Red-White-Red Card for very highly qualified workers: the points test and the job-seeker visa
The one employed Red-White-Red Card category that does not begin with a job offer: 70 of 100 points on the Annex A table, and a six-month visa to come to Austria and find the job.
The category sits in § 41(1) of the Settlement and Residence Act (Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz, NAG); its test is § 12 and Annex A of the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals (Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz, AuslBG). There is no labour-market test.
| Official name | Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte for Besonders Hochqualifizierte (Red-White-Red Card — Very Highly Qualified Workers) |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Third-country nationals scoring 70 of 100 points on degree, salary history, experience, language and age |
| Main requirement | 70 of 100 points on Annex A, confirmed by the AMS, and a job that matches the qualification |
| Right to work | For the employer named in the application, anywhere in Austria; subsidiary self-employment allowed |
| Validity | 24 months, or a shorter contract plus three months; then, after 21 of 24 months in employment, the Red-White-Red Card plus |
The legal basis
Summary of § 41(1) NAG, § 12 and Annex A AuslBG, and § 24a FPG — not the statutory wording
Under § 41(1) NAG and § 12 AuslBG, the card may be issued to a third-country national who
- reaches at least 70 of 100 points on the criteria in Annex A to the AuslBG;
- will take up employment corresponding to his/her qualification and the other criteria the points rest on;
- meets the general requirements of Part 1 of the NAG, less proof of accommodation and the “no financial burden” test (§ 11(2)(2) and (4));
- and for whom the regional office of the Public Employment Service (Arbeitsmarktservice, AMS) has confirmed this in writing (§ 20d(1)(1) AuslBG), without a labour-market test.
Under § 24a of the Aliens Police Act (Fremdenpolizeigesetz, FPG) the Austrian representation may issue a six-month visa for seeking work in Austria once the central contact point of the AMS has confirmed the Annex A criteria; a second one may be applied for only twelve months after leaving Austria (§ 24a(5) FPG).
The card application carries the employer’s written declaration (§ 20d(1) AuslBG); the authority and the AMS decide within 8 weeks (§ 41(3) NAG); the card runs for 24 months, or a shorter contract plus three months (§ 41(5) NAG); the family is exempt from German before entry (§ 21a(4)(3) NAG). Where the application is filed.
The conditions above are set out in § 41(1) NAG, § 12 and Annex A AuslBG, and § 24a FPG: § 41 NAG, § 12 AuslBG, Annex A to the AuslBG, § 24a FPG. The consolidated German text is published in the Austrian legal information system (RIS); the English on this page is a summary, and where the two differ the German text governs.
What each requirement means
At least 70 of 100 points on the Annex A table
The AMS does not assess a career; it adds up points against the table below. The first block — a four-year degree, a senior-position salary history, research, awards — is capped at 40, so the other 30 come from experience, language, age and study in Austria. Age is taken on the day of filing, and a language certificate may not be older than 5 years on that day (§ 20d(6) AuslBG).
A job matching the qualification — before the card, not before the visa
The card is issued for a specific post, which has to correspond to the qualification that produced the points (§ 12 AuslBG). Someone who needs a visa and has no offer yet obtains the job-seeker visa first and applies in Austria once a contract is signed; someone who already has an offer files at the Austrian representation abroad (§ 21(1) NAG); someone who enters visa-free applies during that stay. In every case the employer signs the declaration. How the application is filed.
No labour-market test, and no fixed salary floor
Section 12 AuslBG dispenses with the labour-market test: the AMS does not ask whether a registered job-seeker could have filled the post, the check on which other-key-worker files can fail. Nor is there a euro threshold: the €3,465 a month for other key workers and the €55,678 a year of the EU Blue Card in 2026 do not apply; the only salary in the test is last year’s, in a senior position at a listed company or at one with a positive statement from the foreign-trade office, from €50,000 upwards.
24 months, one employer, and the family without German
Your spouse and children receive a Red-White-Red Card plus without the German at A1 before entry that the family of every other Red-White-Red Card holder must show (§ 21a(4)(3) NAG). In all else — the employer binding, the rules since 7 August 2026 on changing or losing the job, the plus card after 21 of 24 months — this is the card of every category: the Red-White-Red Card, and what changed on 7 August 2026.
