Guide
EU Blue Card requirements, straight from the directive
By Covered Abroad Research Desk · Last verified July 2026
The Article 5 admission criteria
Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2021/1883 states that an applicant for an EU Blue Card shall:
- present a valid work contract or binding job offer for highly qualified employment of at least 6 months in the member state concerned;
- for unregulated professions, present documents attesting relevant higher professional qualifications in relation to the work to be carried out;
- for regulated professions, present documents attesting fulfilment of the conditions national law sets for EU citizens exercising that profession.
The directive's recitals anchor "higher education or equivalent" to ISCED 2011 levels 6, 7 and 8 — and add that the job itself must be one inherently demanding that competence: the tasks should be so specialised that they require it, not merely benefit from it.
Source: Directive (EU) 2021/1883, Article 5 — EUR-Lex, read 8 September 2026.
The salary threshold: a band, set nationally
There is no single EU Blue Card salary figure — the directive sets a band. Per Article 5 of Directive 2021/1883, each member state defines its threshold after consulting the social partners, and it shall be at least 1,0 times, but not higher than 1,6 times, the average gross annual salary in the Member State concerned. By derogation, for shortage professions in ISCO major groups 1 and 2, a state may apply a lower threshold of at least 80% of its standard one.
The honest consequence: the number you must earn is a national publication, refreshed as average salaries move. We don't reprint figures we haven't verified against the national source — check the destination country's official Blue Card page for the current threshold before negotiating an offer.
Source: Directive (EU) 2021/1883, salary threshold provisions — EUR-Lex, read 8 September 2026.
60-second check
Not sure the policy you have meets your destination's written rule? Run it through the policy check now, before you build the rest of the file around it.
Check my policyWhat the Blue Card is — and the file around it
The Blue Card is the EU's permit for highly qualified third-country workers, existing alongside national work-permit routes rather than replacing them (the Netherlands' highly-skilled-migrant scheme is a national cousin, covered separately). The directive is explicit that it operates without prejudice to national procedures on the recognition of diplomas — so a regulated profession may still need its qualification recognised first, which we cover in our recognition guides.
And like every residence file in Europe, the application travels with proof of health cover — the insurance side of the Blue Card file is its own guide.
Source: Directive (EU) 2021/1883, recitals — EUR-Lex, read 8 September 2026.