Subject matter
This Directive lays down: (a) the conditions of entry and residence for more than 3 months in the territory of the Member States, and the rights, of third-country nationals for the purpose of highly qualified employment and of their family members; (b) the conditions of entry and residence, and the rights, of third-country nationals and of their family members, referred to in point (a), in Member States other than the Member State which first granted an EU Blue Card.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive: (1) ‘third-country national’ means any person who is not a citizen of the Union within the meaning of Article 20(1) TFEU; (2) ‘highly qualified employment’ means the employment of a person who: (a) in the Member State concerned, is protected as an employee under national employment law or in accordance with national practice, irrespective of the legal relationship, for the purpose of exercising genuine and effective work for, or under the direction of, another person; (b) is paid for that work; and (c) has the required higher professional qualifications; (3) ‘EU Blue Card’ means a residence permit bearing the term ‘EU Blue Card’ that entitles its holder to reside and work in the territory of a Member State under the terms of this Directive; (4) ‘first Member State’ means the Member State which first grants a third-country national an EU Blue Card; (5) ‘second Member State’ means any Member State in which the EU Blue Card holder intends to exercise or exercises the right of mobility within the meaning of this Directive, other than the first Member State; (6) ‘family members’ means third-country nationals who are family members as referred to in Article 4(1) of Directive 2003/86/EC; (7) ‘higher professional qualifications’ means qualifications attested by evidence of higher education qualifications or higher professional skills; (8) ‘higher education qualifications’ means any diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualifications issued by a competent authority attesting to the successful completion of a post-secondary higher education or equivalent tertiary education programme, namely a set of courses provided by an educational establishment recognised as a higher education institution or equivalent tertiary educational institution by the State in which it is situated, where the studies needed to acquire those qualifications last at least 3 years and correspond at least to ISCED 2011 level 6 or, where appropriate, to EQF level 6, in accordance with national law; (9) ‘higher professional skills’ means: (a) as concerns the occupations listed in Annex I, knowledge, skills and competences attested by professional experience at a level comparable to higher education qualifications, which are relevant to the profession or sector specified in the work contract or binding job offer, and which have been acquired over the duration set out in Annex I for each relevant occupation; (b) as concerns other occupations, only where provided for by national law or national procedures, knowledge, skills and competences attested by at least 5 years of professional experience at a level comparable to higher education qualifications and which are relevant to the profession or sector specified in the work contract or binding job offer; (10) ‘professional experience’ means the actual and lawful pursuit of the profession concerned; (11) ‘regulated profession’ means a regulated profession as defined in Article 3(1), point (a), of Directive 2005/36/EC; (12) ‘unregulated profession’ means a profession that is not a regulated profession; (13) ‘business activity’ means a temporary activity directly related to the business interests of the employer and to the professional duties of the EU Blue Card holder based on the work contract in the first Member State, including attending internal or external business meetings, attending conferences or seminars, negotiating business deals, undertaking sales or marketing activities, exploring business opportunities, or attending and receiving training; (14) ‘international protection’ means international protection as defined in Article 2, point (a), of Directive 2011/95/EU.
Scope
1. This Directive applies to third-country nationals who apply to be admitted, or who have been admitted, to the territory of a Member State for the purpose of highly qualified employment under this Directive. 2. This Directive does not apply to third-country nationals: (a) who seek international protection and are awaiting a decision on their status or who are beneficiaries of temporary protection in accordance with Council Directive 2001/55/EC ( 23 ) in a Member State; (b) who seek protection in accordance with national law, international obligations or practice of a Member State and are awaiting a decision on their status, or who are beneficiaries of protection in accordance with national law, international obligations or practice of a Member State; (c) who apply to reside in a Member State as researchers within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/801 in order to carry out a research project; (d) who enjoy EU long-term resident status in a Member State in accordance with Directive 2003/109/EC and exercise their right to reside in another Member State in order to carry out an economic activity in an employed or self-employed capacity; (e) who enter a Member State under commitments contained in an international agreement facilitating the entry and temporary stay of certain categories of trade- and investment-related natural persons, with the exception of third-country nationals who have been admitted to the territory of a Member State as intra-corporate transferees pursuant to Directive 2014/66/EU; (f) whose expulsion has been suspended for reasons of fact or law; (g) who are covered by Directive 96/71/EC for the duration of their posting to the territory of the Member State concerned; or (h) who, under agreements between the Union and the Member States on the one hand, and third countries on the other, as nationals of those third countries, enjoy rights of free movement equivalent to those of Union citizens. 3. This Directive is without prejudice to the right of Member States to issue residence permits other than an EU Blue Card for the purpose of highly qualified employment. Such residence permits shall not confer a right of residence in other Member States as provided for in this Directive.
More favourable provisions
1. This Directive is without prejudice to more favourable provisions of: (a) Union law, including bilateral or multilateral agreements concluded between the Union or the Union and the Member States on the one hand, and one or more third countries on the other; and (b) bilateral or multilateral agreements concluded between one or more Member States and one or more third countries. 2. This Directive shall not affect the right of Member States to adopt or retain more favourable provisions in respect of Article 8(5), Article 11, Article 15(4), Articles 16 and 17 and Article 18(4).
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.