The words the Act uses

The umbrella term of the Settlement and Residence Act for every card that lets a third-country national stay in Austria for more than six months. § 8 NAG lists thirteen of them — the Red-White-Red Card and its plus version, the EU Blue Card, the settlement permits, “Family Member”, “Long-term Resident – EU”, the “Article 50 TEU” title for British citizens covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, and the temporary residence permit — and the Act calls all of them “residence titles”. This site calls them residence permits, because that is the term people search for; on a form or a decision you will see Aufenthaltstitel.

The Act’s word for living in Austria on a footing that is meant to last, as opposed to staying for a defined purpose and a defined time. Every title except the temporary residence permit is a settlement title (§ 2(2) NAG), and settlement is what counts towards the five years that permanent residence requires. Time spent on a temporary residence permit — as a student, a researcher on mobility, an intra-corporate transferee — is not settlement at all (§ 2(3) NAG) and is credited at half towards the five years, and only if it ran immediately before (§ 45(2) NAG).

A family of settlement titles under §§ 43–44 and 47(3) NAG, each carrying residence with a defined and limited right to work — self-employment only for the plain permit, the specific artistic, research or exempt employment for the artist, researcher and special-cases permits, and no work at all for the permit “Except Gainful Employment” and the permit for dependants. The one this site is mostly about is the settlement permit “Except Gainful Employment” (Niederlassungsbewilligung – ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit, § 44 NAG), the route for people with private means — subject to a quota, and to a work ban. The others are the plain settlement permit for self-employed key workers after their first two years (§ 43(1)), the permit for artists (§ 43a), the permit for special cases of employment (§ 43b), the settlement permit “Researcher” (§ 43c) and the permit for dependants of Austrians (§ 47(3)).

The one residence title that is not settlement: a permit for a stay of more than six months for a defined purpose (§ 8(1)(12) NAG). Students, pupils, intra-corporate transferees, posted workers, volunteers, cross-border commuters and researchers on mobility from another EU state all hold one — as do the family members who may join students, intra-corporate transferees and mobile researchers (§ 69 NAG). It is issued for twelve months at a time as a rule (two years for a student in a mobility programme; up to three years in total for an ICT transferee), it is not subject to a quota, it does not require German before entry, and it does not count as settlement — which is the price of it.

Austria’s work-and-residence permit for third-country nationals (§ 41 NAG), issued for 24 months and, in the five employed categories, tied to the employer named in the application. It has seven categories, each with its own test — points tables for the very highly qualified, shortage occupations, other key workers and start-up founders; an Austrian degree for graduates; the business itself for self-employed key workers; prior seasonal service and German A1 for regular workers in tourism, agriculture and forestry. The criteria sit in the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals (AuslBG), and the Public Employment Service confirms them before the residence authority issues the card. After two years, and 21 months of qualifying employment in the last 24, an employed-category card can be exchanged for the Red-White-Red Card plus; a self-employed key worker moves to a settlement permit (§ 43(1) NAG), and a start-up founder reaches the plus card only on the conditions of § 24(4) AuslBG.

The settlement title that opens the whole labour market (§ 41a NAG; § 17 AuslBG): any employer, or self-employment, anywhere in Austria. It is what a Red-White-Red Card or EU Blue Card holder receives after two years if he/she was employed under the card’s conditions for 21 of the last 24 months — and it is what the spouse, registered partner and minor children of a card holder receive from the outset, without a quota. Issued for twelve months, or three years once Module 1 of the Integration Agreement is fulfilled and two years of settlement have passed (§ 20(1a) NAG) — on our reading a former Red-White-Red Card holder meets both conditions at the changeover, since the card counts as Module 1 (§ 9(4) Integrationsgesetz); the official portal states one year as the default.

