Blue Card work permit scheme could attract skilled immigrants

ABOUT 3,500 highly skilled immigrants and their families will shortly be given permanent residency in Ireland in an effort to keep them in the labour force.

At the same time the Government is considering adopting the EU’s Blue Card work permit scheme currently under discussion in Brussels.

The moves come as fears grow that Ireland is not proving attractive to people with the skills the country needs to compete.

Recent figures show there has been a considerable drop in the number of workers from new EU countries coming to work in Ireland.

Last year the Government introduced a Green Card scheme aimed at attracting highly skilled workers earning at least €60,000, or over €30,000 if an IT specialist, research scientist, engineer, health professional or other expert.

However, far fewer than the expected 5,000 new workers applied in the first year of the scheme and fewer than 1,000 applied in the first three months of 2008.

This is despite a two year work permit that allows them to change employer and to bring their families.

Those who got a Green Card were promised permanent residency status after two years, and so far 3,500 workers will qualify for this early next year according to Integration Minister in the Department of Justice, Conor Lenihan.

“We want to move people into permanent residency status with high skills. Almost all high skill immigrants in Ireland for about two years will move into [the] permanence residency category,” he said.

As a result they will be entitled to everything citizens are except the right to vote and will be entitled to apply for citizenship after the usual five years living in the country.

Mr Lenihan said the Government was considering whether to opt into the EU’s proposed Blue Card scheme where highly skilled people would be allowed work in a particular country for two years and would then be allowed to move to another EU country.

Mr Lenihan said, that like many other countries, Ireland wants the new system to work alongside its national card system and did not want the EU to set the same wage level criteria for all member states.

Negotiations on the Blue Card issue will continue between member states in the coming months.