Blue Card (H card) or single permit (A card): what’s actually the difference?

From the moment HR applied (October 2018) to my first day at work (early December 2018) took a little over one to two months. My company also hired a colleague from India and one from the US on the standard work permit, and when we compared notes, theirs took at least three to four months.

Both now go through the same online single permit procedure, so treat this as one company’s experience rather than a rule. For people who already hold a Blue Card in another EU country, Flanders does guarantee a shorter processing time of 30 days.

Back then, after two years with the same company, you could switch employers on your existing Blue Card without a new application. With an A card, you’re tied to your employer, so a new company has to apply all over again.

The wait is shorter. During your first 12 months, a change of employer needs approval. After 12 months, you can change employer without that approval, as long as the new job meets the same Blue Card conditions, including the salary threshold. But it isn’t automatic: your new employer still has to submit the application for you through the one-stop shop.

I never tried this myself. From what I read at the time, after 18 months on a Blue Card in one EU country, you could look for work in another Blue Card country and switch to that country’s Blue Card, as long as the new job met its criteria. With a standard work permit, you start from scratch in the new country.

Also shorter. Under the revised EU Blue Card directive, you can move after 12 months of legal residence in the first country, and a second move is possible after 6 months. The new job still has to meet the new country’s Blue Card criteria.

Many people coming to work in Europe eventually think about permanent residence or even nationality. In most EU countries, you can apply for long-term residence after five years. With an A card, moving to another country interrupts that: you start counting again.

With a Blue Card, the years can add up. Say you spend two years on a Belgian Blue Card, then find a better job in Paris and switch to a French one. Those two years still count, and after three more years in France you could, in theory, apply for French long-term residence.

Still the case: periods spent on a Blue Card in different EU countries can be combined toward EU long-term resident status. How much time you need in the last country differs per country, so check that country’s rules before you plan around it.

In 2020, the Blue Card required €51,230 in Flanders and €55,431 in Brussels and Wallonia. The standard highly skilled permit required €42,696 in Flanders and €42,869 in Brussels and Wallonia.

Flanders: €63,586 for the Blue Card and €48,912 for the highly skilled permit. Brussels works with monthly amounts: €4,748 for the Blue Card and €3,703.44 for highly qualified staff. Wallonia publishes its own yearly figures. Your degree, experience, role and industry will all shape what you’re offered, and which permit fits.