The EU-wide permit for highly qualified employment, as issued in Austria under § 42 NAG and § 12c AuslBG: a degree from a programme of at least three years, a matching job offer (the portals and the EU Directive ask for at least six months), a gross annual salary of at least the average for full-time employees — €55,678 in 2026 — and a labour-market test by the AMS. There is no points test. It is issued for 24 months and leads to the Red-White-Red Card plus; its holders move more easily between EU states, and their families are exempt from the German-before-entry requirement.

Two things at once. As a definition (§ 2(1)(9) NAG), the spouse, the registered partner and the unmarried children under 18 of a person — including adopted children and stepchildren — with both spouses at least 21 on the day of application. As a title (§ 47(2) NAG), the residence title issued to the family of an Austrian citizen — or of an EEA or Swiss citizen settled in Austria who has not exercised free movement: quota-free, with unrestricted access to the labour market, and leading to permanent residence. Unmarried partners are not family members under the Act.

Austria’s permanent residence status (§ 45 NAG), issued after five years of uninterrupted settlement to someone who has completed Module 2 of the Integration Agreement — German at B1 — and still meets the general requirements. The right is unlimited; the card is issued for 5 years and renewed, even after it has expired. It carries free access to the labour market and the possibility of moving to another EU state. It lapses after more than 12 consecutive months outside the European Economic Area (24 with prior notice for especially weighty reasons, and 24 for former EU Blue Card holders and their family), or after 6 years settled elsewhere in the EEA.

The document an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen receives when he/she registers a stay of more than three months with the residence authority (§ 53 NAG). It is not a permit — the right of residence comes from EU law — but the registration is compulsory within 4 months of arrival, costs €44 in 2026, and a late application is an administrative offence. After five years the same authority issues a certificate of permanent residence (Bescheinigung des Daueraufenthalts).

The document issued to the third-country-national family of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who lives in Austria under free-movement law (§ 54 NAG). Applied for within four months of arrival, valid for 5 years, €91 in 2026, with full access to the labour market and no German requirement. After five years it becomes a permanent residence card (Daueraufenthaltskarte), valid for ten. Family under this rule is wider than under the NAG: it includes children and grandchildren of the citizen or of the citizen’s spouse or registered partner under 21 whether or not they are dependent, and older descendants and parents who are actually maintained by them (§ 52(1)(1)–(3) NAG). A partner in a durable relationship and other dependent relatives (§ 52(1)(4)–(5)) do not receive the residence card: they may be granted a quota-free settlement permit under § 56 NAG, which carries self-employment only, requires German A1 before entry and a declaration of liability by the EU citizen.

Anyone who is not a citizen of an EU or EEA member state or of Switzerland (§ 2(1)(6) NAG). The whole permit system of the Settlement and Residence Act applies to third-country nationals and to nobody else. A British citizen has been one since 1 January 2021; those who lived in Austria before then hold the residence title “Article 50 TEU”, which preserves their earlier rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.

The monthly amount from § 293 of the General Social Insurance Act (ASVG) that Austrian residence law uses as its measure of “secured means of subsistence” (§ 11(5) NAG). For 2026: €1,308.39 for a single person, €2,064.12 for a couple and €201.88 for each child. The settlement permit without work requires twice these amounts. The rates are adjusted every 1 January, and the authority compares them with income net of regular outgoings above the free-station allowance.

The part of a person’s regular expenses that the residence authority does not deduct when it tests income against the reference rate — €386.43 a month in 2026 (§ 292(3) ASVG; § 11(5) NAG). Rent, loan instalments and maintenance payments above that amount reduce the income the authority counts; the first €386.43 does not. It is the reason two applicants with the same salary can be assessed differently, and the deduction is worth working out before filing.

