Meanings
plural blue cards
- European UnionAn EU-wide work permit allowing high-skilled non-EU citizens to work and live in any country within the European Union, excluding Denmark and Ireland, which are not subject to the proposal.First known use 2009
Synonyms: Blue European Labour Card
- AustraliaAn identity card issued with police approval, stating that the person is of suitable character to work near children and young adults.
- USscoutingAn application for pursuing a certain merit badge, which must be signed by a Scout's unit leader and their merit badge counselor before pursuing.
- hobbiesA penalty card that in association football indicates an offense at a lesser level than a yellow card, and has other meanings in bandy, handball, and Quidditch.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn EU-wide work permit allowing high-skilled non-EU citizens to work and live in any country within the European Union, excluding Denmark and Ireland, which are not subject to the proposal.
Origin
The name of the EU work permit has been inspired by the United States' green card, blue making reference to the main colour of the EU flag. The current card design is not based on blue, however.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan targeta blava
- targeta blavaEuropean work permit
Chinese Mandarin 藍卡 /蓝卡
- 藍卡 /蓝卡 (lánkǎ)European work permit
Finnish sininen kortti
- sininen korttiEuropean work permit
French carte bleue
- carte bleueEuropean work permit
German blaue Karte
- blaue KarteEuropean work permit
Japanese ブルーカード
- ブルーカード (burūkādo)European work permit
Polish niebieska karta
- niebieska kartaEuropean work permit
Russian голуба́я ка́рта, си́няя ка́рта
- голуба́я ка́рта (golubája kárta)European work permit
- си́няя ка́рта (sínjaja kárta)European work permit
- блюка́рд (bljukárd)European work permit
- блюка́рта (bljukárta)European work permit
Swedish blåkort, blått kort
- blåkortEuropean work permit
- blått kortEuropean work permit
Cite this entry
blue card. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20card
“blue card.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20card. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blue card,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20card.
Source: blue card on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.