EU Blue Card Guide: Salaries, Moving and Family

You're a qualified professional outside Europe, and you keep seeing the EU Blue Card mentioned in job ads. It sounds like one permit for the whole EU. In practice, it's issued by one country at a time, and each country sets its own salary bar.

This EU Blue Card guide explains how the permit works across Europe, compares salary thresholds in four countries, and covers moving countries and bringing your family. Figures are as of September 2026. Many thresholds change every January, and the Netherlands updates twice a year, so check the official pages.

How the EU Blue Card works across Europe

The EU Blue Card is a combined work and residence permit for highly qualified workers from outside the EU. It's based on an EU law, so the core rules are shared. But you apply to one country, and that country decides.

According to the European Commission's EU Immigration Portal, you generally need:

• A work contract or binding job offer for at least six months
• A higher education qualification, or equivalent professional skills where the country allows it
• A salary at or above that country's threshold
• Valid travel documents and health insurance

The Blue Card applies in 25 of the 27 EU countries. Denmark and Ireland have their own systems. The portal says countries should decide within 90 days of a complete application.

EU Blue Card salary thresholds by country

EU rules let each country set its threshold between the national average gross salary and 1.6 times that amount. Most countries also set a lower threshold for shortage jobs and recent graduates.

The Dutch figures are gross monthly amounts without holiday allowance. The Spanish figures are the latest ones on the EU Immigration Portal, which lists them as 2024 amounts, so check for an update with the Spanish authorities.

Germany

Germany's standard threshold is €50,700 a year in 2026. It falls to €45,934.20 for shortage occupations in STEM and health, and for people who got their last degree less than three years ago.

The German Blue Card lasts up to four years. Its biggest advantage is a quick path to settling: permanent residence after 27 months, or 21 months with B1 German. See our guide to permanent residence in Germany.

The Netherlands: Blue Card or highly skilled migrant?

The Netherlands has two main routes. The national highly skilled migrant permit has lower salary levels: €5,942 a month if you're 30 or older, €4,357 if you're under 30, and €3,122 for recent graduates (July to December 2026).

The Blue Card costs €423 to apply for and needs €5,942 a month, or €4,754 under the reduced criterion. It needs a degree of at least three years or five years' relevant experience (three years for IT). Unlike the highly skilled migrant permit, your employer doesn't need to be a recognised sponsor. The Blue Card is also easier to take to another EU country.

France

France issues the Blue Card as a "talent" residence card. You need a gross salary of at least 1.5 times the average, which Service Public gives as €59,373 a year. You also need a diploma for at least three years of higher education or five years' relevant experience.

Your spouse and children can get a "talent-family" card through a simpler process.

Spain

Spain's figures on the EU portal are €38,844 a year, or €31,075 for shortage jobs and recent graduates. They're listed as 2024 amounts, so they may be out of date. The portal lists an initial validity of three years.

A realistic example

Say you're a data engineer in Nairobi with a four-year degree. A company in Rotterdam offers you €5,200 a month. That's below the Dutch Blue Card threshold of €5,942, but it may meet the highly skilled migrant level if you're under 30 and the employer is a recognised sponsor.

A year later, a Berlin firm offers you €55,000 a year. That's above Germany's €50,700 threshold. If you held a Blue Card in the Netherlands, you could use the EU mobility rules to move. If you held the Dutch national permit, you'd apply to Germany as a new applicant.

Moving to another EU country after 12 months

This is where the Blue Card beats most national permits. After 12 months of legal residence in your first country, you can move to another participating country to live and work.

You must apply for a new Blue Card in the new country and meet its salary threshold. The EU portal says you won't face a labour market test again. The details vary by country, so check the rules for your destination.

For short work trips, you can visit other EU countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

Changing jobs and losing your job

The portal says you can change employers freely after 12 months. If you lose your job in the first two years, you have three months to find a new one. After two years, you have six months.

Bringing your family on a Blue Card

The EU Immigration Portal says Blue Card holders get more favourable family reunification rules than most work permit holders. Family members can join you and work.

In Germany, BAMF says spouses don't need to prove German before arriving and can work straight away. In France, spouses and children get the talent-family card. In the Netherlands, family members can apply at the same time as you.

How to apply for an EU Blue Card

1. Pick your country and check its current threshold on the official site.
2. Check your qualification. Your degree may need to be recognised or evaluated.
3. Get a job offer of at least six months that meets the salary threshold.
4. Gather documents: passport, contract, degree certificates, translations and proof of health insurance.
5. Apply at the embassy, or through your employer where the country allows it, such as the Netherlands.
6. Collect your card after arrival and register your address.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Repeating old salary figures. Many online guides show out-of-date ranges.
• Assuming one card covers the EU. You need a new card for each country you move to.
• Moving before 12 months. Early moves don't get the mobility rules.
• Forgetting Denmark and Ireland. They don't issue the Blue Card.
• Ignoring the lower threshold. Shortage jobs and recent graduates may qualify with less.

What to do next

Choose one or two target countries and check their current thresholds on the official pages linked below. Then compare them with the salaries in your field. If you're focusing on Germany, read our guide to Germany visa sponsorship jobs to find employers who hire from abroad.