Weekly Tip 15 #LocationAustria: Take advantage of the Red-White-Red Card for key employees

© ABA - Invest in Austria

If you plan to hire employees from countries outside of the European Union or EEA (third country nationals) within the context of your expansion to Austria, inform yourself early enough about the possibility of obtaining the Red-White-Red Card.

On the basis of the Red-White-Red Card Austria has established a new, flexible immigration system for third-country nationals. This is particularly designed for highly qualified skilled personnel in understaffed professions, other key qualified salaried employees, self-employed key personnel and foreign graduates of universities in Austria.

The underlying objective is to enable the controlled and long-term immigration of qualified employees who are third country nationals and their family members in accordance with specific personal and labor-market related criteria. The most important criteria are qualifications, professional experience, age, language skills, minimum salary and an adequate job availability.

Two varieties of the Red-White-Red Card are issued. The Red-White-Red Card entitles third-country nationals to fixed-term settlement and employment with a specified employer. The Red-White-Red Card Plus entitles third-country nationals to fixed-term settlement and unlimited labor market access (self-employment and gainful employment) which is not limited to a specific employer.

“The Red-White-Red Card scheme makes Austria even more attractive for talents from all over the world“, says ABA International Director Wilfried Gunka. Oriented to labor market needs, the card offers clear-cut advantages to companies in that highly qualified employees become quickly available.

For more tips also check:

• Weekly Tip 14: Ensure timely planning when hiring foreign employees
• Weekly Tip 13: Construction laws are subject to regional legislation
• Weekly Tip 12: Take Advantage of E-Government Services
• Weekly Tip 11: National characteristics
• Weekly Tip 10: Successfully Networking in Austria
• Weekly Tip 9: Labor laws - Notice period
• Weekly Tip 8: Labor laws - Severance pay
• Weekly Tip 7: Commercial law in Austria
• Wekly Tip 6: Registering your car in Austria
• Weekly Tip 5: Consultants must know both sides
• Weekly Tip 4: Statutory manager - a must in Austria
• Weekly Tip 3: Negotiating salaries
• Weekly Tip 2: Comprehensive market overview
• Weekly Tip 1: Focus on strategy first