EU Blue Card
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Autorización de residencia para profesionales altamente cualificados titulares de una Tarjeta azul-UE as of 2026-01-30[2][4] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | EU Blue Card as of 2026-01-30[2][4] The instrument is the Spanish transposition of the EU Blue Card of Directive (EU) 2021/1883, whose official English name this is. The Spanish sources use 'Tarjeta azul-UE'. |
| Legal basis | Ley 14/2013, de 27 de septiembre, art. 71 bis (introducido por la Ley 11/2023, de 8 de mayo), Directiva (UE) 2021/1883 y Orden PJC/44/2026, de 27 de enero as of 2026-01-30[2][4] The preamble of Orden PJC/44/2026 states that the partial transposition of Directive (EU) 2021/1883 into Spanish law is found in Ley 14/2013 following its reform by Ley 11/2023, and specifically that the law partially transposes the directive as regards residence authorisations for highly qualified professionals holding an EU Blue Card. |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2025-05-01[4] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA as of 2026-08-06[6] The international mobility section of Ley 14/2013 addresses third-country nationals; EU/EEA nationals and Swiss nationals are covered by free-movement rules instead. Switzerland is not a value in the bloc vocabulary and is recorded here in the note. |
|---|---|
| Criminal-record condition | Yes as of 2025-05-01[4][5] Ley 14/2013 art. 62.3 general requirement, restated on the information sheet. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | 3 years as of 2025-05-01[4] |
|---|---|
| How the initial term is set | matches the contract |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2023-05-10[1][6] Art. 76.3 provides for renewal of authorisations in this section. |
| Renewal duration | 2 years as of 2026-08-06[6] |
| Work rights | Not established from a qualifying source |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2025-05-01[3] |
|---|
Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-01-30[2][4] A valid employment contract or a firm offer of highly qualified employment for a period of at least six months, guaranteeing continuous activity for the validity of the Blue Card. |
|---|---|
| Salary threshold | |
| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-08-06[6] |
| Qualification requirement | degree, equivalent experience, regulated profession as of 2025-05-01[4] degree: a higher education qualification of at least three years' duration, equivalent to at least level 2 of the Spanish Framework of Qualifications for Higher Education, corresponding to level 6 of the Spanish Framework of Qualifications for Lifelong Learning and the same level of the European Qualifications Framework. experience_equivalent: at least five years of knowledge, skills and competences evidenced by professional experience; for information and communications technology professionals and managers the minimum comparable experience is three years, falling within the seven years preceding the Blue Card application. regulated_profession: where a regulated profession is to be exercised, homologation under the relevant sectoral rules is required. |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2025-05-01[4][6] The legal entity wishing to hire the foreign national files the application. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2025-05-01[4] |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2025-05-01[4][6] |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | 20 days as of 2025-05-01[1][4] Information sheet 66: twenty days from electronic submission, positive administrative silence if unresolved. Corroborated by the current text of Ley 14/2013 art. 76. |
| Fees |
|
Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2025-05-01[4] |
|---|
Family inclusion
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
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Verification
| Sources cited | 7 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 7 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2023-05-10 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-06 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Ley 14/2013, art. 76 (texto vigente) — API de legislación consolidada del BOE, bloque a76
Boletín Oficial del Estado — Datos Abiertos · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2023-05-10 · Accessed 2026-08-06 - [2] Orden PJC/44/2026, de 27 de enero, por la que se determina el umbral salarial para la Tarjeta azul-UE
Boletín Oficial del Estado · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-01-30 · Accessed 2026-08-06 - [3] Hoja 50 – Autorización de residencia de larga duración UE
Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-05-01 · Accessed 2026-08-06 - [4] Hoja 66 – Autorización inicial de residencia y trabajo de profesionales altamente cualificados
Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-05-01 · Accessed 2026-08-06 - [5] Ley 14/2013 – Sección de Movilidad Internacional, texto consolidado (PDF)
Programa de Residencia para Inversores y Emprendedores (PRIE), Ministerio de Economía, Comercio y Empresa · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-06 · Superseded by es-boe-ley-14-2013 - [6] Profesional Altamente Cualificado — Portal PRIE
Ministerio de Economía, Comercio y Empresa — Secretaría de Estado de Comercio · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-06 - [7] Umbral salarial — profesionales altamente cualificados y Tarjeta azul-UE (actualización junio 2026)
Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones — Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-01 · Accessed 2026-08-06