Immigration to Austria


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This guide is aimed at employers. We apologise for lack of any Austrian guides optimised for employees, agents, or investors – if you fall into one of these categories, please feel free to contact us for advice (although you may find that this guide answers many of your questions).
Employers with inquiries for our services may contact us at our Riga, Latvia office for assistance.

Introduction

Recent political developments in Austria have many companies wary of bringing non-EEA nationals into Austria. However, for all the political hot air, there hasn't been any actual change in immigration law or procedure. Properly formatted and documented applications will still be approved irrespective of the nationality of the candidate.

How long will it take to get an employee on site with an Austrian work permit?

The supporting documentation needed is quite extensive and can take some time to collect, it must be submitted in German, so translations should be taken into both time and financial budgets. Once the application has been lodged, processing usually takes about 7 weeks.
When the work permit is approved the candidate must apply for a residence visa to travel to Austria and start work.

Can my company obtain Austrian work permits?

There are two possible ways for the candidate to be employed with a work permit:
1. As the direct employee of an Austrian company, this is a Sicherungsbescheinigung (Secured work certificate) application.
2. As the employee of a foreign company that is providing services to an Austrian company. This foreign company may not be a recruitment agency and must produce a service contract as part of the application. In this scenario, an Austrian accountant must administer the payrolling of the candidate to ensure that all tax and social security is duly paid. This is an Entsendebewilligung (Assignment permit) application.ance.