The 2026 figures in one place, with their sources
Every threshold, fee, deadline and quota number on this site, as it stands in 2026, with the instrument it comes from and the previous year where it helps. Verified 12 September 2026. The money figures change every 1 January; the points, capital and time rules only when the Act does.
Every figure below is the 2026 value with the instrument it comes from and, where it helps, the 2025 value beside it. The residence pages take their numbers from this one table, so a figure here is the figure everywhere on the site, and the year is on it — which matters, because pages on this subject commonly mix a reference rate from one year with a salary threshold from another.
Two things to read before the numbers. Income tests are applied to what is left after regular outgoings above the free-station allowance, not to gross income. And a statutory maximum for a decision is a maximum, not an average — the official migration portal notes that the time taken depends on the completeness of the file and the authority’s resources.
Income: the reference rates
The “secured means of subsistence” test of § 11(5) NAG uses the reference rates of § 293 of the General Social Insurance Act (ASVG). Monthly, net of regular outgoings above the allowance.
| Household | 2026 | 2025 | Twice the rate — settlement permit without work, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single person | €1,308.39 | €1,273.99 | €2,616.78 |
| Couple | €2,064.12 | €2,009.85 | €4,128.24 |
| Each child | €201.88 | €196.57 | €403.76 |
| Free-station allowance (not deducted) | €386.43 | €376.27 | — |
| Students and pupils under 24 | €722.58 | €703.58 | — |
| Students and pupils from 24 | €1,308.39 | — | — |
Sources: § 293 ASVG as adjusted for 2026; migration.gv.at ("as of January 1, 2026"); § 292(3) ASVG value for 2026, as applied by the residence authorities; § 44(1)(3) NAG (twice the § 293 ASVG rate); migration.gv.at 2026 figures; BMI brochure on means of subsistence (Stand 1. Jänner 2026).
Work permits: salary floors, points and capital
| Route | Figure for 2026 | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Red-White-Red Card — other key workers, minimum gross monthly salary | €3,465 plus special payments | 50 % of the monthly maximum contribution base of €6,930 (§ 12b(1) AuslBG) |
| EU Blue Card — minimum gross annual salary | €55,678 | 1.0 × the average gross annual salary of full-time employees (§ 12c AuslBG); 2025: €51,500; 2024: €47,855 (prior years as reported by the Court of Audit’s income report and the EU Immigration Portal, not confirmed on an official Austrian page) |
| Very highly qualified — points | 70 of 100 | Annex A AuslBG |
| Skilled workers in shortage occupations — points | 55 of 90 | Annex B AuslBG; 64 occupations nationwide and lists for 8 provinces (Fachkräfteverordnung 2026, BGBl. II Nr. 316/2025) |
| Other key workers — points | 55 of 90 | Annex C AuslBG |
| Start-up founders — points and capital | 50 of 85; €30,000, at least half equity | § 24(2) and Annex D AuslBG |
| Self-employed key workers — macroeconomic benefit | no fixed threshold: an activity of macroeconomic benefit — in particular an investment of at least €100,000 or jobs created or secured — or at least of significance for a region | § 24(1) AuslBG (“insbesondere”) |
| Very highly qualified — points for last year’s gross salary in a senior position at a listed company (or one with a positive foreign-trade-office statement) | €50,000–€60,000: 20; €60,000–€70,000: 25; over €70,000: 30 points | Annex A AuslBG |
Sources: § 12b(1) AuslBG: 50 % of the monthly maximum contribution base (€6,930), plus special payments; migration.gv.at 2026; BGBl. II Nr. 263/2025 (Aufwertung und Anpassung nach dem ASVG für 2026); § 12c AuslBG; Statistik Austria average gross annual salary of full-time employees; migration.gv.at 2026; Annexes A–D to the AuslBG (version in force since 21 April 2023).
The quota
Only the settlement permit without work, some family-reunification cases and two rare titles are quota-bound (§ 13 NAG). The ordinance is issued for a calendar year, often late in it; until a new one appears the last one applies, at no more than one-twelfth of its numbers per month (§ 13(7) NAG). No ordinance for 2026 had been published by 12 September 2026.
| Province | Settlement permits without work, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Vienna | 130 |
| Carinthia | 45 |
| Salzburg | 40 |
| Styria | 40 |
| Tyrol | 40 |
| Lower Austria | 30 |
| Vorarlberg | 30 |
| Upper Austria | 25 |
| Burgenland | 5 |
| Austria — total (the places also cover family members joining a holder, § 46(5) NAG) | 385 |
The same ordinance set 5,616 quota-bound titles in all: 4,850 for family reunification, 385 for settlement without work (including the family members of its holders under § 46(5) NAG), 89 for long-term residents of other Member States and 292 for changes of purpose. An application for the no-employment permit filed when no place is left in the province for that quota year is rejected without further proceedings (§ 12(4) NAG); an application ranked beyond the places is deferred only while places are not yet finally allocated (§ 12(5)), and only family-reunification applications are held over until a place is free (§ 12(7) NAG).
