EU or EEA citizens (EU countries and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Swiss nationals benefit from the freedom of establishment and freedom of movement for workers. They thus have the option of taking up residence and building a life in Austria without further authorisation. To make use of this facility, one of the following three points must be fulfilled:
- They are pursuing employment as an employee or as a self-employed person in Austria.
- They can prove that they have sufficient resources and comprehensive health insurance for their family and themselves.
- They are going to study in Austria and can prove that they have sufficient resources and comprehensive health insurance for their family and themselves.
They must simply register with the immigration office responsible within 4 months at the latest and obtain a certificate of registration under the requirements mentioned above .
There are also easier options for immigrating to Austria for members of the EU/EEA citizens and Swiss nationals.
Transitional regulations apply to citizens of newly acceded EU member states (see below). Since exemptions to the free movement of workers apply in this case, they additionally require authorisation in accordance with the Employment of Foreign Nationals Act. Key requisites for granting a work permit are:
- Existence of a job offer
- The prospective employer applies for a work permit at the responsible local office of the labour market service.
- In the labour market test, the labour market service determines that no other suitable person is available in the Austrian labour market for the job in question.