The annual cap on a small number of settlement titles, fixed for each province by a Federal Government ordinance, the Niederlassungsverordnung (§ 13 NAG). The settlement permit without work is quota-bound, and so is family reunification with most other settled third-country nationals — holders of a plain settlement permit, of the no-work permit, of long-term residence or of a plus card that did not grow out of a work title (§ 46(1)(2), (4), (5), § 46a NAG); the Red-White-Red Card, the EU Blue Card, the family of their holders and the temporary permits are not. Applications are entered in a register by date and time of filing, and an application for the no-work permit filed when the province’s places are gone is rejected without further proceedings (§ 12(4) NAG). The ordinance for 2025 allowed 385 such permits nationwide; an ordinance for 2026 had not been published by 12 September 2026, so the previous one applies at one-twelfth of its numbers per month (§ 13(7) NAG).

The rule in § 21a NAG that a first application for certain settlement titles — “Family Member”, the Red-White-Red Card plus for family, the settlement permit without work and the other settlement permits — has to be accompanied by a German certificate at level A1 from the ÖSD, the Goethe-Institut, telc or the ÖIF, not older than 12 months. It does not apply to the Red-White-Red Card, the EU Blue Card, researchers or any temporary permit, nor to children under 14, people who cannot reasonably be expected to provide it on health grounds, or anyone who already meets the conditions of Module 1 or 2; the family of very highly qualified workers, EU Blue Card holders and researchers is exempt. There is no exemption for older applicants — a retiree applying for the settlement permit without work needs the A1 certificate like anyone else. The official portals call it “German before immigration”.

The obligation, under the Integration Act, to learn German and to know the country. Module 1 — German at A2 plus values, examined by the ÖIF — has to be completed within 2 years of the first settlement title that carries it — the Red-White-Red Card, the plus card, the settlement permits and the “Family Member” title, not the EU Blue Card or the researcher permit (§ 9(1) Integrationsgesetz) — and is the condition for a three-year card; a Red-White-Red Card, a school-leaving qualification giving university entrance or the ÖIF examination each count as fulfilment (§ 9(4) Integrationsgesetz). Module 2 — German at B1 — is the condition for “Long-term Resident – EU”; naturalisation requires the same B1 level (Module 2 counts) together with a citizenship test.

The Public Employment Service, and the second authority in every Red-White-Red Card, EU Blue Card and intra-corporate-transfer application (for the researcher and special-cases permits it is consulted only in case of doubt). The residence authority forwards a Red-White-Red Card or EU Blue Card application to the AMS regional office at the employer’s seat, which has 4 weeks to confirm that the category’s conditions — the points, the salary, the shortage occupation — are met (§ 20d AuslBG). For self-employed key workers and start-up founders the AMS provincial office gives an expert opinion on the business within 3 weeks. The official points calculator is on migration.gv.at; a count from it is an indication, not a decision.

The AMS’s check whether the vacancy could be filled by an Austrian or by a foreign national already available on the Austrian labour market who is willing and able to do the job on lawful terms (§ 4b AuslBG). It applies to the Red-White-Red Card for other key workers and to the EU Blue Card. It does not apply to the very highly qualified, to shortage occupations, to graduates of Austrian universities or to regular workers in tourism, agriculture and forestry; the self-employed categories are assessed by expert opinion instead.

The written undertaking by the prospective employer, filed with every EU Blue Card application and every Red-White-Red Card application in an employed category (not by self-employed key workers or start-up founders), to observe the pay and conditions stated in the application (§ 20d(1) AuslBG). It is a form the employer completes; it is what the AMS confirms against; and because the employer may file the application in Austria on the applicant’s behalf, it is often the first document in the file.

An occupation in which, by the AMS’s count, no more than 1.5 registered job-seekers exist for each vacancy — up to 1.8 with further indicators of shortage (§ 13 AuslBG). The Ministry of Labour fixes the list for each calendar year in the Fachkräfteverordnung: for 2026, 64 occupations nationwide and separate lists for 8 of the nine provinces. A completed vocational training in a listed occupation opens the Red-White-Red Card for skilled workers in shortage occupations, without a labour-market test.

