Moving to Austria

At least 70 of 100 points. Special qualifications and skills, max 40 points: a four-year degree 20, a STEM degree 30, a PhD or post-doctoral qualification 40, senior-management gross salary of EUR 50,000-70,000+ 20-30, research/patents/publications 20, recognised awards 20. Work experience max 20 points at 1 point per half-year, plus 10 for six months of experience in Austria. Language max 10 points: German or English A1 5, A2 10; French/Spanish/BCS at B1 5 each. Age max 20 points: under 35 20, under 40 15, under 45 10. Austrian studies max 10 points. No fixed minimum salary, but pay must be adequate. Scoring 70 points allows a 6-month jobseeker visa (EUR 195) to enter and find work; the Red-White-Red Card itself is then issued for 24 months, with no individual labour-market test (AuslBG section 12). A Red-White-Red Card plus with unrestricted labour-market access follows after 21 of the last 24 months in the qualifying employment. Family members get a Red-White-Red Card plus and do NOT need German A1 before entry - an exemption this category shares with family members of EU Blue Card holders and of Settlement Permit - Researcher holders. CITIZENSHIP: 10 years' lawful uninterrupted residence of which at least 5 as 'niedergelassen', reduced to 6 years for a 5-year marriage to an Austrian, EEA citizenship, birth in Austria, German at B2, or 3 years of documented sustained integration. The standard German level is B1, not B2 - B2 is only one of the alternative grounds for the 6-year route. Renunciation of the previous nationality is required. Vienna fees total roughly EUR 1,811 for one adult; charges differ by Bundesland.

SHORTAGE OCCUPATIONS: at least 55 of 90 points - qualification max 30, work experience max 20, language max 25, age max 15, plus 5 bonus points where English is the company's predominant language. Pay must meet the statutory, regulatory or collective-agreement minimum; no separate salary floor is published. OTHER KEY WORKERS: also 55 of 90 points (up to 115 with bonuses, including 20 for professional athletes and coaches), and a minimum gross salary of EUR 3,465 per month for 2026 - shown here annualised over 12 months, though Austrian salaries are commonly paid in 14 instalments, which would raise the annual total. A labour-market test applies to Other Key Workers: the employer must show the Public Employment Service cannot place an equally qualified registered jobseeker. The card is issued for 24 months, after which a Red-White-Red Card plus gives unrestricted labour-market access. Fee EUR 218. The EUR 3,465 figure is statutory: AuslBG section 12b Z 1 sets it at 50% of the monthly ASVG maximum contribution basis. For shortage occupations there is NO fixed euro minimum at all - the old fixed threshold was removed in the 2022 reform, and AuslBG section 12a(1) Z 3 requires only the statutory, regulatory or collective-agreement minimum plus any customary overpayment; the occupation must appear on the Fachkraefteverordnung shortage list, which has nationwide and regional parts. Graduates of Austrian universities are a separate sub-category with no labour-market test and no fixed salary floor beyond the locally customary rate for comparable Austrian graduates. A further category added in 2023 covers long-serving seasonal workers in tourism, agriculture and forestry: no points, but at least 7 months' registered seasonal employment in the same sector in each of the two preceding calendar years, German A1, and an open-ended contract offer. Official stated processing is around 8 weeks.

Minimum gross annual salary of EUR 55,678 for 2026, including special payments. Requires a completed course of study of at least three years at a university or other tertiary institution, or - for ICT and management roles - three years of comparable professional experience acquired within the past seven years. A binding job offer of at least six months in Austria matching the qualification is required, plus confirmation from the Public Employment Service that no equally qualified jobseeker is available. Issued for 24 months. Application fee EUR 218. Family members receive a Red-White-Red Card plus and are exempt from the German A1 requirement before entry. NOTE ON THE FORMULA: unlike several other member states, Austria sets this at ONE times the average gross annual salary of full-time employees last published by Statistik Austria (AuslBG section 12c(1)); the Minister may raise it by ordinance up to 1.5 times if wage growth or the labour market warrants, but has not. EUR 55,678 is the 1x figure. Official stated processing is around 8 weeks.

