Austria: government relaxes conditions for arrival of high-potential workers from third countries

On Wednesday 26 February, the council of ministers presented measures to make the conditions allowing highly qualified workers from third countries to come to Austria more flexible. First of all, the number of professions officially considered to be suffering from labour shortages has been increased from 27 to 45. Meanwhile the period of time set aside to make sure there is not an Austrian worker who can take up a particular job cannot exceed 10 days. Jobseekers will also no longer be obliged to prove they have already found accommodation in Austria when they submit their applications. Furthermore the wage thresholds in place for such workers are to be reduced. Jobseekers under the age of 30 will need to find a job paying a gross monthly wage of at least €2,088, down from the current threshold of €2,685. For jobseekers over the age of 30, the wage floor will be cut from €3,222 gross per month to €2,610. The changes will also allow businesses to manage job applications with a more simplified online procedure. Ultimately, candidates who are ‘qualified immigrants’ will themselves be able to make use of this digital procedure. The work permit – dubbed the ‘Red-White-Red Card’ – is valid for a period of 24 months. Once this period has ended, workers who have passed module one of the integration course (language, country knowledge, etc.) will be able to obtain a ‘Red-White-Red Plus Card’, which is valid for between one and three years. People who pass module two of the course may obtain a long-term work and residence permit for the EU. In recent years, Austria has handed out an average of 2,000 Red-White-Red Cards per year.