Increase in salary requirements for EU Blue Cards from 1 May 2026
Based on newly published data on the average wage in the Czech Republic, the minimum wage required for the issuance of an EU Blue Card will increase from 1 May 2026. The change will affect not only the Blue Card procedure itself but also the conditions employers must meet for applications to be included in the government’s economic migration programmes.
New minimum wage threshold for EU Blue Cards
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has announced that the average wage for 2025 is CZK 590,580, corresponding to an average gross monthly wage of CZK 49,215. Under the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals, an EU Blue Card applicant must earn at least 1.5 times this amount. In practice, this means that from 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2027 the minimum gross monthly wage for an EU Blue Card applicant must be at least CZK 73,823.
Please note that this change applies both to applications filed after 1 May 2026 and to applications filed earlier where no decision has been issued by the end of April 2026. In such cases, if the salary condition is not met, the applicant’s salary will need to be increased (otherwise, the Ministry of the Interior will refuse the extension). For existing Blue Card holders, it is not necessarily required to adjust the salary immediately; the change is typically assessed during the renewal process.
Government‘s economic migration programmes
The minimum wage threshold must also be met for an application by a prospective foreign employee to be included in the government’s economic migration programmes. This concerns in particular the Key and Scientific Personnel and Highly Qualified Employee programmes, under which it is possible to apply for Employee Cards and EU Blue Cards. The increased salary level will need to be confirmed by the employer by way of an affidavit.
Conclusion
The increase in the wage threshold for EU Blue Cards reflects the development of average wages in the Czech Republic. However, it remains an open question whether the ongoing tightening of this condition does not undermine the stated objective – i.e., attracting highly qualified workers. For recent graduates, whose contribution to the labour market is certainly not negligible, it is possible that salaries will not reach this relatively high threshold. At the same time, they often have strong potential to exceed it within a relatively short period of time.
The salary conditions for both government programmes are in fact identical. Differentiating and relaxing them for the Highly Qualified Employee programme could help increase its uptake and better meet employers’ needs when seeking ways to attract skilled labour to the Czech Republic.