Global Mobility News from VisaHQ

From 1 January 2026 Germany will raise its EU Blue Card salary threshold to €50,700 (standard) and €45,934.20 (shortage occupations). Employers must adjust pending offers or risk rejection, and many may look to the forthcoming Opportunity Card as an alternative pathway. The move tightens labour-market safeguards but forces corporate mobility teams to revisit budgets and compensation structures immediately.

Airport umbrella group ACI Europe has sounded the alarm over the EU’s new biometric Entry/Exit System, saying waits have ballooned to three hours at several hubs, including Prague, just as the Christmas rush begins. It is demanding an urgent review before the system’s usage is ramped up on 9 January, warning of severe disruption if glitches, outages and staff shortages persist. The problems could hurt Czech business travel and expatriate mobility unless quickly fixed.

Dublin has committed €2.7 million to eight projects that help migrants overcome language, training and qualification-recognition hurdles and move into skilled jobs more quickly. The four-year grants should ease labour shortages and give employers a new stream of job-ready talent.

Poland has published a regulation requiring all residence-permit applications to be filed online via the MOS portal from 1 January 2026 and raising most immigration fees by 300–700 %. Employers have just two weeks to obtain e-signatures and train staff, while budgets for 2026 assignments must be re-costed immediately. The change accelerates processing but poses short-term compliance and cost risks for corporate mobility programmes.