Filenews 9 February 2024 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
Democracy is getting closer and closer to the implementation of the Blue Work Card, with the submission of the relevant bill to the Plenary of the Parliament a short while ago.
According to the text, the country will grant a blue card to highly skilled workers from third countries who come to Cyprus to be employed. In particular, the criteria for entry into democracy are relaxed, with the aim of attracting highly qualified workers from third countries.
The bill harmonizes Cyprus with a relevant European Directive, which concerns the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals, for the purpose of highly qualified employment in the Member States. Among other things, it introduces a simpler entry procedure for highly qualified workers, allows volumes of admission to be set and provides for sanctions against employers who fail to fulfil their obligations. In addition, it sets a salary threshold for a Blue Card at 1 to 1.6 times the average gross annual salary of the Member State.
It also makes recognition of professional skills mandatory in specific professions in the field of information and communication technologies. It makes beneficiaries of international protection eligible to apply for a Blue Card and gives increased rights to their family members.
The competent ministry estimates that there will be a positive impact on the economy and the attraction of investments with the implementation of the Blue Card, as highly skilled workers will come to the island. In addition, it is estimated that there will be an increase in public revenues, as this card will attract investments from large information and communication technology companies. At the same time, it will increase the turnover of already registered companies and create new jobs.
