Settlement Permit – Special Cases of Dependent Gainful Employment
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | „Niederlassungsbewilligung – Sonderfälle unselbständiger Erwerbstätigkeit“ as of 2026-08-12[7][10] NAG § 8 Abs. 1 Z 10 and § 43b name the title. |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Settlement Permit – Special Cases of Dependent Gainful Employment as of 2026-08-12[2] Translation of the official German designation, following the administering portal's usage. Marked as a translation. |
| Legal basis | NAG § 43b in conjunction with AuslBG § 1 Abs. 2 lit. b, c, d, f, g or i and any ordinance the Federal Minister of the Interior issues under § 43b Abs. 2 as of 2026-08-12[7] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-12[10] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EEA, EFTA as of 2026-08-12[1][2] |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Criminal-record condition | No as of 2026-08-12[3][4] Austrian residence law imposes no clean-criminal-record condition as such. NAG § 11 Abs. 1 lists the mandatory grounds of refusal and none of them is a conviction in general: the only conviction-based ground is Z 6, a final penalty in the last twelve months for circumventing border control or unlawful entry. A criminal record can still defeat an application through the public-interest test in NAG § 11 Abs. 2 Z 1, which is why migration.gv.at records that many authorities ask for a police-record extract not older than three months with a first application. So the answer here is "no" in a narrow sense: a clean record is not a condition of this permit, but a conviction can still cost an applicant the permit. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | 12 months as of 2026-08-12[6][7] NAG § 20 Abs. 1: twelve months, § 43b specifying no longer period. Under § 20 Abs. 1a a title under § 8 Abs. 1 Z 10 — this one — is issued for three years where Module 1 of the integration agreement is fulfilled and the holder has been continuously lawfully settled for two years. |
|---|---|
| How the initial term is set | fixed |
| Renewable | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2026-08-12[7][10] |
Permanent residence and citizenship
Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-08-12[7] NAG § 43b Abs. 1: the title is granted for employment with a particular employer. |
|---|---|
| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-08-12[7] The activity is excluded from the AuslBG's material scope; the regional AMS office is asked only where the authority has reasoned doubts that the activity is of that kind (§ 43b Abs. 1 Z 3). |
| Qualification requirement | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2026-08-12[7] The title names a particular employer. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2026-08-12[7] Not a job-search instrument. |
Process
| Where to apply from | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Fees | |
| Quota |
|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-08-12[1][9] Split by the underlying activity: where it is one under AuslBG § 1 Abs. 2 lit. f or i, family members fall under NAG § 46 Abs. 1 Z 1 and receive a quota-free „Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte plus“; in every other case they fall under § 46 Abs. 4 and receive a „Niederlassungsbewilligung“ subject to a quota place. |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, minor child as of 2026-08-12[1][9] Spouses and registered partners aged 21 or over, and minor unmarried children including adopted and step-children. |
| Family may apply at the same time | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Family members' work rights | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value as of 2026-08-12[1][9] |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
- A 30-minute call with our consultant, who reads your profile first.
- An offer for legal support built around your case, covering the whole process.
Verification
| Sources cited | 12 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 12 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-08-12 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-12 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-17 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Familienzusammenführung — family reunification: definition of family member, which title each sponsor category yields, the quota rule, 'Deutsch vor Zuzug' A1 requirement, 2026 equalisation supplement reference rates, fees
migration.gv.at — joint portal of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection and the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-12 · Archived copy - [2] Permanent immigration — Red-White-Red Card groups and general requirements for issuing residence permits (incl. the equalisation supplement reference rate from 1 January 2026)
migration.gv.at — joint portal of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection and the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [3] Temporärer Aufenthalt — the Aufenthaltsbewilligung (temporary residence permission) catalogue: general conditions, 2026 equalisation supplement reference rates including the reduced rates for pupils and students, labour-market access for pupils and students
migration.gv.at — joint portal of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection and the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-12 · Archived copy - [4] NAG § 11 — Allgemeine Voraussetzungen für einen Aufenthaltstitel (incl. Abs. 5: subsistence measured against the § 293 ASVG reference rates)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [5] NAG § 13 — Niederlassungsverordnung (the annual quota ordinance and the exhaustive list of quota-bound residence titles)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [6] NAG § 20 — Gültigkeitsdauer von Aufenthaltstiteln (12-month default, three-year issue after Module 1, five-year long-term-resident document, EEA absence rule)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [7] NAG § 43b — „Niederlassungsbewilligung – Sonderfälle unselbständiger Erwerbstätigkeit“
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2021-03-23 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [8] NAG § 45 — Aufenthaltstitel „Daueraufenthalt – EU“
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [9] NAG § 46 — Bestimmungen über die Familienzusammenführung (version in force from 7 August 2026)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-08-07 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [10] Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz (NAG) § 8 — Arten und Form der Aufenthaltstitel (consolidated federal law, version in force on the access date)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-08-07 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [11] „Blaue Karte EU“ – Antrag — EU Blue Card application: conditions, validity, employer change, eight-week statutory decision period, EUR 218 application fee
oesterreich.gv.at — Austrian federal digital-services portal (content responsibility: Federal Ministry of the Interior) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-08-07 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [12] Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz 1985 (StbG) § 10 — Verleihung (ten years' lawful residence, five of them settled; renunciation rule; constitutional discretionary limb in Abs. 6)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-12