Ambassadors of all EU states approve plan for EU Blue Card

On 22 October 2008, all European Union member states approved the plan for an 'EU Blue Card' -- a proposed system for attracting highly qualified immigrants to Europe. Bulgaria was the last EU state to withdraw objections to the plan.

The Blue Card scheme takes its inspiration from the US Green Card and was proposed by the European Commission in an attempt to make the EU more attractive to highly skilled migrants.

The following is an excerpt from German press agency release:


EU officials frequently complain that Europe tends to attract uneducated migrants, while their highly-educated peers are more likely to move to North America in search of work.

The Blue Card project was designed to make immigration easier by giving a prospective immigrant a single document allowing him or her to work in all 27 EU member states.

The card would only be issued under strict income conditions, with migrants expected to be earning at least one and a half times the gross national average wage.

However, EU states have significantly weakened the commission's original plans by insisting that it is up to national governments to decide how many migrants should enter their countries and what qualifications they should have.

Officials now hope that EU interior ministers will give the proposal their formal approval before the end of the year, but no date has yet been set.

With Bulgaria being the last EU member state to withdraw objections to the EU Blue Card, it looks as if highly skilled migrants from around the world will finally have a ticket to most of the continental EU.

EU member states such as Bulgaria and the Czech Republic were concerned about the Blue Card because of continuing work restrictions imposed on their citizens in other EU member states such as France and Germany. They feel that a system for non-EU citizens should not come before EU citizens of all member states can work in any EU state.

While these countries have agreed to the immigration scheme, because of these concerns, the EU Blue Card may not see the light of day for a few more years when these restrictions are lifted.

Even when the EU Blue Card does finally arrive, some countries will most likely not implement it. The United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark have stipulations that allow them to opt out of the program. In any case, all three countries have immigration schemes in place that are similar to the proposed EU Blue Card.

The United Kingdom has its highly skilled Tier 1 points based system. Ireland and Denmark also have highly skilled immigration schemes: the Irish Green Card and the Danish Green Card, respectively.