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The EU Blue Card is a work and residence permit for highly skilled migrants from outside the EU. The main criteria are a salary threshold and educational qualifications.
The EU Blue Card does not replace the existing national highly skilled immigration schemes. They will subsist next to the EU Blue Card. The benefit of the EU Blue Card lies in a limited amount of EU mobility rights that national permits do not offer.
To be eligible in the Netherlands the foreign national must earn at least a gross monthly salary of € 5,670 (excluding 8% holiday allowance), which is an annual gross salary of € 68,040 (excluding 8% holiday allowance).
The foreign national must have succesfully completed a post secondary higher education program of at least three years. The diploma must be validated by the Dutch office for Evaluation of Foreign Credentials (IDW).
Family reunification with the EU Blue Card holder is allowed for spouses, (same sex) (registered) partners and minor children. These family members have no restrictions as regards access to the Dutch labour market.
- The EU Blue Card does not replace the existing national highly skilled immigration schemes.
- Denmark and Ireland are not taking part in the EU Blue Card Directive.
More information about applying for an EU Blue Card? Please contact Kroes Advocaten in The Netherlands: specialized in corporate migration.
These criteria are stricter than the criteria for the Dutch highly skilled migrant residence permit (knowledge migrant). Why then apply for an EU Blue Card?
After having stayed in the first country of entry for 18 months, the holder of an EU Blue Card is allowed to move to another EU Member State. Holders of national residence permits obviously can also move to another EU country, but they will lose their accrued years of stay in the first country. If they want to obtain an EC long term residence permit, they must stay in one country for 5 years whereas the EU Blue Card holder can cumulate these 5 years in several EU countries.
It must be said that the second Member State will assess the EU Blue Card application on the basis of its own set salary threshold and criteria for diploma validation.
Another advantage is that periods of absence of the EU territory do not interrupt the period of 5 years of legal stay required for the EC long term residence permit, if they are shorter than 12 consecutive months and 18 months in total, and provided it was only to return temporarily to the country of origin for the purpose of work or study.

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Positive Court Ruling in case of Edward: highly skilled migrant permit, residence gap and work with the 'wrong' IND recognized sponsor
26 Jun 2022
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Extension of the 90 days after the Schengen Borders Code free period has expired
17 Jun 2022
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What will change with the new European Blue Card? The differences at a glance
16 May 2022