Luxembourg’s economy is focussed on the financial and service sector having one modern and financial centre. The government policy intends to focus on attracting highly added value activities focussed in new technologies (biomedicine and information and communication technologies – focussing on IT security), logistics and research. However, Luxembourg being one of the smallest countries in the European Union, it has limited human resources to guarantee the growth not only of the financial sector but also in the new technologies sectors. Until now Luxembourg has been relying on the work force from the Greater Region but highly qualified workers began to become scarce in the region. Foreseeing this situation, the government introduced the highly qualified worker residence permit in the bill on free movement of persons and immigration approved by Law of 29 August 2008, almost a year before of the enactment of the Blue Card Directive. As the objective of this inclusion was to bring salaried workers with a high added value, the approval of this legal disposition did not generate any debate. When the bill transposing the Blue Card Directive was introduced, the parliamentary debate focussed mainly on the duration of the residence permit and the minimum salary threshold required, as well as the lack of scientific studies on the need of highly qualified workers in certain professions, but there was no debate in civil society. The Blue Card Directive was finally transposed by Law of 8 December 2011 and entered into force on 3 February 2012. The legal framework was simplified with regards to family reunification, access to the labour market and administrative procedures. However, in the eyes of economic stakeholders, for the business cycles of companies the requirements and procedures are not adjusted to the economic needs. Some stakeholders consider that these requirements and procedures are not transparent and inefficient.
Attracting Highly Qualified and Qualified Third-Country Nationals