Source: BGBl. II Nr. 309/2025 § 1 and § 2 (counted from the gazette text); § 12(4), (5), (7) and § 13(7) NAG.
Fees
| Item | Fee, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Any fixed-term residence title — first application or renewal, filed abroad or in Austria | €218 |
| “Long-term Resident – EU” (unlimited title) | €275 |
| Visa D — to collect an approved title, or the job-seeker visa; in brackets, applicants under 6 | €195 (€97) |
| Visa C (Schengen) | €90 |
| Registration certificate for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens; certificate of permanent residence | €44 |
| Residence card for the family of EU citizens; in brackets, applicants under 16 | €91 (€39) |
Before 2026 the fee was split into its parts: €212 in total from 1 July 2025 (€156 application, €26 issuance, €30 biometrics), and €160 before that (€120, €20 and €20). Sworn translations, apostilles, the ÖIF integration examinations that fulfil Module 1 and Module 2 (€176 each under the ÖIF fee order of January 2024 — the €153 ÖIF language test at A2 does not fulfil Module 1; the 2026 fees should be confirmed with the ÖIF), a degree assessment and legal fees come on top.
Source: Gebührengesetz 1957 § 14 TP 8, as amended with effect from 1 January 2026; migration.gv.at.
Deadlines, validity and the rules since 7 August 2026
| Rule | Figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Decision on a Red-White-Red Card or EU Blue Card | 8 weeks from filing; the AMS confirms within 4 | § 41(3), § 42(2) NAG; § 20d(1) AuslBG |
| Decision on most other titles | 90 days, extendable once by 30 in complex cases (no extension for student and volunteer permits); not for the settlement permits under §§ 43 and 44, self-employed artists, long-term residence, family reunification (§§ 46, 46a, 47, 69) or the pupil, posted-worker, self-employed and social-service permits, which keep the six-month rule of § 73 AVG; for proceedings begun on or after 7 August 2026 | § 19a NAG, since 7 August 2026 |
| AMS opinion on a self-employed key worker or start-up | 3 weeks | § 24(3) AuslBG |
| Validity of the Red-White-Red Card and the EU Blue Card | 24 months, or a shorter contract plus three months | § 41(5), § 42(4) NAG |
| Red-White-Red Card plus after the card | employed 21 of the last 24 months; then 12 months, or 3 years with Module 1 and two years of settlement | § 41a(1), § 20(1)–(1a) NAG; § 20e(1) AuslBG |
| Change of employer while the title is tied to one employer | new job provisionally after 45 days; EU Blue Card: after 30 days, or at once and without a labour-market test after 12 months on the card | § 20d(2b) AuslBG; § 26 NAG; BGBl. I Nr. 81/2026; Blue Card: § 20d(2a) AuslBG (since 1 October 2022) |
| Job loss | if the end of the job is reported to the authority without delay: at least 6 months of job search before the card can be withdrawn, plus 3 where the former employer imposed exploitative working conditions (§ 28c(2)(1) AuslBG) | § 20d(7) AuslBG; § 28(5a) NAG |
| Intra-corporate transfer — prior employment and maximum stay | 9 months (managers, specialists) or 6 (trainees); at most 3 years or 1 year | § 18a AuslBG; § 58 NAG |
| Student work permit | 20 hours a week without a labour-market test; renewal needs 16 ECTS or 8 semester hours a year | § 4(7)(2) AuslBG; § 74(6) UG |
| Integration Agreement | Module 1 (A2) within 2 years; Module 2 (B1) for permanent residence; German certificates for points at most 5 years old; A1 certificate before entry at most 12 months old | §§ 9–10 IntG; § 20d(6) AuslBG; § 21a NAG |
| Permanent residence | 5 years of settlement; absences of at most 10 months in total or 6 at a stretch; temporary permits count half; lapses after 12 months outside the EEA | § 45, § 20(4) NAG |
| Registration | EU citizens within 4 months (fine €50–€250); everyone’s address within 3 days (fine up to €726) | § 53, § 77 NAG; §§ 3, 22 Meldegesetz |
| Health insurance — voluntary self-insurance | €565.25 a month; students €78.84 | § 16 ASVG (2026) |
