Quick guideWhat you need to know about the European Blue Card

It is a long-term residency and work permit that can be issued to higher earning, skilled professionals by a Member State, such as Luxembourg.

The European blue card is an “extra special” card, that offers a variety of advantages and allows you to skip the usual “market test” where future employers must prove they couldn’t find any other person to complete the same job. Not needing to fulfill this specific criteria makes the procedure easier and faster.

Qualification criteria

To qualify for a blue card, third-country nationals must satisfy three conditions of higher professional qualification. They must have concluded a valid employment contract with a duration of at least one year. They must provide documentary evidence for the required professional qualifications in the activity or sector mentioned within the employment contract. They must receive a salary at least equivalent to 1.2 or 1.5 times the amount of the gross annual average salary in Luxembourg.

Don’t forget, you will of course need to ask for the authorisation of the EU blue card before entering Luxembourg. You will need to submit an application for a temporary authorisation to stay to the Immigration Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, you need to be in possession of a valid passport, and for anyone subject to visa requirements in order to enter Luxembourg: request a type D visa after having obtained the temporary authorisation to stay.

Job types and income

Regarding the types of jobs and incomes, you must have an employment contract of at least one year for highly qualified work with an offer of remuneration:

• equivalent to at least 1.5 times the amount of the Luxembourg average gross annual salary (EUR 78,336 in 2019); or
• equivalent to at least 1.2 times the Luxembourg average gross annual salary (EUR 62,668.80 in 2019) for work in one of the following professions for which the government has noticed a particular need to employ third-country nationals:
• mathematicians, actuaries and statisticians;
• systems analysts;
• software developers;
• web and multimedia developers;
• applications programmers;
• software and application developers and analysts, multimedia developers not listed elsewhere;
• database designers and administrators;
• systems administrators;
• computer network professionals;
• database and network professionals not elsewhere classified;
• show a document proving that you possess the high professional qualifications required for the activity or sector mentioned in the employment contract, or that they meet the requirements to carry out the regulated profession indicated in the employment contract.

You will find all the details about this specific type of residence card right here.

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This article provided by ASTI with the support of the Department of Integration - Ministry of Family Affairs, Integration and the Greater Region.