France Announces New EU Blue Card
September 28, 2011— France has introduced its version of European Union Blue Card, a program that will allow highly skilled third-country nationals to live and work temporarily in the country and ultimately acquire long-term EU residence rights. The Blue Card will become available after the French government finalizes minimum salary requirements for the program, which is expected to occur within the next two months.
To qualify for the Blue Card, a foreign national must have a three-year degree or five years of work experience, and an employment contract of at least one year. The job must pay at least 1.5 times the minimum salary set by the government. No labor market test is required. Foreign nationals who have held another EU country’s Blue Card for at least 18 months will automatically qualify for the French Blue Card. They do not require a visa to enter France and must apply for the French Blue Card within one month of arrival.
French Blue Card applications can be submitted to the local prefecture with jurisdiction over the foreign national’s place of residence. Prefectures must adjudicate principal Blue Card applications within 90 days of receipt and applications from accompanying dependents within six months. The French Blue Card will be valid for three years or the duration of the employment contract, whichever is less. Dependent family members will be granted combined work and residence permits that are initially valid for one year and can be renewed annually for the duration of the principal’s Blue Card. Holders of French Blue Cards and their dependents will qualify for EU long-term residence permits after living in the EU for five years, of which the last two must be in France.
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