EU Blue Card

The European Blue Card facilitates residence of employees carrying out highly qualified tasks within the EU. 

In this context, the national conditions for the provision of the European blue card must be fulfilled:

• Have an employment contract for a highly qualified job for at least 12 months to work for an employer in the Netherlands.
• Must meet wage requirements set by the IND
• Holds a diploma demonstrating that the applicant has completed a higher education program of at least 3 years. If this is a foreign higher education diploma, Nuffic will evaluate the diploma. The evaluation must be included with the application. If the diploma is a Dutch diploma, you need to enclose a copy of a certified diploma.
• For (regulated) professions such as doctors or lawyers: proof that the statutory requirements for being allowed to practice this profession are met
• For a period of 5 years before the application, the employer has not been fined for violating Article 2 of the Foreign Nationals Employment Act, or for failure to pay (sufficient) wage tax, employee insurance premiums, or national insurance contributions.

If an employee has a European Blue Card from another EU Member State, they will need a residence permit to live and work in the Netherlands.

What are the conditions and how does the application procedure work?

Your employer can choose to become a recognized sponsor. This is not obligatory, but recognition as a sponsor has advantages. For more information about EU Blue Card, please visit the IND website.