Work permit

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People above the age of 15 are allowed to pursue an occupation or doing an apprenticeship in Austria. Before the age of 15 or before the 9th grade is completed all children are required to attend school in Austria.

In many cases third-country nationals need a concession in order to legally work in Austria. It depends on your legal status whether you need such a concession or not.

The legal status permanent residence – EG, and red-white-red card plus enables you to pursue an employed or self-employed occupation without having to apply for a work permit. In order to obtain this legal status you need to already have an Austrian residence permit for some time.

All other legal statuses require a work permit for working legally in Austria.

There are two types of work permits: The employment permit (Beschäftigungsbewilligung) and the work permit (Arbeitserlaubnis). They differ in the following ways:

Employment permit

You will need this permit if you have never been employed in Austria or you do not have one of the two mentioned legal statuses.

The employment permit is always administered for a particular workplace or a particular work.

The employment permit is only valid for the maximum of one year. The employer needs to apply for it.

Work permit

You need to possess a red-white-red card or have legally worked in Austria for at least the duration of 52 weeks during the last 14 months, in order to obtain a work permit.

If these requirements are fulfilled, it is also possible for family members (spouses or under-age children) to obtain a work permit. However, it is required that these persons need to have settled in Austria for at least the last 12 months.

The employee needs to apply for the work permit himself or herself. It is only issued for a particular federal state and for the maximum of two years. The job centre (Arbeitsmarktservice) is the competent authority for issuing this permit. The employee can himself or herself apply for an extension. You need a form for the application of a work permit or its extension.

 

Source: BM.I (Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs)