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EU Blue Card, Eligibility Criteria & Application Process

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EU Blue Card, Eligibility Criteria & Application Process for Non-EU citizens. While, The EU Blue Card is designed particularly to attract highly qualified third-country nationals to jobs in occupations where there is a shortage of qualified personnel or where a shortage is likely to arise in future.

The permit authorizes its holder to enter, re-enter and stay in the country that has issued it. Their family members can accompany them. The EU Blue Card holder and their family members are entitled to freedom of movement within the EU.

If a third-country national holds an EU Blue Card, after 18 months of regular employment, he or she can move to another EU member state to take up employment.

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In case you lose your job within the first three years under a Blue Card, you will have three months to find another job. Or else you will have to leave the country.

EU Countries Issuing the EU Blue Card

Theses are following countries, which offer EU Blue Card to Non- EU citizens. While, the EU Blue Card is recognized by 25 EU member states with the same basic criteria applying for all, there are minor additional criteria set by each member state for its own.

  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Czech Republic
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus

The following EU countries do not issue EU Blue Card.

  • Denmark
  • Norway
  • Liechtenstein
  • Iceland
  • Switzerland

Minimum Salary Threshold for the EU Blue Card

The salary depends mostly on the company you have been admitted to. But, there is the salary threshold which shows the minimum salary that is respected and protected by the law.

  • Austria: 4,550 Euros Grass/ month
  • Lithuania: 1,095 Euros Grass/month
  • Latvia: 1,715 Euros Grass/month
  • Finland: 5,069 Euros Grass/month
  • Estonia: 2,000 Euros Grass/month
  • Poland: 1,810 Euros Grass/month
  • Romania: 2,250 Euros Grass/month
  • Slovakia: 970 Euros Grass/month
  • Netherlands: 5,700 Euros Grass/month
  • Hungary: 1,454 Euros Grass/month
  • Bulgaria: 333 Euros Grass/month
  • Sweden: 53,300 Euros Grass/year
  • Spain: 33,900 Euros Grass/year
  • Portugal: 25,000 Euros Grass/year
  • Germany: 56,500 Euros Grass/year
  • Italy: 26,000 Euros Grass/year
  • Greece: 31,000 Euros Grass/year
  • Croatia: 19,500 Euros Grass/year
  • France: 54,000 Euros Grass/year
  • Luxembourg: 84,000 Euros Grass/year
  • Slovenia: 28,000 Euros Grass/year
  • Belgium: 57,000 Euros Grass/year

Eligibility Criteria for EU Blue Card

These are major requirements to get EU Blue Card for any EU country.

  • You should have a Master’s Degree or equivalent.
  • At least 5 years of job experience.
  • There should be work contract or a job offer for highly qualified employment for at least one year.
  • Meet the minimum salary threshold in the EU country in which you want to work.
  • For regulated professions: proof that the national legal requirements are met.

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Application Process for an EU Blue Card

The application process for an EU Blue Card differs from one EU country to another. The Member States are free to decide whether the application for the card has to be made by the third-country national and/or their employer.

Most of the member states require candidates to apply by setting appointments at the appropriate Embassies or Consulates in their home countries; few member states offer online applications.

EU Blue Card Requirements

  • Application Form.
  • Passport & Copies of important passport pages.
  • Work contract with an EU employer.
  • Proof of professional level.
  • CV
  • Health Insurance

After handing in the application, you may have to wait for a maximum of 3 months/90 days until processing is complete.

Important Points for EU Blue Card

You can apply for the permanent residency permit after 33 months of working in the first hosting state, or 21 months if B1 language level knowledge is achieved.

As an EU Blue Card holder, you can travel to other EU countries as a tourist for a maximum of 90 days within a six-month period.

Additionally, you are allowed to be out of the country for up to 1 year without losing your Blue Card status.

Meanwhile, You can bring relatives with you, who can also work.

While, You cannot change your job in the first two years of receiving the EU Blue Card. In order to change your job within the first two years, you and your new employer would have to apply for a new EU Blue Card.

Lastly, Your first option for finding a job in the EU is through EURES, which is the European Job Mobility Portal. You can search for jobs in any EU country, categorized by sector, occupation, location, etc.

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