The Annex A points table: 70 of 100
| Criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| Special qualifications and skills — at most 40 | |
| Degree from a four-year programme | 20 |
| Degree from a four-year programme in a MINT field (mathematics, informatics, natural sciences, technology) | 30 |
| Four-year degree with a habilitation or an equivalent qualification, such as a PhD | 40 |
| Last year’s senior-position salary at a listed company, or one with a positive foreign-trade-office statement: €50,000–€60,000 / €60,000–€70,000 / over €70,000 | 20 / 25 / 30 |
| Research or innovation — patent applications, publications | 20 |
| Recognised awards | 20 |
| Work experience (matching the qualification, or senior) — at most 20 | |
| Per half-year | 1 |
| Six months in Austria | 10 |
| Language skills — at most 10 | |
| German or English at A1 / A2 | 5 / 10 |
| French, Spanish or Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian at B1 | 5 each |
| Age — at most 20 | |
| Up to 35 / up to 40 / up to 45 | 20 / 15 / 10 |
| Studies in Austria — at most 10 | |
| Second stage of a diploma programme, or half the ECTS / the entire diploma programme, or a bachelor’s plus a master’s | 5 / 10 |
| Maximum / minimum required | 100 / 70 |
The table has been in this form since 21 April 2023; it is not adjusted each 1 January, and no amendment was pending on 12 September 2026. A three-year degree earns nothing here, though it earns 30 on the other-key-worker table; vocational training counts in the shortage-occupation category instead.
The six-month job-seeker visa
The job-seeker visa (Visum zur Arbeitssuche, § 24a FPG) is a Visa D valid for six months, applied for at the Austrian embassy or consulate, which forwards the points documents to the AMS (§ 24a(2) FPG); the fee is €195 in 2026. The file carries the two things the card later waives — locally customary accommodation and means of subsistence — with all-risk health insurance, which the card requires too, and the points documents, which are not filed again for the card (§ 9(1) NAG-DV).
It allows you to look for work, not to work. Someone who enters Austria without a visa does not need it: he/she applies for the card from inside Austria during the visa-free stay. Who can come without a job offer, in the FAQ.
What the application turns on
The count, and then the match. The AMS counts from documents, so the file has to prove each row it claims: a four-year programme, not a three-year one; the listing or the foreign-trade-office statement behind a salary claim. Then the post has to correspond to the qualification the points rest on; a total of 65 with a job offer in hand points to the other-key-worker category, not to this one.
Who you are
- A valid passport (§ 7(1)(1) NAG-DV). It is shown in the original before any title is issued, whoever files the application and however it is filed.
- A colour passport-format photograph, 45 × 35 mm, meeting the EU residence-permit photo standard (§ 2a NAG-DV, referring to Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002), not older than six months at the time of the decision.
- Where the application turns on them: your birth certificate, marriage or registered-partnership certificate, divorce decree, adoption order, or the certificate of a child’s birth (§ 7(1)(3) NAG-DV). A certificate issued abroad needs an apostille or consular legalisation, and a German translation, where the authority asks for them (§ 6(3)–(4) NAG-DV) — for civil-status certificates it usually does, though documents in English are often accepted without translation.
What you are qualified as
- The degree certificate, and proof of the status of the institution that issued it (§ 9(1)(1) and § 9(2)(4) NAG-DV for the Red-White-Red Card; § 9(6)(2) NAG-DV for the EU Blue Card) — a diploma supplement or transcript usually does the second part. For the very highly qualified, a four-year programme; for other key workers and the EU Blue Card, three; for the Blue Card’s IT-experience route, a work reference and a confirmation of employment showing three years of degree-level experience in the last seven (§ 9(6)(4) NAG-DV).
- For the graduate category: the certificate of the Austrian degree, and for a diploma programme also the record of study and the examination certificates for the second stage (§ 9(3) NAG-DV).
- For a vocational qualification: the certificate or diploma of the completed training. For a shortage occupation, the training has to be in that occupation.
- For “special skills” without a formal qualification — a designer, a musician, an athlete, an IT specialist who learned on the job: employment and training references and an employer’s confirmation (§ 9(2)(2) NAG-DV).
- A degree from outside Austria does not need formal recognition (Nostrifizierung) for the Red-White-Red Card or the EU Blue Card except in a regulated profession — the health professions, for example — but the AMS has to be satisfied it is what it says it is. The official migration portal points to the anabin database: a university listed there with status H+ is recognised, and otherwise a confirmation of the institution’s status from the competent authority of that country is filed with the application. Where the degree itself is in doubt, an evaluation by ENIC NARIC Austria, the national recognition information centre, can be obtained in addition; allow time for it before filing.
How long you have worked, and where
- A work reference (Dienstzeugnis) and a confirmation of employment (Arbeitsbestätigung) from each employer (§ 9 NAG-DV) — one describing the work, the other confirming the dates. Both are needed; a CV proves nothing on its own.
- For the very highly qualified: last year’s tax assessment or salary confirmation together with the employer’s confirmation of a senior position, where the salary points are claimed, and proof that the company is listed on a stock exchange or a positive statement on its business from the competent Austrian foreign-trade office (§ 9(1)(3) NAG-DV) — the salary points exist only for a senior position at such a company; publications, an institution’s confirmation or a patent-register extract for research points; the award certificate for an award.
