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Applying for work permit in two EU Countries?

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QR0228
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Applying for work permit in two EU Countries?

Post by QR0228 » Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:34 pm

Does anyone know if it's possible for an employer to act as a sponsor for an employee from two different EU countries?

I'm a non-EU citizen and lost my previous job offer from France but the new employer is based in Germany and has offices all over the world. They would like to apply for a regular German work permit for me but it's expected to take very long. At the same time, they are in talks with their Prague office to check if I can be sponsored by the company's branch there instead under the EU Blue Card scheme which is supposed to be slightly quicker. Whichever country approves the file faster will be my designated place of work for the next one year at least.

My question is - is this problematic from the EU perspective? Will the work permit authorities in either of the two countries reject the application just because it's being processed somewhere else?

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Re: Applying for work permit in two EU Countries?

Post by ALKB » Fri Aug 21, 2020 10:05 am

QR0228 wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:34 pm
Will the work permit authorities in either of the two countries reject the application just because it's being processed somewhere else?
What do you mean by this?

The Czech Republic cannot process a work permit/BlueCard for Germany and you would not be able to work in Germany when on a Czech permit.

Same for the other way around.

BlueCard has many advantages but in some ways it's more restrictive than classic work permits. If you get a BlueCard from the Czech Republic, you will need permission from the authorities to change employer within the first two years of employment under BlueCard. You have to spend at least 18 months under BlueCard in the issuing country before you can move to another EU country and apply for a BlueCard there.
I am not a regulated immigration advisor. I am offering an opinion and not advice.

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Re: Applying for work permit in two EU Countries?

Post by QR0228 » Fri Aug 21, 2020 1:17 pm

ALKB wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 10:05 am
QR0228 wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:34 pm
Will the work permit authorities in either of the two countries reject the application just because it's being processed somewhere else?
What do you mean by this?
Sorry, I should have clarified it better in my original post. Here's what I meant: the employer's German office will apply for the normal work permit for me to work in Germany. At the same time, the employer's Czech office (which is a different entity from the German branch but under the same parent company) will initiate Blue Card proceedings to hire me to work in Czech Republic.

The Blue Card salary minimum threshold is at least 55K euros per annum in Germany while my salary is lower than that. So, they can't initiate Blue Card application in Frankfurt. However, the minimum threshold for Blue Card salary is about 48000 CZK per month in Czech Republic which comes out to be 1840 euros monthly or 22K annually. The reason they are considering Blue Card in Prague is because the salary that I shall be paid will be more or less the same in both countries. It's of course a lot higher than average Czech salaries but about the average in Germany.

So, yes, I understand I can't of course work on a German permit in Czech Republic and vice versa. But will it be detrimental to my work permit application in either country if another EU country is also processing a work permit for me to work in one of their local offices?

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Re: Applying for work permit in two EU Countries?

Post by ALKB » Fri Aug 21, 2020 10:24 pm

QR0228 wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 1:17 pm
ALKB wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 10:05 am
QR0228 wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:34 pm
Will the work permit authorities in either of the two countries reject the application just because it's being processed somewhere else?
What do you mean by this?
Sorry, I should have clarified it better in my original post. Here's what I meant: the employer's German office will apply for the normal work permit for me to work in Germany. At the same time, the employer's Czech office (which is a different entity from the German branch but under the same parent company) will initiate Blue Card proceedings to hire me to work in Czech Republic.

The Blue Card salary minimum threshold is at least 55K euros per annum in Germany while my salary is lower than that. So, they can't initiate Blue Card application in Frankfurt. However, the minimum threshold for Blue Card salary is about 48000 CZK per month in Czech Republic which comes out to be 1840 euros monthly or 22K annually. The reason they are considering Blue Card in Prague is because the salary that I shall be paid will be more or less the same in both countries. It's of course a lot higher than average Czech salaries but about the average in Germany.

So, yes, I understand I can't of course work on a German permit in Czech Republic and vice versa. But will it be detrimental to my work permit application in either country if another EU country is also processing a work permit for me to work in one of their local offices?
I don't think there is a problem with having two applications as such - apart from one of the permits not getting validated since you can only be resident in one country.

You may run into practical problems, though, like possibly being asked to submit your passport at the same time to two different Embassies, but I don't know Czech procedure, so something might work out.
I am not a regulated immigration advisor. I am offering an opinion and not advice.

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Re: Applying for work permit in two EU Countries?

Post by QR0228 » Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:31 pm

ALKB wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 10:24 pm

I don't think there is a problem with having two applications as such - apart from one of the permits not getting validated since you can only be resident in one country.

You may run into practical problems, though, like possibly being asked to submit your passport at the same time to two different Embassies, but I don't know Czech procedure, so something might work out.
That's great. I don't think we'll continue with the second option the moment we get the approval from either country. So, the passport problem won't happen. Thank you for the response.

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Re: Applying for work permit in two EU Countries?

Post by secret.simon » Sat Aug 22, 2020 3:42 pm

@ALKB, could the OP apply for a Bluecard in a country with the most permissive rules and then work in other EEA member-states under the Van Der Elst judgment?
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Re: Applying for work permit in two EU Countries?

Post by QR0228 » Sat Aug 22, 2020 4:19 pm

secret.simon wrote:
Sat Aug 22, 2020 3:42 pm
@ALKB, could the OP apply for a Bluecard in a country with the most permissive rules and then work in other EEA member-states under the Van Der Elst judgment?
Hi. I also discussed this with my employer earlier if such a situation was possible. Apparently, the Van Der Elst rules are very specific about the duration of stay in the second member state being of "short duration". It's not clear what this exact duration is but it has to be pre-decided before moving and I doubt it could become a full term thing beyond 3-4 months. If I were to move from Prague to Frankfurt under the VDE rules, I can't stay for so long that I'd lose my residency in the Czech Republic.

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