Minimum Salary for EU Blue Cards to Increase

At a Glance

• Effective September 27, 2019, the minimum salary level for EU Blue Card positions in Luxembourg will increase for both regular and shortage occupations. The new salary level for regular occupations will be EUR 78,336 (up from EUR 73,998), and the new level for shortage occupations will be EUR 62,668.80 (up from EUR 59,198.40).
• Shortage occupations include mathematicians, actuaries and statisticians; system analysts; software developers; web and multimedia developers; and application programmers and other computer professionals.

The situation

Effective September 27, 2019, the minimum salary level for EU Blue Card positions for regular occupations will be EUR 78,336 (up from EUR 73,998), and the new level for shortage occupations will be EUR 62,668.80 (up from EUR 59,198.40).

A closer look

Shortage occupations include:

• Mathematicians, actuaries and statisticians;
• System analysts;
• Software developers, web and multimedia developers, and application programmers;
• Software and application developers and analysts not elsewhere classified;
• Database designers and administrators;
• System administrators;
• Computer network professionals; and
• Database and network professionals not elsewhere classified.

A closer look

• Initial and renewal applications. Employers of foreign nationals seeking to obtain or renew a work permit on or after September 27, 2019 must increase the foreign national’s salary to comply with the new rule. Those who do not meet the threshold will be eligible for the standard local work permit (Salaried Worker Permit), for which a labor market test will need to be completed.
• Pending applications. During the last increase, the authorities confirmed that any file received before the publication date plus four days would be processed taking into consideration the previous threshold. Fragomen expects the same to apply this time. The impact that the new minimum salary requirements may have on pending Blue Card applications is being reviewed – more information will be provided when this is known.

Impact

Employers should check their non-European Economic Area and Swiss population to check if they comply with the new threshold for highly skilled workers.

Reminders on other requirements

• Benefits and allowances. As before, benefits and allowances may only be included in the minimum salary calculation if they are specified in the assignment letter or employment contract, processed through payroll for payment into the foreign national’s bank account, not paid in kind, paid at regular intervals throughout the assignment period (excluding one-off payments), guaranteed and fixed (excluding performance-based bonuses).
• Currency. As before, employers are required to guarantee the salary in EUR regardless of payroll location and/or exchange rate fluctuations.

Background

The last EU Blue Card salary threshold increase was in December 2017. The minimum salary for this category is increased approximately every two years.

Looking ahead

More EU Member States are expected to announce new salary thresholds in the coming months.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to beneluxinfo@fragomen.com.