EU approves new Blue Card rules for highly-skilled workers from outside bloc
Meeting on October 7, European Union justice and home affairs ministers approved new rules for the entry and residence of highly skilled workers from outside the EU.
The new rules were approved earlier, on September 15, by the European Parliament.
The European Commission, which proposed the changes, said that the approval by the Council of the EU marked the final adoption of the new rules, which EU countries will need to transpose within two years of publication in the bloc’s Official Journal.
Under the revised Blue Card Directive, highly skilled workers will be able to move more easily between EU member states and will have more flexibility to change their position or employer in the EU, the Commission said.
“Requirements for salary, duration of employment and skills and qualifications recognition will be simplified and new rules will make it easier for family members of EU Blue Card holders to come to the EU,” it said.
Finally, highly skilled beneficiaries of international protection will now be eligible to apply for an EU Blue Card.
“As one of the key objectives of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, the new scheme will attract new skills and talent the EU needs and by providing a legal pathway for workers to the EU, it will also help to address irregular migration,” the Commission said.
More information on the new rules is available here.
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