Skilled workers wanted in Europe: But is the EU’s Blue Card attractive enough?

In 2023, 4.3 cardinal group moved to nan EU from non-EU countries. Another 1.5 cardinal moved betwixt EU countries. While nan EU useful to power forbidden migration, immoderate countries actively activity highly-skilled workers.  

The EU Blue Card is 1 of nan mechanisms for attracting highly qualified workers from extracurricular nan EU. In 2023, astir 89,000 non-EU professionals were granted a Blue Card, pinch nan immense mostly issued by Germany. This number has been rising successful caller years according to Eurostat.

The European Commission introduced respective updates to make nan Blue Card much charismatic to third-country nationals and employers. However, experts and scholars stay cautious astir whether nan Blue Card unsocial is capable to pull top talent.

So, which EU countries rumor nan astir Blue Cards? Is it bully capable to pull talent? And really do experts explicate nan ample differences betwixt them?

EU Blue Card numbers connected nan rise

The number of EU Blue Cards issued by Member States has risen sharply successful caller years—from 20,979 successful 2016 to 89,037 successful 2023—marking much than a fourfold increase, aliases complete 300% maturation successful 7 years.

“It was a comparatively chartless residence licence for highly qualified workers from extracurricular nan EU pinch a precocious salary,” Tesseltje de Lange, Professor of European Migration Law astatine Radboud University, told Euronews Business. 

In 2016, nan European Commission launched a recast of nan Directive successful hopes of abolishing nationalist schemes and to connection workers much of nan benefits of intra-EU mobility.

“Since then, nan licence has go much known, which partially explains nan dependable increase.” she added. 

She besides noted that galore EU countries look important labour marketplace shortages, and successful immoderate cases, nan Blue Card is utilized arsenic a instrumentality to pull world talent—helping explicate nan summation successful its use.

Germany leads EU Blue Card surge pinch 78% share

“The main logic for nan emergence is nan number of Blue Cards issued by Germany,” Dr Almina Besic from Johannes Kepler University Linz,  Associate Professor Dženeta Karabegović from University of Salzburg, and Prof Andreas Diedrich from University of Gothenburg, told Euronews Business. 

They explained that Germany is facing labour shortages crossed aggregate sectors, pinch immoderate sectors peculiarly affected, and nan Blue Card plays a cardinal domiciled successful nan labour migration argumentation successful Germany.

According to Eurostat, Germany issued nan astir EU Blue Cards successful 2023—69,353, accounting for 78% of nan total. It was followed by Poland pinch 7,402 (8%) and France pinch 3,912 (4%).

Lithuania classed 4th pinch 1,710 cards, while Austria besides exceeded 1,000, issuing 1,135 cards.

Most EU countries trust connected nationalist activity licence schemes

“Germany has positioned nan Blue Card arsenic nan main instrumentality for skilled labour migration and does not person a ‘parallel nationalist scheme’ for illustration different personnel states,” Besic, Karabegović and Diedrich said. 

They emphasized that different personnel states trust connected nationalist schemes, based connected nan discretion and correct to group limits to admittance volumes. This helps explicate why Germany accounts for astir 4 retired of 5 EU Blue Cards issued.

Who receives nan EU Blue Cards?

In 2023, Indian citizens received nan highest number of Blue Cards (21,228 aliases 24%), followed by citizens of Russia (9,488 aliases 11%), Turkey (5,803 aliases 7%), and Belarus (5,294 aliases 6%). 

Other notable recipients included nationals from Iraq (3,990), Egypt (2,529), Pakistan (2,408), Syria (1,810), and nan UK (1,074).

Conditions to use for nan EU Blue Card

There are respective conditions to use for a Blue Card. The astir important is having “a valid activity statement aliases a binding occupation connection for highly qualified employment for astatine slightest 6 months successful nan Member State”. 

Why isn’t nan EU Blue Card much wide used?

The Blue Card Directive was implemented by Member States successful 2011, though it does not use successful Denmark and Ireland. In 2016, nan European Commission launched a recast of nan Directive, aiming to instrumentality a much unified strategy by phasing retired nationalist schemes.

A cardinal betterment is nan simplification of nan salary threshold to 1.0 times nan mean gross nationalist net (and nary higher than 1.6 times), pinch personnel states allowed to little it further to 0.8 for shortage occupations—a long-standing interest for some employers and migrants.

Still, galore countries proceed to for illustration nationalist schemes. Besic, Karabegović and Diedrich pointed retired that personnel states are not required to abolish parallel nationalist systems, making nan Blue Card harder to entree successful galore cases—and truthful little appealing to some employers and third-country nationals.

No accelerated way successful Blue Card

“In nan Netherlands for instance, nan nationalist strategy does not require higher qualifications and has a little net threshold, making it much charismatic for businesses and their workers to use,” Tesseltje de Lange said.

She added that nan Dutch recognised sponsorship strategy allows decisions wrong 2 weeks, while successful Spain, nationalist permits are besides reportedly issued successful nether 2 weeks. The Blue Card does not require Member States to connection specified fast-track procedures, which whitethorn besides explicate why it remains unpopular.

She recommended that nan European Commission database much shortage occupations successful nan Annex of nan Directive and align nan procedures for nickname of qualifications, which sometimes return 6 to 9 months, to summation nan attractiveness of nan Blue Card.