- Experience counts by the half-year, and experience gained in Austria counts double in the shortage-occupation and other-key-worker tables. The dates on the confirmations are what the AMS adds up.
Which languages you speak, for the points
- An internationally recognised diploma or course certificate for German or English (§ 9 NAG-DV) — and for French, Spanish or Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian at B1, which each earn five points. Certificates may not be older than 5 years on the day of application (§ 20d(6) AuslBG).
- A certificate that is one day too old earns nothing. If yours is near the limit, sit the test again before filing rather than after a refusal.
That an employer in Austria will employ you
- A signed employment contract, or a written offer that states the position, the gross monthly salary, the hours and the start date.
- The employer’s declaration (Arbeitgebererklärung) under the AuslBG — the employer’s written undertaking to observe the stated conditions (§ 20d(1) AuslBG; § 9 NAG-DV). The AMS form, completed and signed by the employer.
- For a shortage occupation: evidence of the collectively agreed minimum for the post and of any overpayment that is customary in the company. For the EU Blue Card: a contract or binding offer for at least six months — the requirement of the EU Blue Card Directive and of the official migration portal; the Austrian statute sets no minimum of its own and issues the card for two years, or for a shorter contract plus three months (§ 42(4) NAG).
That you are insured against all risks in Austria
- For an employee: the employment contract usually does it — compulsory insurance with the ÖGK starts with the job, and the ordinance asks for a policy only where no compulsory insurance will exist (§ 7(1)(5) NAG-DV). The official migration portal (migration.gv.at) nonetheless lists evidence of health insurance among the documents for every application, so a confirmation from the employer or the insurer is worth including.
- For everyone else: a private policy that matches statutory cover — all risks, no waiting period for treatment, valid in Austria. Travel insurance does not qualify. Vienna publishes a list of accepted insurers and a clause the policy has to carry.
- Voluntary self-insurance with the ÖGK is an alternative for someone already registered at an address in Austria: €565.25 a month in 2026 at the full rate (reducible on application), and €78.84 a month for students. At the full rate it pays for treatment as a rule only after a waiting period — three months under § 124(1) ASVG, extendable to six by the insurer’s statutes; oesterreich.gv.at gives six months — and the authority accepts it only once it pays: until then a private policy has to bridge the gap.
Who your family are
- Your marriage certificate or registered-partnership certificate, and the birth certificates of the children who are applying, with an apostille or consular legalisation, and a German translation, where the authority asks for them (§ 7(1)(3), § 6(3)–(4) NAG-DV) — for civil-status certificates it usually does.
- Your partner’s passport and, for a third-country sponsor, his/her residence title; for an Austrian sponsor, the proof of citizenship; for an EU citizen, the registration certificate. For the NAG family titles — “Family Member”, the Red-White-Red Card plus and the § 69 permit — both spouses have to be at least 21 on the day of application, and a child under 18 (§ 2(1)(9) NAG); the family of an EU citizen follows the wider free-movement definition instead.
- For the settlement permit “Dependant” (§ 47(3) NAG) — parents, a durable partner, other dependent relatives of an Austrian — the sponsor’s declaration of liability in every case, even where the dependant has means of his/her own, certified by an Austrian notary or court and valid for at least five years. For “Family Member” and the Red-White-Red Card plus no declaration of liability is admissible: the family shows its own or household income.
Whether anything in your record stands in the way
- The general list of documents in § 7 NAG-DV does not include a certificate of good conduct. The authority assesses the public-order ground on what it holds and can ask for what it needs, and in practice the representations abroad and many authorities — Vienna for every first application — ask for a police clearance certificate from your country of nationality, and from any country you lived in for more than six months before coming to Austria, not older than three months; whether it has to be legalised is for the authority to say. Obtaining one before you file, and keeping it current, avoids a delay at the point where the file is otherwise complete.
- A conviction is not in itself a bar — with the exceptions in § 11(1) NAG: a conviction in the last twelve months for unlawful entry or evading border control, an entry ban or residence ban, and a recent return decision are absolute bars. Otherwise what the authority weighs is whether your stay would endanger public order or security (§ 11(4) NAG). That is a question for a lawyer before it is a question for a form.
How this route differs from the ones next to it
EU Blue Card
The EU Blue Card is the route for someone with a three-year degree and a job offer of at least €55,678 a year in 2026: no points test, the same German exemption for the family — but the offer and the salary come first.
Other key workers
The other-key-workers category is the route for someone with a job offer who falls short of 70 Annex A points — a three-year degree, or none: 55 of 90 on Annex C, at least €3,465 a month in 2026, and a labour-market test.