Sweden to Make It Easier for Foreign Professionals to Obtain EU Blue Card

Sweden is expected to soon make it easier for highly qualified professionals from foreign countries to obtain the country’s EU Blue Card.

On November 27 of this year, the Swedish parliament will receive a text on the changes proposed by the MPs that should be made to the EU Blue Card Directive, and on November 28, the law will go up for a vote. 

If the changes proposed by the MPs are approved by the parliament, the new rules are expected to become effective on January 1, 2025, Schengen.News reports. 

As explained by The Local, the new rules that will go before the parliament at the end of this month aim to make the EU Blue Card of Sweden more attractive to foreign highly qualified workers. 

If the new law on the EU Blue Card gets approved, starting next year, Sweden will lower the minimum salary requirement to be eligible for the document. Under the new proposed rules, the salary requirement will be lowered from the current 1.5 times the gross average salary (€5,165) to 1.25 times (€4,304) the gross average salary. 

In addition, the new rules aim to halve the required length of the employment contract from the current one year to six months and to permit EU Blue Card holders to switch from one job to another without having to apply for a new document. 

The new rules also intend to make it possible for those who hold an EU Blue Card issued by another EU member state to work in Sweden for up to 90 days within any 180-day period and to introduce a simpler process for this group of card holders when wanting to obtain a Swedish EU Blue Card. 

Sweden Processing EU Blue Card Applications Within a Shorter Period of Time 
The Swedish authorities just recently announced that the country has decided to shorten the processing time of the EU Blue Card. 

According to local media, the processing time for highly qualified foreign workers applying for Sweden’s EU Blue Card has been shortened from 90 to 30 days. 

By shortening the processing time, the Swedish authorities aim to make the country more attractive for highly qualified applicants and retain talent. 

In addition to Sweden, several other EU countries also issue EU Blue Cards. Recent data show that a total of 89,037 EU Blue Cards were issued by EU countries to foreign nationals in 2023. 

Indians were the main beneficiaries of the EU Blue Card in 2023, with 21,228 of them obtaining the document. The second and third nationality groups that obtained the most EU Blue Cards were Russians and Turks. EU countries issued 9,488 EU Blue Cards to Russians and 5,803 EU Blue Cards to Turks in 2023

Source: https://schengen.news/sweden-to-make-it-easier-for-foreign-professionals-to-obtain-eu-blue-card/