🇦🇹 Austria — Work & Study Visas, Wages & Jobs
Last verified 2026-09-26 · 7/7 visa categories confirmed from official sources
Work Visas
Red-White-Red Card (RWR-Card)
Points-based system covering seven categories (Very Highly Qualified Workers, Skilled Workers in Shortage Occupations, Other Key Workers, Graduates, tourism/agriculture/forestry workers, Self-Employed Key Workers, Start-up Founders). Ties holder to a specified employer (except self-employed categories). 2026 thresholds: Very Highly Qualified ~€3,675/month; Shortage Occupations ~€3,030/month; Other Key Workers min €3,465/month plus collective-bargaining minimum.
Threshold/salary: ~€3,030-€3,675/month gross depending on category (2026)
Duration: 24 months
EU Blue Card
Available and confirmed. Requires completion of a university/tertiary course of at least 3 years (or 3 years' relevant experience for ICT/management roles). Card valid 24 months; can lead to Red-White-Red Card Plus after 21 months of qualifying employment. Fee €218.
Threshold/salary: €55,678/year gross (2026, up from €51,506 in 2025)
Duration: 24 months
Job Seeker Visa (Visa D)
For highly qualified professionals under the RWR-Card 'Very Highly Qualified Worker' points-based track; applicants must score at least 70/100 points. Grants entry for up to 6 months to search for work; reviewed by AMS via the relevant embassy/consulate. Qualifying job offer allows direct conversion to RWR-Card without a further labour-market test.
Duration: Up to 6 months
Digital Nomad Visa
Austria has no dedicated digital-nomad or remote-worker visa as of this research. Remote workers/freelancers must instead use the Self-Employed Key Worker RWR-Card category, requiring a demonstration of 'macroeconomic benefit' to Austria (a cited practical threshold of ~€100,000 in capital was not confirmed on an official page). Working remotely on a tourist (Schengen C) status is confirmed not permitted.
Study Visas
Student Permit
Residence Permit - Student issued via OeAD-supported process/Austrian embassy for entry visa, then MA35/provincial authority for the permit. Requires admission to an Austrian higher-education institution, health insurance, and proof of subsistence funds (€722.58/month under 24, €1,308.39/month age 24+, for 12 months in advance).
Duration: Renewable, tied to enrollment
Post-Study Job Search Permit
Confirmed: non-EU graduates of Austrian universities/universities of applied sciences may renew their 'Student' residence permit for 12 months (non-renewable) to search for work matching their qualification level or start a business. May work up to 20 hours/week during this period. Direct conversion to RWR-Card possible without a labour-market test if a matching offer is secured.
Duration: 12 months, non-renewable
Researcher/PhD Permit
'Settlement Permit - Researcher' implementing EU Directive 2016/801: requires a doctoral/PhD degree (or degree granting access to doctoral study) and a signed Hosting Agreement with a certified research institution. Researchers without an eligible hosting agreement use the 'Settlement Permit - Special Cases of Gainful Employment' route instead.
Wages & Earning Potential
- No statutory minimum (collective bargaining): 1800-2100 EUR/month (effective 2026) — source
Top Employers
| Company | Industry |
|---|---|
| OMV | Oil, Gas & Energy |
| Erste Group | Banking & Financial Services |
| Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) | Banking & Financial Services |
| voestalpine | Steel & Technology |
| Red Bull Job portal redirects to a US-specific landing page by default, but has a full international location selector covering Austria and 100+ other countries | Beverages / Consumer Goods |
| Andritz | Industrial Engineering / Plant Technology |
| Wienerberger | Building Materials |
| VERBUND | Energy / Utilities (Hydropower) |
| A1 Telekom Austria Group Part of America Movil (Mexico) ownership structure but headquartered in Vienna and the dominant Austrian telecom brand | Telecommunications |
| Palfinger | Industrial Machinery (Cranes / Lifting Equipment) |
Second/Extra Job Rules for Existing Permit-Holders
Red-White-Red Card (Other Key Workers) — conditional
Tied to a specific employer/role, but holders are additionally authorized to pursue self-employment alongside dependent employment provided it remains 'subordinate in scope' to the main job.
EU Blue Card — not applicable
Austria's Blue Card page was reviewed but did not yield explicit second-job/combined-hours rules specific to Blue Card holders; flagged for follow-up.
Sources & Open Questions
Every figure above is sourced from the official links inline. The items below are things our research could not confirm from an official source as of 2026-09-26 — treat them as open questions, not settled facts.
- immigration-database: RWR-Card general application fee and standard processing time not independently confirmed on an official migration.gv.at page (only the EU Blue Card's €218 fee was directly confirmed).
- immigration-database: Self-Employed Key Worker '€100,000 capital' figure sourced from a secondary/aggregator article, not confirmed on an official migration.gv.at page.
- immigration-database: EU Blue Card family-reunification specifics for Austria were not detailed on the official page fetched.
- immigration-database: Exact current AMS processing time for RWR-Card categories not independently confirmed.
- employer-database: Swarovski dropped — every URL on swarovski.com/swarovskigroup.com returned HTTP 403 (bot-protection).
- wage-database: Whether the Bachelor's (10 hrs/week) vs Master's/PhD (20 hrs/week) split is an actual current migration.gv.at/AMS rule was not confirmed.
- wage-database: Whether full-time work during semester breaks is officially permitted was not explicitly confirmed in the migration.gv.at page text.
- wage-database: Exact 2026 Geringfugigkeitsgrenze (marginal-earnings threshold) figure conflicts across sources (€518.44 vs €551.10/month) and needs direct verification.
- wage-database: Whether a genuine second salaried job with a different employer is permitted for RWR Card holders (beyond confirmed subordinate self-employment) was not confirmed.
- wage-database: Explicit EU Blue Card second-job/combined-hours rules specific to Austria were not found.
- wage-database: Whether Amazon/other warehouse fulfillment employers in Austria realistically hire English-only student staff was not confirmed for Austria specifically.
- wage-database: Typical minimum-wage range figures compiled from aggregator/secondary sources, not a primary ministry wage table, should be spot-checked against the applicant's actual target sector's Kollektivvertrag.
This guide is part of Route Europa's 29-country Schengen database, compiled 2026-09-26. See all countries →
Pay, pensions and visas — compared
Take-home pay: a gross salary of €60,000 leaves about €41,021 a year (€3,418 a month, 68.4% kept) for a single employee in Austria — confidence: medium.