Austria skilled worker visa (Red-White-Red Card)

Completed training in the shortage occupation: 30 points. Relevant work experience: 1 point per half-year, 2 per half-year in Austria (maximum 20). Languages (maximum 25): German A1 5, A2 10, B1 15; English A2 5, B1 10; French, Spanish or Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian B1 5. Age (maximum 15): under 30 15, under 40 10, under 50 5. Up to 5 extra points if English is the company's main language.

You need completed vocational training in an occupation on the shortage list set each year by regulation (Austria-wide or regional), a binding job offer paying at least the statutory or collective-agreement minimum and any customary overpay, and at least 55 points.

Apply at the Austrian mission or let the employer file with the residence authority, with the employer's declaration. The AMS checks points, training and salary; if it confirms, the residence authority issues the card and you obtain a type D visa to enter.

No proof of accommodation is required at the application stage for the Red-White-Red Card, but health insurance covering all risks must be shown; travel insurance is accepted if it covers well above EUR 30,000 and includes rescue and repatriation.

Once the residence authority approves the title, the Austrian mission informs you. With that notification you lodge the type D visa application (EUR 195), enter Austria and collect the card from the residence authority.

The official portal estimates about eight weeks from application to decision when the file is complete. Language certificates should generally not be older than five years, and a certificate older than that may not earn points.

Register your address at the registration office (Meldezettel) within three days of moving in and collect the residence card from the competent residence authority. Holders of most residence titles must fulfil the integration agreement (Module 1, A2 German) within two years.

After at least 21 months of qualifying employment within the preceding 24 months you can obtain the Red-White-Red Card plus, which gives unlimited access to the labour market. Long-term resident EU status follows after five years with Module 2 of the integration agreement.

Renew in person at the residence authority for your place of residence in Austria, no earlier than three months before the card expires and no later than its expiry date; the fee is EUR 218. A timely application keeps your right of residence and your current labour-market access until the decision, and a confirmation valid for up to three months can be placed in your passport so that you can travel back to Austria. A late application only counts as a renewal if an unforeseeable event stopped you and you apply within two weeks after it ends; otherwise it is treated as a first application.

Your spouse or registered partner (21 or over) and minor children receive the Red-White-Red Card plus without quota and may work for any employer. They need A1 German at first application unless exempt, and they apply abroad or, if they may enter visa-free, in Austria.