterion for recent graduates is €2,801 gross per month versus €4,265 of the Blue card.
- Unlike the Blue Card, the highly skilled migrant scheme has no formal requirement of higher professional skills. Although on the other hand, the highly skilled migrant scheme is also subject to the requirement of market conformity of the salary, where, among other things, the “professional skills” of the candidate do play a role.
Conclusion
For our firm, the Blue Card has always been considered an attractive alternative to the highly skilled migrant scheme. Particularly for young companies struggling to become recognized sponsors, the Blue Card offered an interesting fallback option. In practice, most candidates who were offered a salary of €6,245 also turned out to have an academic degree, so the education requirement was usually not an issue. To that extent, the unpopularity of the Blue Card does surprise us. The question is whether this was due solely to the stricter conditions and whether perhaps unfamiliarity with the Blue Card played a role in this.
Whatever this may be, with the changes to the Blue Card, the playing field has indeed become more level and thus a lot more interesting. In practice (as always), whether the highly skilled migrant scheme or the Blue Card is chosen will depend on the needs and constraints of the client. It is up to advisors like us to take full advantage of the new possibilities for our clients.
If you have any questions about the Blue Card, please feel free to contact us. You can call us, 020 223 2466, or send an e-mail, info@arslanlitadvocaten.nl. We are happy to help!
Author: mr. B.D. Lit
