EU Blue Card: Simplified Intra-European Mobility

Holders of an EU Blue Card issued by another Member State (or of a long-term resident – EU permit obtained after a Blue Card) may now work in France for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, without prior work authorisation.

LexCase – Immigration & International Mobility – September 2026

A long-awaited unlock for short-term assignments

Until recently, a residence permit issued by another EU Member State did not, as a matter of principle, allow its holder to carry out salaried work in France. A German-based engineer holding a German Blue Card who was needed for a six-week project in Lyon still had to go through the French work authorisation process, with the delays and uncertainty this entails.

Decree No. 2026-308 of 24 April 2026, in force since 26 April 2026, removes that obstacle for highly qualified workers only. It completes the transposition into French law of Directive (EU) 2021/1883 of 20 October 2021 (the "recast" Blue Card Directive), which recast the 2009 regime with the express aim of making the Blue Card a genuinely European permit rather than a purely national one.

What the new rule provides

The decree adds a new exemption from work authorisation to Article R. 5221-2 of the French Labour Code (new 21°). Are now exempt from work authorisation, for salaried activity in France not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period:

• holders of an EU Blue Card issued by another Member State; and
• holders of a long-term resident – EU residence permit bearing the mention "former EU Blue Card holder", issued by another Member State.

In practical terms, the individual may enter France and work for a French entity, or for their foreign employer in the context of a mission in France, without applying for a work permit through the ANEF platform beforehand. The permit issued by the first Member State is sufficient.

The 90/180-day rule operates on a rolling basis, in the same way as the Schengen short-stay calculation: at any given date, the days spent working in France over the preceding 180 days must not exceed 90.

Why this matters for employers and mobile talent

This is the most immediately operational change brought by the decree. It responds to a concrete need of international groups with entities in several Member States:

• Cross-border project teams – a specialist based in Berlin, Amsterdam or Milan can be deployed to a French site for a limited period without an authorisation procedure.
• Intra-group missions – secondments, audits, training sessions and product launches can be organised on short notice.
• Recruitment attractiveness – the Blue Card becomes a more valuable asset for third-country nationals choosing where to settle in Europe, since it now carries a right of professional mobility across the Union.

The measure sits alongside a second, longer-term relaxation introduced by the same decree: the French "talent – EU Blue Card" residence permit will be open to candidates who can show at least three years of relevant professional experience within the last seven years, as an alternative to a higher-education degree, for a list of occupations to be fixed by ministerial order. That part of the reform will only take effect once the order is published.

Points of vigilance

The exemption is targeted and should not be read as a general licence to work in France. Several conditions and obligations remain:

1. Validity of the first permit. The Blue Card (or long-term resident – EU permit) issued by the other Member State must be valid for the whole period of activity in France. If it expires, so does the exemption.
2. The 90-day ceiling is a hard limit. Beyond 90 days in any 180-day period, the ordinary rules apply: the worker must obtain a French residence permit – typically the "talent – EU Blue Card" permit under the long-term mobility provisions of the Directive, which require prior lawful residence of at least 12 months in the first Member State (or 6 months in the case of a second move). An application should be filed well before the 90-day threshold is reached.
3. Posting-of-workers rules still apply. Where the worker remains employed by an entity established abroad, the exemption from work authorisation does not exempt the employer from the French posting formalities (prior declaration via SIPSI, designation of a representative in France, compliance with the French "hard core" of employment rules).
4. Social security and tax. The exemption is an immigration measure only. Coverage under the social security system of the home State (A1 certificate for EU/EEA/Swiss schemes, or the relevant bilateral agreement) and the tax treatment of the assignment must be assessed separately.
5. Documentation. Employers remain subject to their general duty to verify that a foreign worker is entitled to work in France. We recommend keeping a copy of the foreign permit and a record of the days worked in France for each mobile employee, so that the 90/180-day count can be evidenced in the event of a labour inspection.

Our view

Decree No. 2026-308 does not overhaul the French Blue Card regime, but it removes a genuine friction point for highly qualified mobility within the Union. For groups operating in several Member States, it is worth reviewing existing assignment policies: short missions to France that were previously routed through a work authorisation application, or simply avoided, can now be organised on a much lighter footing – provided the day count is monitored and the posting, social security and tax dimensions are handled in parallel.

LexCase's Immigration & International Mobility team advises employers and individuals on EU Blue Card applications, intra-EU mobility and the structuring of cross-border assignments to and from France.

References

• Directive (EU) 2021/1883 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2021 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purpose of highly qualified employment (in particular Articles 20 and 21 on short-term and long-term mobility).
• Decree No. 2026-308 of 24 April 2026 on the registration of foreign nationals as jobseekers and on the EU Blue Card (Journal officiel, 25 April 2026).
• French Labour Code, Article R. 5221-2 (new 21°).

This article is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each situation requires an individual assessment.