With a view to transposing the EU Blue Card Directive 2021/1883 and making the European blue card more attractive, on 11 June 2024, the Dutch government published a number of amendments to the Aliens Decree 2000. To qualify for a European blue card in the Netherlands, one needs to meet a myriad of requirements. In the following context, we will briefly elaborate on some of these substantive requirements. Also, we will cut to the chase, explaining the benefits of asking for a European blue card. 

Salary thresholds

The European blue card salary threshold has been lowered to the same level of a 30+ highly skilled migrant, which is 5942 euros gross per month (plus 8% holiday allowance) for the calendar year of 2026. Also, recent graduates will be entitled to a reduced salary threshold of 4754 euros gross per month (plus 8% holiday allowance). By "recent", it means that the higher education diploma may not be older than three years. 

An employment agreement or a binding job offer 

Pursuant to article 5(1)(a) of the new Directive, to qualify for a European blue card, a foreign national must have received an employment contract or a binding job offer for a period of six months or longer. 

No recognised sponsorship required 

Standing in contrast to the highly skilled migrant visa, a European blue card can be applied for by both recognised sponsors and non-recognized sponsors. Should an application be submitted by a recognised sponsor, the IND is supposed to decide within 30 days. If an application is submitted by a company without the status of recognised sponsorship, the IND will have up to 90 days to decide on the application. Nevertheless, if an application is submitted by a non-recognised sponsor, the IND does ask for a plethora of additional documents. The additional documents are, for example: 

• proof of an own address where economic activities are performed, such as a lease or deed of purchase;
• an anonymised collective wage statement showing that at least one FTE is already working in the host entity before the arrival of an intended holder of a European Blue Card; and 
• a recent declaration of payment behaviour as referred to in Article 1.1.12 of the Collection Guidelines 2008.

Higher professional qualifications

A European Blue Card applicant needs to have accomplished at least:

• three years of higher education ("higher education qualifications"); or 
• 5 years of professional experience ("higher professional skills") at a level comparable to higher education qualifications.

The higher education qualifications and the higher professional skills are jointly referred to as "higher professional qualifications."

When it comes to a degree obtained outside the Netherlands and the Flemish region of Belgium, the degree certificate also needs to be pre-assessed by the Nuffic. It is worth noting that there is a blacklog at the Nuffic for the time being. Thus, should you consider asking for a diploma validation request, it is advisable to submit your diploma validation application as early as possible, making sure that you have all your ducks in a row!

Certain Regulated Professions

When it comes to certain regulated professions (eg. dentistry), an applicant needs to have their professional qualification verified by their professional body. For example, if one wants to obtain a European blue card for the purpose of working as a dentist in the Netherlands, their dentistry degree certificate needs to be evaluated by the CIBG, and they need to be registered as a qualified dentist in the BIG registry. If you are currently working as a dentist on a highly skilled migrant permit, you can contact Mynta Law and discuss if/how we can help you convert your highly skilled migrant permit into a European blue card. 

Relevance of their higher professional qualifications

Under the new EU Blue Card Directive, the higher professional qualifications must be relevant to the work to be carried out. For example, Jack holds a Bachelor's degree in art history, but he intends to work as a data scientist at a multinational. In this case, Jack needs to show that he has had five years of higher professional skills, as the IND will probably make a fuss about the relevance of his art history degree to his new job.

The sponsoring company must have a clear record

Another requirement is that the sponsoring company must have a clear record over the last five years, not having been in contravention of:

• the Foreign Nationals Employment Act ("Wet Arbeid Vreemdelingen" in Dutch);
• the State Taxes Act ("Algemene wet inzake rijksbelastingen" in Dutch);
• the Working Hours Act ("Arbeidstijdenwet" in Dutch);
• the Dutch Workers Allocation by Intermediaries Act ("Wet allocatie arbeidskrachten door intermediairs" in Dutch);
• the Minimum Wage Act ("Wet minimumloon" in Dutch); or
• the Working Conditions Act ("Arbowet" in Dutch).

The benefits of holding a European blue card

Now, let's cut to the chase, explaining the reasons as to why you should consider holding a European blue card, rather than a highly skilled migrant permit. 

Statutory tuition fees for European Blue Card holders and their family members

Pursuant to article 16 of the EU Blue Card Directive, European Blue Card holders should enjoy equal treatment with nationals of the Member State issuing the Blue Card as regards, inter alia, education and vocational training. By Royal Decree of 3 June 2024 (Stb. 2024, 150), the Dutch Government transposed this EU Directive provision into domestic law, as a result of which EU Blue Card holders and their dependent family members can potentially qualify for Dutch statutory tuition fee (ie. €2694 for the academic year 2026-2027), should they want to pursue a university degree programme in the Netherlands. This change has also been adopted and implemented by, for example, the University of Utrecht. As is mentioned on page 17 of their regulation on registration and tuition fee 2026-2027, family members of a European Blue Card holder qualify for statutory tuition fee. Considering the substantial discrepancy between the statutory tuition fee and a course-specific international fee, this facility will undoubtedly help families of Blue Card holders save thousands of euros. Moreover, Blue Card holders and their family members can potentially qualify for a study loan, in case of need.

Special remark and longer permitted absence in future

When a European Blue Card holder obtains the status of EU long term stay ("EU langdurig ingezetene" in Dutch), their residence card will mention the fact that they used to be a Blue Card holder. Pursuant to article 18(5) of the EU Blue Card Directive, they can stay up to 24 consecutive months outside the EU without the risk of losing their EU long term stay permit. Without such a remark, one can only stay up to 364 days outside the EU.

Longer search period in case of unemployment

Another salient benefit is that a European Blue Card holder will be given up to six months to look for a new job, in the event of unemployment, if they have been in possession of a Blue Card for a period of two years or longer. A six-month search period is more realistic, considering that it often takes a few months to finish different rounds of interviews, let alone the need of taking aptitude tests for some positions.  

Intra-EU Mobility

In addition to the aforementioned perks, a European Blue Card holder can enjoy both short-term and long-term intra-EU mobility. For example, when holding a European Blue Card issued by the Dutch Government, a blue card holder can potentially enter and stay in one or several second Member States (eg. Germany) for a period of 90 days in any 180-day period for the purpose of carrying out a business activity. In this example, the German Government may not require any authorisation for exercising such activity other than the EU Blue Card. This is known as short-term mobility. 

After living and working 12 months as a European blue card holder in a Member State, one can move to another EU Member State and apply for a European blue card in the second Member State, which is known as long-term mobility. The EU Blue Card holder shall be allowed to commence work in the second Member State not later than 30 days after the date of submission of the complete application.

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Should you have any questions about European blue card, please feel free to book a consultation with one of our lawyers.