Italy Moves EU Blue Card Application Process Online to Simplify Rules
Key Takeaways
- Italian employers can now request highly qualified foreign workers online.
- Italy aims to simplify the EU Blue Card application process and create more favorable conditions.
- Highly qualified foreign workers must meet specific criteria to be eligible for Italy’s EU Blue Card.
Italian employers needing to hire highly qualified workers under the EU Blue Card scheme can now submit their requests online.
In an effort to streamline procedures and offer better conditions, the Italian Ministry of Interior has launched a Services Portal.
The portal features a new, updated form that allows Italian employers to request the hiring of highly qualified workers from non-EU countries.
On the Ministry of the Interior’s Services Portal, in the Immigration One Stop Shop section, employers can now access the updated EBC form to request the hiring of highly qualified foreign workers (EU Blue Card).
**Italy’s Migrant Integration Portal**
Using the new online form, Italian employers can request highly qualified workers in various fields.
Once requests are submitted, highly qualified non-EU workers can apply for the positions. If they meet the requirements, they are granted an EU Blue Card, allowing them to reside and work in Italy.
Who Is Eligible for Italy’s EU Blue Card
According to Italy's Migrant Integration Portal, to qualify for the EU Blue Card, highly qualified foreign workers must meet several criteria.
Non-EU highly qualified foreign workers must demonstrate higher education completion, at least five years of experience in their field, or a higher professional qualification with at least three years of experience.
Additionally, EU Blue Card holders must earn at least 1.5 times the national average salary and purchase travel health insurance, among other requirements.
The EU Blue Card offers numerous benefits, including the right to travel freely within the European Union, equal work conditions and salaries as Italian citizens, permanent residence rights in Italy, and educational, economic, and medical rights equivalent to those of Italian citizens. Cardholders can also move to another EU country after one year.
Recently, Greece also eased its EU Blue Card application rules, allowing foreigners under visa-free regimes and those holding short-stay visas to apply. Greece has also modified pre-screening requirements, giving applicants the option to undergo the process or not.