Destination · European Union

Working in Austria,
permit by permit.

Austria is in the European Union. If you qualified inside the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, free movement replaces this half of the answer entirely and no work permit is involved. Everything below is for a qualification obtained outside that area.

Permits sourced
3
Professions answered
1
Official sources
5
Last checked
2026-08-03

Recognition

Whether Austria has to
approve your qualification.

Only some professions are regulated, and the difference is not a detail: a regulated one needs a decision from a named authority before you may hold the job at all. These are the professions we can answer for Austria today, and no others.

No licence decision

Software developer

Not regulated · no recognition decision required

No authority approves this qualification before you take the job in Austria. That is a sourced finding, not an absence of research.

All destinations for this profession →

Work authorisation

Every permit we can source
for Austria.

Every permit we source →

Red-White-Red Card — Very Highly Qualified Workers

The Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) assesses your points score; the residence authority (Provincial Governor's Office or district administration) for where you will live in Austria issues the card

Points-based
Qualification
Score at least 70 of 100 points against Austria's published criteria for exceptionally qualified specialists: special qualifications and skills, work experience, language skills, age, and study already completed in Austria. We do not compute or estimate this score.
Job-seeker visa validity
Six months, to find qualifying work
Red-White-Red Card
Generally issued for 24 months in the first instance
Job-seeker visa
€195
Red-White-Red Card application
€218

Scored, not checked off. We explain the factors and link the official calculator — we never produce a score, because a score reads as a prediction.

The procedure, step by step →

4 steps · 4 possible outcomes · 3 official sources

Red-White-Red Card — Other Key Workers

The Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) assesses your points score and runs the labour market check; the residence authority for where you will live in Austria issues the card

Points-based
Salary floor
EUR 3,465 a month (2026 figure)migration.gv.at states this as the statutory minimum gross monthly salary for 2026 that your prospective employer has to pay — a monthly figure, unlike the EU Blue Card threshold on this page, which is stated as an annual amount. Confirm the figure in force on the date you apply.
Qualification
A binding job offer meeting the applicable salary floor, and a score of at least 55 of a possible 90 points against Austria's published criteria: qualification level, work experience, language skills and age. We do not compute or estimate this score.
Red-White-Red Card
Generally issued for 24 months in the first instance
Decision on the application
Not published as a single national figure — ask the representation or residence authority handling your case
Red-White-Red Card application
€218

Scored, not checked off. We explain the factors and link the official calculator — we never produce a score, because a score reads as a prediction.

The procedure, step by step →

4 steps · 3 possible outcomes · 3 official sources

EU Blue Card

The Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) runs the labour market check; the residence authority for where you will live in Austria issues the card

Checklist
Salary floor
EUR 55,678 a year (2026 figure)migration.gv.at states this as the gross annual salary threshold for 2026, inclusive of special payments — the extra periodic payments common in Austrian pay structures beyond twelve monthly instalments. Confirm the figure in force on the date you apply.
Qualification
A qualification from a course of study at a university or other tertiary institution lasting at least three years, or, for information and communication technology and service-management roles specifically, at least three years of relevant professional experience gained in the seven years before applying.
EU Blue Card validity
24 months, or the contract period plus three months, whichever is shorter
Decision on the application
Not published as a single national figure — ask the representation or residence authority handling your case
EU Blue Card application
€218
The procedure, step by step →

4 steps · 3 possible outcomes · 2 official sources

Written out in full

Guides for Austria.

Each of these takes one profession into Austria and runs both branches end to end, including the paperwork your country of qualification adds.

Verified route

Austria Work Visa for Software Developers

Red-White-Red Card for IT specialists

Read this one →

Evidence

Every claim on this page, and where it came from.

5 official pages, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest of them is 2026-08-03, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Your case, not the general case

What Austria asks of you specifically.

Which permit fits and what your country of qualification adds to it both depend on where you qualified. The planner only offers combinations it can answer.

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