Employment Permit

A employment permit is generally required for third-country nationals to be allowed to work in Austria. Citizens of the EU, the EEA (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein) and Switzerland have free access to the Austrian labour market and do not require a work permit.

An employment permit is granted if the

• situation and development of the labour market allow for employment and
• there are no important public or economic interests that would prevent this, and
• if the following special conditions are met:
• Valid right of residence for foreign workers that does not exclude them from taking up employment.
• Employment of foreign workers at a workplace belonging to the employer’s company.
• No commencement of employment before the permit is granted.
• No illegal employment of foreign nationals by the employer during the last twelve months.
• No important reasons relating to the foreign worker that would prevent a permit from being granted (e.g. repeated illegal employment).
• Confirmation from the employer that seasonal workers are provided with accommodation that is customary for the area and that the rent is not automatically deducted from their wages.

This is not an exhaustive list of requirements.

The work permit is issued for a maximum period of one year and can be extended for a maximum of one year at a time.