Austria

EU Blue Card for highly qualified employment. A non-EU national with a qualifying offer for highly qualified work in Austria may apply for a residence and work permit. The salary and qualification tests are country-specific.

Free, with the law behind every answer

EU Blue Card for highly qualified employment

Residence and work authorization for qualifying employment in Austria, subject to the conditions on the issued card.

Who qualifies

A binding job offer or contract for highly qualified work, with the required duration under the applicable national rules.
European Commission: highly qualified workers
The offered salary must meet Austria’s current threshold; regulated professions and professional qualifications have separate checks.
European Commission: EU Blue Card in Austria

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

Does it fit your family?

One question, from the program’s own rules.

Do you have a binding job offer in that country?

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Time: The national authority’s current processing time depends on the country and the application file.
Cost: Government fees and any employer or adviser costs vary by country; check the issuing authority before paying.
The hard part: Proving the job, salary and recognized qualifications meet the issuing country’s current rules.

Citizens by 2038.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

2027
First residence permit
2 years, renewable for 2 years at a time.
2029
Renew the permit
Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 2 years.
2031
Renew the permit
Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 2 years.
2032
Permanent residence
‘Daueraufenthalt – EU’ after 5 unbroken years actually settled in Austria, with module 2 of the integration agreement (German at B1 and the values course) and a secure income.
2037
Apply for citizenship
With a language test and a civics test.
2038
Citizenship

Language: German at B1 (B2 for the 6-year option).
Civics: The citizenship test: basic knowledge of Austria’s democratic order, its history and the history of your province.
Time away: 10 years of lawful, unbroken residence, at least 5 of them on a settlement permit; no more than 20% of the period spent abroad. You also need a steady income of your own, averaged over 36 months in the last 6 years.
Two passports: Usually not: new citizens are asked to give up their other citizenship.

Lawful residence on this status builds the ordinary residence clock while the permit remains valid.
How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
This country asks new citizens to give up their other citizenship.

The law behind these dates

Living there.

Time you must spend there: The program sets no minimum number of days. Renewal still expects it to be your home.
Tax: Working and living in the country can create tax obligations; the permit itself is not a tax ruling.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

Check Austria’s Blue Card requirements and the national application authority.Open home-affairs.ec.europa.eu ↗
Gather these documents.
- The signed job offer, salary, and recognized qualifications
- Health cover for the move

Postern can’t run this for you yet.

Postern cannot run this application yet. Missing: The Austrian applicant form and employer declaration are not pinned and mapped. The licensed-representative requirement, the competent provincial authority, personal card collection and renewal have no complete execution specification.

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