Blue card

A similar identification card without the right to grant citizenship was proposed by the head of the European Commission, Manuel Barroso, at a press conference on October 23, 2007 in Strasbourg , France, by analogy with a green card (green card) already used in the USA for similar purposes. The color proposed for the card - blue - is based on the color of the EU flag. According to the plan, the blue card will have to satisfy the EU's need for skilled labor due to the strong aging of the population, although three countries - Ireland , Denmark and the UK refused to participate in the project ^[3] . It is expected that most applicants will apply for a blue card from developing countries in Asia and Africa, primarily from India and China , but the number of applicants from Turkey , Ukraine , Russia can also be quite significant.

The proposed blue card, presented by the European Commission, offers a standard procedure for submitting a working application for non-EU citizens. According to the project, the document will be valid for two years, but can be extended. Those who receive a blue card will be given a certain group of rights, such as, for example, the right to reunite with their family. The proposed project also stimulates the movement of the mentioned citizens across the EU between the project member countries. The legal basis for such a proposal is Article 63 (3) (a) and (4) of the Treaty of Rome , which states that the Council will take measures in the development of immigration policy.

The proposed project was presented by President of the European Commission Manuel Barroso on October 23, 2007 at a press conference in conjunction with Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini . Barroso motivated his proposal with the alleged shortage of skilled workers in the EU and the difficulty for representatives of the so-called countries. "Third world" in the movement between EU countries, the problems of conflicting laws of the EU countries in the field of entry of immigrants and the " gap in rights" ( English rights gap ) between EU citizens and legal immigrants ^[4] . A draft blue card was proposed along with another project, COM (2007) 638 , which offers simplification of documents and the adoption of a common set of rights for legal immigrants from third countries.

On November 20, 2008, the European Parliament supported the introduction of the blue card, however, it recommended some measures against brain drain and advocated greater flexibility for EU member states ^[5] , many of which were ignored in the subsequent law adopted on May 25, 2009. However, some compromises were made, for example, states are allowed to set quotas on the number of cards issued or, if necessary, prohibit them altogether .

Germany adopted the blue card law in April 2012, focusing on knowledge of the language and the demand for professions - engineering, mathematics and information technology ^[6] . At the beginning of 2014, Germany issued 7 thousand cards, 4 thousand of which were issued to foreigners already residing in Germany ^[7] .

To apply for a blue card, the applicant must provide:

• a work contract or a proposal to work with a salary of at least one and a half times the average salary in a given EU member state (an EU member state has the right to reduce salary requirements to 1.2 for especially popular professions),
• valid ID and residence permit (passport and visa),
• insurance contract
• documents confirming compliance with the requirements for regulated professions (for example, for doctors), or
• documents confirming the availability of appropriate higher education for unregulated professions ^[8] .

Additionally, the applicant may be required to have a document confirming knowledge of the language, a criminal record, a medical record, a work record. ^[9] For family reunification, documents confirming kinship.

Salary Requirements

Different countries have different pay requirements. The following data (unless otherwise indicated) reflect the gross (before tax) annual salary, 1.5 times higher than the average in the country in question.

• Germany: two thirds (52% for professions in demand) from the upper limit of annual pension insurance ^[10] .

• France: 52,750.50 euros on February 10, 2014 ^[11] .
• Czech Republic: 1.5 average annual salaries ^[12] . From May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018, a wage of 496 602 kroons (41 384 gross / monthly) was established ^[13] .
• Latvia: at the beginning of April 2018, a salary of € 16,668 was established (€ 1,389 gross / monthly).
• Germany: at the beginning of April 2018, a salary of € 52,000 (€ 4,333 gross / monthly) or 40,560 euros (3,380 gross / monthly) was set.

• Abdurrahman Aydemir and George Borjas, “A Comparative Analysis of the Labor Market Impact of International Migration: Canada, Mexico, and the United States,” Working Paper, April 2006 .
• Michel Beine, Frédéric Docquier, and Hillel Rapoport, “Brain Drain and LDCs' Growth: Winners and Losers” , IZA Discussion Paper 819, 2003 . (eng.)
• Tito Boeri and Herbert Brücker, “Why are Europeans so tough on migrants?” , Economic Policy - A European Forum, 44, 629–703, 2005 . (eng.)
• Holger Bonin, “Wage and Employment Effects of Immigration to Germany: Evidence from a Skill Group Approach,” IZA Discussion Paper 1875, 2005 .
• George Borjas, “The Labor Demand Curve Is Downward Sloping: Re-examining the Impact of Immigration on the Labor Market,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118 (4), 1335–1376, 2003 .
• Syvie Charlot, Carl Gaigné, Frédéric Robert-Nicoud, and Jacques-François Thisse, “Agglomeration and welfare: The core-periphery model in the light of Bentham, Kaldor and Rawls” , Journal of Public Economics, 90, 325-47, 2006 . (eng.)
• Jean-Christophe Dumont and Georges Lemaître, “Counting Immigrants and Expatriates: A New Perspective” , OECD Social, Employment, and Migration Working Paper, 2004 . (eng.)
• European Commission, “Policy Plan on Legal Migration,” COM (2005) 669 final. (eng.)
• Simonetta Longhi, Peter Nijkamp, ​​and Jacques Poot, “A Meta-Analytic Assessment of the Effect of Immigration on Wages” , Journal of Economic Surveys, 19 (3), 451-477, 2005 .
• Simonetta Longhi, Peter Nijkamp, ​​and Jacques Poot, “The Impact of Immigration on the Employment of Natives in Regional Labor Markets: A Meta-Analysis” , IZA Discussion Paper 2044, 2006 .
• Gianmarco Ottaviano and Giovanni Peri, "Rethinking the Gains from Immigration: Theory and Evidence from the US," Working Paper, January 2006 . (eng.)
• Patrick Weil, “A Flexible Framework for a Plural Europe,” in The Hampton Court Agenda: A Social Model for Europe, Policy Network, 2006 . (eng.)

• Green Card is a US residence permit.
• Gastarbeiter is a guest worker from another state.

• European Parliament- Blue Card Feature
• Proposal for a Council Directive of October 23, 2007 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment
• Discussion about the Blue Card with Focus on Germany