The EU Blue Card: Ever dreamt of a career in Europe?
A Career in Europe
The EU Blue Card was introduced to attract foreign professionals to work and live in Europe.
Also, It is the permit for professionals who would like to work in one or multiple European countries, and who’d like to continue to live in Europe for an extended period of time, perhaps even permanently.
We’d love to tell you more about the origins and benefits of the Blue Card.
Europe’s Future – Social and Competitive
The EU Blue Card was created because Europe needs skilled workers.
Demographics paint a clear picture: Europe is ageing rapidly. As a matter of fact, continuing this path may well render Europe’s social security systems unsustainable.
For decades the United States were able to attract great talents from around the world. However, The reasons of their success in attracting talents are diverse: the reputable US universities, the competitive business environment and the, almost magical, lure of the Green Card.
To confront both challenges: making the EU more attractive for professionals and tempting them to stay, the European Commission decided to introduce a work- and residence permit for the highly skilled and/or educated: the Blue Card.
As blue considered the color of the European Union (notice its flag), it made sense to refer to this ‘competitor’ to the US Green card as the Blue Card.
The EU Blue Card for Professionals
Of all the permits that exist in the world, the EU Blue Card can be considered the most prestigious. This is because of its history. It started out as a permit that was hard to obtain. The minimum salary requirement was high, a university degree obtained abroad had to recognized by a special local board and vacancies had to advertised locally first.
Over the years, rules and requirements regarding the Blue Card became more lenient. The Blue Card is now attainable for most foreign professionals.
Let’s look at some of the EU Blue Card benefits:
- Flexible mobility to work within the EU after 18 months of residence in one member state.
- A possibility to apply for permanent residence after five years of continuous stay. A next step may be citizenship!
- A right to family reunification and equal access to education, health care, and social benefits.
- A guaranteed highly competitive salary.
To apply for the Blue Card, you have to a non-EU national, highly skilled and/or highly educated, and you need a job contract or binding offer from an EU-based employer.
A Great Choice for Employers
You may think, are there actually employers who retrieve workers from countries outside their own country, or even outside the European Union?
With labor shortages increasing, yes there are an increasing number of employers recruiting professionals from abroad.
It used to be difficult for employers to hire non-EU nationals; but this changed with the introduction of the EU Blue Card in 2012.
The attractiveness of the Blue Card for employers lies in the fact that when an application filed it will take at most three months for the card to issued, and often much faster. It utilizes a special fast-track procedure. Local work permits take considerably longer.
A Classic Win-Win
The Blue Card program is not only a win-win situation for employers and professionals; but also for the European Union as a whole. By attracting more highly skilled migrants, the EU can boost its economic growth, innovation, and competitiveness. The EU can also benefit from the cultural diversity and social integration of its new residents. Also, The Blue Card currently issued by all the EU member states, except Denmark and Ireland.
The EU Blue Card is really a triple win: employers, professionals; and the European Union all benefit from the Blue Card Program.
EU Blue Card Network
Hopefully you found the article interesting. The EU Blue Card does not really get the media the attention it deserves. As a stakeholder we try to change that.
Our prime goal of our organization is to connect professionals with employment in the European Union; based on the terms of the Blue Card. Employers from all EU countries are represented in our Network; and professionals can choose in which country they would like to work.
Enjoy a future in Europe! Come visit us at https://apply.eu/
