Going to Austria as an EU Citizen and as Third-Country National
Austria offers a wide range of job opportunities for qualified professionals (regardless of citizenship). Below we describe the first steps you need to take if you want to immigrate to Austria on a long-term basis.
First Steps in Austria for EU Citizens
As you probably know, as an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen, you can easily work in Austria as a self-employed person or as an employee.
EU/EEA or Swiss citizens who do not work must have sufficient means of subsistence and comprehensive health insurance coverage for themselves and their family members in order to be allowed to stay in Austria for longer than three months. EU/EEA or Swiss citizens should apply for a so-called registration certificate within four months of entering the country, which confirms their right of residence under EU law.
Family members (wife/husband, registered partner, children, parents) of EU/EEA or Swiss citizens can receive a so-called residence card if they fulfil all requirements.
Breakdown of residence by origin
Further Information
More information on the registration certificate.
More information on the residence card.
First Steps in Austria for Non-EU Citizens / Third-Country Nationals
Immigrating to Austria for long-term work
The Austrian labor market offers a wide range of opportunities for well-educated non-EU citizens. The education system in Austria is excellent, and spouses or registered partners are also allowed to work in Austria if they receive one of the "classic" combined residence and work permits, such as the Red-White-Red Card or the EU Blue Card.
In order to obtain an EU Blue Card or one of the Red-White-Red Cards, there are clear requirements, e.g. regarding your education, language skills and work experience, and the job offered to you by an Austrian company. The requirements vary depending on the card applied for.
There are special residence permits for certain professions, e.g. as researchers or artists, namely the so-called Settlement Permit - Researchers or the so-called Settlement Permit - Artist. These in turn have very specific requirements.
The Red-White-Red Card, the EU Blue Card and the Settlement Permit - Researchers are ideally issued to you for 2 years. This means that you are tied to the company for 2 years.
Further Information
More information on the EU Blue Card.
More information about the red-white-red cards.
More information for researchers in Austria.
More information for artists in Austria.
Simple and Straightforward Extension
After 2 years of employment in Austria, it is usually easy to extend your residence permit: you can then apply for a so-called Red-White-Red - Card Plus. With this card you also have free access to the labour market in Austria, i.e. you can work for any Austrian employer or on a self-employed basis.
The ABA Immigration and Residence Service Centre is here to assist you, your family, and your prospective employer through the application process at no cost. Do not hesitate to contact us!
Further Information
Tailor-made information on the topics of residence, work and employment of foreigners.
Our team is at your disposal. Simply send us your personal inquiry.
Immigrating to work without a job offer or for a limited time
- 01
You don't have a job offer yet, but would like to work in Austria?
If you do not yet have a job offer but have the necessary points in the points scheme for a Red-White-Red - Card for Very Highly Qualified Workers, you can apply for a Job Seeker Visa. This allows you to stay in Austria for 6 months and look for a job.
- 02
Do you want to stay in Austria for less than three or six months?
If you want to come to Austria as a tourist for up to three months, you either need a Schengen Visa or can stay visa-free for up to 90 days out of 180 days, depending on your nationality and your current country of residence. If you want to stay in Austria for more than 90 days but less than 6 months, you will need a Visa D.
Please note: If you wish to work, you will need a special Visa D for gainful employment and in most cases an additional work permit.
- 03
Would you like to live and work in Austria for more than six months, but not permanently?
Then a Residence Permit could be the right residence title for you.
Depending on what you want to do in Austria, there are different residence permits: e.g. the ICT residence permit, the Mobile ICT residence permit or the Temporary Residence Permit for Posted Workers, for self-employed persons the Temporary Residence Permit for Self-Employed Persons.
If you are planning to move to Austria to study, you can also apply for two special residence permits (Residence Permit - Student or Residence Permit - Pupil).
There are other residence permits for special work activities, e.g. as an au pair or as a social service worker.