Sources: § 41(3) NAG; § 20d(1) AuslBG; § 58(2) NAG and § 20f(1) AuslBG (ICT: the AMS confirms within four weeks, the decision is due within eight); § 20e(1) AuslBG; § 24(3) AuslBG; § 19a NAG (BGBl. I Nr. 81/2026); § 43c(4) and § 61(3) NAG (researcher and researcher-mobility decisions within eight weeks); § 24(1) NAG (a renewal is filed at the earliest three months before expiry); § 73(1) AVG (the general six-month limit for the titles § 19a(3) NAG excludes); § 41(5), § 41a(1), § 20(1)–(1a), § 43c(2) and (5), § 61(2), § 64(4), § 20(3), § 54, § 54a NAG; § 20e(1) AuslBG; § 20d(2b) and (7) AuslBG; § 26(2)–(3) and § 28(5a) NAG; § 2(13), § 18a AuslBG; § 58 NAG; § 18(13) AuslBG and § 31(1)(6) FPG (a holder of another Member State's ICT permit: up to 90 days in any 180 without an Austrian permit); § 20f(2) AuslBG (mobile ICT: the host files at least 20 days before the start); § 18a(1)(6) AuslBG (no repeated breaches by the host in the twelve months before filing); §§ 9–10 Integrationsgesetz; § 10(2)(8) Integrationsgesetz (Module 2 by two years of a German-language post-secondary programme with 32 ECTS); § 9(5)(3) Integrationsgesetz with § 21a(4)(5) NAG (the short-stay waiver: at most 24 months within three years); § 20d(6) AuslBG; ÖIF examination fees (order of 2024 — 2026 fee not confirmed); § 45(1), (2), (4) NAG; § 20(4)–(4a) NAG; § 45(6) and § 20(4) NAG (up to 24 months' notified absence for especially weighty reasons); § 45(5) NAG (EU Blue Card holders: 18 months in total or 12 at a stretch outside the EEA); § 10(3)(4) NAG (void after six years settled elsewhere in the EEA); § 49(5) NAG (a long-term resident of another member state applies within three months of entry); § 53(1), § 77(1)(4) NAG; §§ 3, 22 Meldegesetz 1991.
Where the figures come from
Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz (NAG) — the Settlement and Residence Act
The statute every residence title on this site is issued under, in the consolidated version published by the Austrian legal information system (RIS).
Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz (AuslBG) — the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals
Sets the admission criteria for the Red-White-Red Card (with its points tables) and the EU Blue Card (degree, salary, labour-market test), and governs work permits.
Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz-Durchführungsverordnung (NAG-DV) — the implementing ordinance
§§ 6–9 list the documents an application carries, and the rules on originals, translations and legalisation.
Gebührengesetz 1957, § 14 Tarifpost 8 — the federal fees for residence titles and visas
The fee schedule in force since 1 January 2026: €218 for a fixed-term title, €275 for an unlimited one, €195 for a Visa D.
BGBl. II Nr. 263/2025 — the ASVG adjustment for 2026
Fixes the 2026 maximum contribution base — the anchor for the other-key-worker salary — and the 2026 reference rates and free-station value.
Niederlassungsverordnung 2025 (BGBl. II Nr. 309/2025) — the quota ordinance
The quota numbers per province for the settlement permit without work and the other quota-bound titles; issued 18 December 2025 and, under § 13(7) NAG, still applied at one-twelfth per month until an ordinance for 2026 is issued.
Fachkräfteverordnung 2026 (BGBl. II Nr. 316/2025) — the shortage occupation list
The nationwide and provincial lists of shortage occupations in force from 1 January to 31 December 2026.
BGBl. I Nr. 81/2026 — the amendment in force since 7 August 2026
Transposes the recast Single Permit Directive: the 45-day provisional start with a new employer, the six months of job search after job loss, the 90-day general decision deadline, and the removal of in-country Red-White-Red Card applications from § 21(6) NAG (which the official migration portal reads as allowing the applicant to await the decision in Austria).
Federal Ministry of the Interior — brochure on the calculation of means of subsistence (Stand 1 Jänner 2026)
How the authorities calculate income against the reference rates, including the student rates, the free-station allowance and the treatment of savings.
migration.gv.at — Permanent immigration (the 2026 reference amounts)
The general requirements and the reference amounts as of 1 January 2026.
Federal Ministry of Social Affairs — Ausgleichszulage and the reference rates
The ASVG reference rates for 2026 and the years before.
Statistik Austria — annual personal income
The gross annual income of full-time employees — the statute speaks of the average; the published threshold follows the figure Statistik Austria publishes — the anchor for the EU Blue Card threshold.