A major facelift of the European blue card: lower and graduate friendly salary thresholds

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. In a nutshell, the European blue card salary threshold has been lowered to the same level of a 30+ highly skilled migrant, which is 5331 euros gross per month (plus 8% holiday allowance). Also, recent graduates will be entitled to a reduced salary threshold of 4265 euros gross per month (plus 8% holiday allowance). By "recent", it means that the higher education diploma may not be older than three years. 

As explained in the explanatory notes, these amounts are based on the national average wage of 45463 euros per annum, and the current caretaker government decides to use a factor of 1.28, while the Directive itself says that the factor must be between 1.0 and 1.6. 

Standing in contrast to the highly skilled migrant visa, a European blue card can be applied for by both recognized sponsors and non-recognized sponsors. Should an application be submitted by a recognized sponsor, the IND is supposed to decide within 30 days. If an application is submitted by a company without the status of recognized sponsorship, the IND will have up to 90 days to decide on the application. Of course, there are some other perks and benefits of holding a European blue card. 

Should you have any questions about Dutch immigration and nationality laws, please do not hesitate to contact us.