If you want to live and work in Austria for less than six months, you generally do not need a residence permit, but a Visa C or a visa D for work purposes.
- 04
Are you an international student and would like to do an internship in Austria?
Then it depends, for example, on whether you are taking part in an exchange programme, whether you are studying in Austria or a third country and how long the internship should last.
Your employer in Austria must register the internship with the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS) up to three weeks before the start of the internship and will then receive a so-called "Confirmation Authorising Employment" (Anzeigebestätigung). This applies, among other things, if:
- You are studying in Austria and the internship can be credited towards your degree programme
- You are studying in a third country (or have completed a degree programme in a third country within the last two years) and would like to complete a three to six-month internship.
Are you completing the internship via an exchange programme (e.g. AIESEC, ELSA, IASTE)? Then you are exempt from the Foreign Employment Act (AuslBG) and do not need any further authorisation to work in Austria. You can even receive confirmation of this from the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS) (so-called "Confirmation of Exemption"). However, this does not have to be applied for. This also applies if the internship is subsidised by Erasmus+.
As a general rule, you will also need a visa for work purposes to work as an intern, which you must apply for at the Austrian representation authority in your country of residence. In the case of an exchange programme, it is possible that they will want to see the Confirmation of Exemption. It may therefore still be worth to submit an application.
Further Information
More information on the Red-White-Red Card for particularly highly qualified persons.
More information on visa requirements.
More information on the residence permit.
More information on the ICT residence permit, the Mobile ICT residence permit or the Temporary Residence Permit for Posted Workers.
More information on residence permits for special work activities.
More information on international students.
Immigration for family members
Are you coming to Austria as a family member because your spouse will be working in Austria?
This is also possible if you want to work in Austria:
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If your spouse or registered partner has a Red-White-Red Card, an EU Blue Card or a Settlement Permit - Researcher, you can obtain a Red-White-Red Card Plus. This gives you free access to the labour market.
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If you are the spouse or registered partner of an Austrian, you can apply for the Residence Permit Family Member. With these Residence Permits Family Member, you may work for any Austrian employer or become self-employed.
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If your spouse or registered partner has a different residence permit, you may need additional authorisations to be able to work.
In many cases, you will also need to provide proof of German language skills before you move to Austria.
If you are not planning to work (and cannot be co-insured with your spouse, for example), please note that you must take care of your own health insurance. You must even provide proof of this in order to obtain a residence permit.
Further Information
More information on the red-white-red card plus.
More information about German language skills.
Immigrating for an education
Would you like to attend school in Austria or study at an Austrian higher education institution (e.g. university)?
Then you can apply for one of two special residence permits:
- If you are planning to attend a public school or public school with public rights, the Residence Permit – Pupil is the right choice.
- The Resident Permit - Student, on the other hand, is issued, for example, for studying at a university, university of applied sciences, accredited private university or public or private teacher training college. It is usually issued for one year at a time, although extensions are generally possible as long as the studies continue.
You can find more information on the subject of education in topic 6 Education.
Would you like to work alongside your studies?
If you would like to work in Austria during your studies and have a student residence permit, this is also possible in principle. Please note, however, that a student residence permit alone does not authorize you to take up an employment. In addition to your Residence Permit – Student, your employer in Austria must apply for a work permit for the relevant employment. However, it is always important that you must continue to provide proof of your academic success (at least 16 ECTS per year); your primary purpose of residence is still your studies.
For an employment of up to 20 hours, it will be checked whether you have a valid Residence Permit - Student and whether you have all the necessary documents from your employer.
However, if you will be employed for more than 20 hours, a so-called labor market test can be carried out. This involves checking whether another person would be available for your job on the Austrian labor market.
Immigrating as a private individual
If you are not planning to work in Austria and do not wish to complete any training here, you may be eligible for a Settlement Permit - Gainful Employment Excepted. In order to obtain this, you must have a quota place and you must provide proof of a very high amount of money (twice the so-called ASVG guideline rate) that is available to you each month.
