Blue Card (European Union)

The Blue Card is an approved EU-wide work permit (Council Directive 2009/50/EC) allowing high-skilled non-EU citizens to work and live in any country within the European Union, excluding Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom, which are not subject to the proposal. The term Blue Card was coined by the think tank Bruegel, inspired by the United States' Green Card and making reference to the European flag which is blue with twelve golden stars.

The Blue Card proposal presented by the European Commission offers a one-track procedure for non-EU citizens to apply for a work permit, which would be valid for up to three years, but can be renewed thereafter. Those who are granted a blue card will be given a series of rights, such as favourable family reunification rules. The proposal also encourages geographic mobility within the EU, between different member states, for those who have been granted a blue card. The legal basis for this proposal was Article 63(3)and (4) of the Treaty of Rome (now Article 79 TFEU).

The blue card proposal was presented at a press conference in Strasbourg on 23 October 2007, by the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini. Barroso explained the motives behind the proposal as: The EU’s future lack of labour and skills; the difficulty for third country workers to move between different member states for work purposes; the conflicting admission procedures for the 27 different member states, and the "rights gap" between EU citizens and legal immigrants. The proposal was presented along with another proposal, COM(2007)638, which includes a simplified application procedure and a common set of rights for legal third-country workers. The name ‘blue card’ is chosen to signal potential immigrants that the blue card is the European alternative to the US Green card. The colour blue is the predominant colour of the European Union.

...
Wikipedia