The Members of the European Parliament have officially approved the adoption of reforms on the EU Blue Card.
The new rules will make it easier for EU companies to employ highly skilled non-EU nationals and alleviate labour shortages in the main sectors of the economy. The rules are now officially fully effective.
The newly approved changes will permit a mandatory 6 months minimum work contract to be presented by applicants. This is a change to the previous requirement that made it imperative for applicants to present a valid 12 months contract.
The salary threshold has been reduced to between 100 and 160 percent of the gross annual salaries in the respective Member States. EU Blue Card holders will also be allowed to move easily to other Member states after working one year In the country of first issue. They will also be allowed to have family members accompany them.
Asylum seekers and refugees will also be able to apply for the EU Blue Cards in any EU member state regardless of where they received protection status or asylum.
While the EU Blue Card directive has been in place since 2009, the scheme had failed to attract enough workers as less than 40,000 Blue Cards were issued in 2019.
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