START-UP FOUNDERS: at least 50 of 85 points, with minimum capital of EUR 30,000 and at least 50% equity ownership. Qualification max 30 (vocational training 20, three-year tertiary programme 20, Austrian diploma/bachelor/master/doctorate 30); work experience max 10 at 1 point per half-year; language max 15 (German A2 5 up to C1-C2 15, English B2 10); bonus max 30 - additional investment capital of EUR 50,000+ 10, admission to a business incubator or support from a start-up funding agency 10, age under 35 10. Card issued for a maximum of 24 months, then a Red-White-Red Card plus with unrestricted labour-market access. SELF-EMPLOYED KEY WORKERS: no points system at all - instead a minimum sustained transfer of EUR 100,000 investment capital to Austria, or equivalent job creation, assessed by the Public Employment Service within three weeks for macroeconomic benefit beyond operational gains, supported by a detailed business plan and market analysis. Card 24 months, then a three-year settlement permit. Fee EUR 218 in both cases; official stated processing around 8 weeks. WATCH THE CAPITAL FIGURE: the mandatory floor is EUR 30,000, not the EUR 50,000 often quoted - EUR 50,000 is the ADDITIONAL capital that earns a 10-point bonus in AuslBG Anlage D. Austria has no golden visa, no citizenship-by-investment programme and no digital nomad or remote-work permit; the only capital-linked residence route is the self-employed key worker test above. A discretionary constitutional provision (StbG section 10(6)) allows citizenship for extraordinary achievements in the special interest of the Republic, waiving residence, German, the citizenship test, income proof and renunciation - but it requires achievements already delivered AND still expected, has no published price or tariff, and confers no entitlement. It is not a purchasable programme.

QUOTA-LIMITED, AND THE QUOTA IS TINY: under the 2025 settlement ordinance (NLV 2025, BGBl. II Nr. 309/2025) just 385 places nationwide were allotted to this permit - Vienna 130, Carinthia 45, Salzburg 40, Styria 40, Tyrol 40, Lower Austria 30, Vorarlberg 30, Upper Austria 25, Burgenland 5 - out of 5,616 quota-bound titles in total. As at 1 August 2026 no settlement ordinance for 2026 had yet been issued; these ordinances are habitually published late, NLV 2025 having been promulgated on 18 December 2025, so the 2026 figure is not yet knowable. Fixed regular monthly income required for 2026: EUR 2,616.78 for a single person (about EUR 31,401/year), EUR 4,128.24 for a married couple or registered partnership, plus EUR 403.76 per child. These are double the standard ASVG reference rates, which for 2026 are EUR 1,308.39 single and EUR 2,064.12 for a couple. German at A1 level must be proven BEFORE entry. Health insurance and adequate accommodation required. Gainful employment of any kind is excluded. Valid for one year initially, extended to three years once Integration Agreement Module 1 is completed and two uninterrupted years of lawful residence are behind you. Fee EUR 218; official stated processing around 8 weeks. Long-term resident EU status after five uninterrupted years plus Integration Agreement Module 2, fee EUR 275.

Open to graduates of a diploma programme (second stage or higher), bachelor's, master's or doctoral programme at an Austrian university, university of applied sciences, or accredited private university. On completion the student residence permit can be renewed for twelve months for the purpose of searching for employment or starting a business. Once employed within that period, the graduate can apply for a Red-White-Red Card with NO labour-market test, provided the salary matches the locally customary gross minimum that comparable Austrian graduates (junior employees) would receive - no fixed euro figure is published - and the general requirements on health insurance and means of subsistence are met. Graduates also score up to 10 points for Austrian studies in the Very Highly Qualified Workers category. Student permit specifics for 2026: means of subsistence of EUR 722.58/month if under 24 and EUR 1,308.39/month if over 24; permit valid 1 year (2 for exchange programmes); fee EUR 218; work allowed up to 20 hours a week with an employment authorisation and no labour-market test. IMPORTANT LIMITATION: a student permit is an Aufenthaltsbewilligung, not Niederlassung, so student years do NOT count toward the five settled years needed for EU long-term residence.

Eligible family members are spouses, registered partners and unmarried minor children under 18; spouses and registered partners must be at least 21 at the time of application. Required monthly income for 2026: EUR 1,308.39 single, EUR 2,064.12 for a married couple, plus EUR 201.88 per child. German at A1 level must be proven BEFORE entry; the exceptions include minors under 14 and health-related limitations - and family members of Very Highly Qualified Workers, EU Blue Card holders and Settlement Permit - Researcher holders are exempt entirely. QUOTA: most family reunification permits are quota-limited annually - the 2025 settlement ordinance allotted 2,850 places nationwide - but NO quota applies to family members of Red-White-Red Card holders, EU Blue Card holders, Austrian citizens or researchers. No settlement ordinance for 2026 had been issued as at 1 August 2026. Authorities must decide without undue delay and within six months. Card valid 12 months, extended to three years after Integration Agreement Module 1 and two consecutive years of lawful residence. Fee EUR 218.