The ceiling on earnings subject to social-insurance contributions under § 108(3) ASVG — €6,930 a month in 2026. It matters here because the minimum salary for the Red-White-Red Card for other key workers is defined as half of it: €3,465 gross a month plus special payments in 2026 (§ 12b(1) AuslBG). It is adjusted every 1 January, so the salary floor rises with it.

The City of Vienna’s Department for Immigration and Citizenship, and the residence authority for everyone who lives, or will live, in Vienna. Outside Vienna the authority is the district administration (Bezirkshauptmannschaft) or the municipal authority (Magistrat) of a statutory city; in Lower Austria the Office of the Provincial Government for quota-bound and intra-corporate-transfer applications; in Graz the Office of the Styrian Provincial Government. Where an application is filed abroad, the Austrian representation forwards it to the authority for the intended place of residence.

The form on which everyone who moves into accommodation in Austria — citizens and foreigners, EU citizens included — registers the address with the registration authority within 3 days (§ 3 Meldegesetz). It is free, it is signed by the accommodation provider, and failing to register is fined. It is separate from, and comes before, any residence registration: a residence permit is a right to be in Austria, the Meldezettel is the record of where.

Austria’s national visa for stays of more than 90 days and up to six months (§ 20 Fremdenpolizeigesetz), €195 in 2026. Two kinds matter to readers of this site: the visa to enter Austria and collect a residence title that has been approved abroad, valid for four months, and the six-month job-seeker visa for very highly qualified workers. A Schengen visa (Visa C, €90) covers 90 days in any 180 — as does visa-free entry for nationals who have it — and neither permits gainful employment, unless a visa was issued for temporary work under § 24 FPG together with an AMS permit.

The procedure by which the holder of one residence title applies for a different one from inside Austria (§ 26 NAG) — a student for a Red-White-Red Card, a Red-White-Red Card holder for the plus card, a start-up founder for an employed category. Since 7 August 2026 a change of employer while the title is tied to one employer is handled as a change of purpose, and the new job may be started provisionally 45 days after the application if no decision has been made.

An undertaking by a third party, certified by an Austrian notary or court, to bear the accommodation, maintenance and any public costs of an applicant, valid for at least five years (§ 2(1)(15) NAG). The Act allows it only where it says so — for students, pupils, artists, volunteers and the other relatives of EU citizens — and requires it for the dependants of Austrian citizens; it is not available for the settlement permit without work, the two cards or their families, where the means have to be the applicant’s own (§ 11(6) NAG).

The standardised certificate under the 1961 Hague Convention that authenticates a public document for use abroad, issued by a designated authority in the country that issued the document. Where the issuing country is not a party to the Convention, consular legalisation applies instead. Under § 6(4) NAG-DV the Austrian authority may require civil-status certificates and other foreign documents in legalised form; whether a given document needs it is a question to ask before paying for it.

A translation by a court-certified translator (allgemein beeideter und gerichtlich zertifizierter Dolmetscher) rather than by anyone competent in the language. § 6(3) NAG-DV lets the authority require a German translation of any document not in German. In practice documents in English are usually accepted without one (Vienna asks for translations only of documents in other languages), but each authority may ask, and for civil-status certificates and contracts in other languages they do. A relative fluent in both languages cannot produce one.

The two statutes every page on this site rests on. The Settlement and Residence Act (NAG, BGBl. I Nr. 100/2005) governs who may live in Austria for more than six months and on what title. The Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals (AuslBG, BGBl. Nr. 218/1975) governs who may work, and contains the points tables and salary rules, and the basis of the annual shortage list, that decide the Red-White-Red Card and the EU Blue Card. Both were last amended by BGBl. I Nr. 81/2026, in force since 7 August 2026, and both are published in consolidated form in the Austrian legal information system, RIS.

The Austrian Integration Fund, the body that runs the integration examinations for Modules 1 and 2 of the Integration Agreement and issues the certificates the residence authority accepts. Its A1 certificate is also one of the four accepted for German before entry, alongside the ÖSD, the Goethe-Institut and telc.