Council adopts blue card directive to attract highly-qualified workers

On 7 October 2021, The Council adopted a directive establishing the entry and residence conditions for highly-qualified non-EU nationals coming to live and work in the EU (the blue card directive)

Source: https://www.consilium.europa.eu

The new rules, which will replace the existing ones, further harmonise the conditions of entry and residence for highly-qualified workers and increase the attractiveness of the EU blue card. In particular, they establish more inclusive admission criteria, facilitate intra-EU mobility and family reunification, simplify procedures for recognised employers, grant a very high level of access to the labour market and extend the scope to include non-EU family members of EU citizens and beneficiaries of international protection.

EU member states will be able to maintain national schemes aimed at highly-qualified workers in parallel with the EU blue card scheme. However, the new rules will introduce a number of provisions to ensure a level playing field so that EU blue card holders and their families are not at a disadvantage compared to holders of national permits.

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