Red-White-Red Card for Very Highly Qualified Workers
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Aufenthaltstitel „Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte“ (Besonders Hochqualifizierte) as of 2026-08-12[1][12] NAG § 41 Abs. 1 names the title; AuslBG § 12 names the category. |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Red-White-Red Card for Very Highly Qualified Workers as of 2026-08-12[7][8] Official English name used by the administering portal. |
| Legal basis | NAG § 41 Abs. 1 in conjunction with AuslBG §§ 12 and 20d Abs. 1 Z 1 and Anlage A AuslBG as of 2026-08-12[1][2][12] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-12[16] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EEA, EFTA as of 2026-08-12[4][5] |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | Not applicable as of 2026-08-12[7] No minimum age. Age enters only as a points criterion: 20 points up to 35 years, 15 up to 40, 10 up to 45, out of a required minimum of 70. |
| Criminal-record condition | No as of 2026-08-12[6][9] 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 | up to 2 years as of 2026-08-12[7][12] NAG § 41 Abs. 5: the card is to be issued for two years, but where the employment contract in an Abs. 1 or Abs. 2 Z 1–3a case is shorter, it is issued for the contract term plus three months and for two years at most. Recorded with bound 'maximum' and basis matches_contract because this is an employed limb, unlike the two self-employed limbs in this record where the two years is a fixed grant. |
|---|---|
| How the initial term is set | matches the contract |
| Renewable | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2026-08-12[2][7][12] |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-08-12[14][16] Five years of uninterrupted actual settlement under NAG § 45 Abs. 1 plus Module 2 of the integration agreement; this is a settlement title under NAG § 8 Abs. 1 Z 1. |
|---|---|
| How this time counts toward citizenship | 1 as of 2026-08-12[18] StbG § 10 Abs. 1 Z 1 counts lawful residence, of which at least five years must have been as a settled person. This is a settlement title, so time on it counts in full toward both limbs. |
Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-08-12[1][7] A concrete employment offer matching the applicant's qualification is the primary condition; the AMS assesses whether the intended employment matches the qualification and is adequately paid. No published figure states that pay floor, so no salary_threshold entry is recorded. |
|---|---|
| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-08-12[1] AuslBG § 12 closing sentence: „Die Arbeitsmarktprüfung im Einzelfall entfällt.“ |
| Qualification requirement | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value as of 2026-08-12[1][7] |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2026-08-12[2][7] The application is filed together with a written employer declaration undertaking to observe the employment conditions stated in it (AuslBG § 20d Abs. 1). |
| Job-search route | No as of 2026-08-12[7][12] This is an employment route. Austria's standalone job-search instrument is the Visum zum Zweck der Arbeitssuche, recorded separately as at-jobseeker-visa. |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-08-12[7] Personally at the competent Austrian representation abroad, or with the competent residence authority in Austria after lawful entry and during a lawful stay; the intended employer may also file in Austria. |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value as of 2026-08-12[2][12] |
| Fees | |
| Quota |
|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-08-12[4][15] NAG § 46 Abs. 1 Z 1: family members of a Red-White-Red Card holder are to be granted a „Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte plus“, and migration.gv.at states that titles issued to family members of Red-White-Red Card and EU Blue Card holders are not quota-limited. The family route itself is recorded separately as at-rwr-card-plus-family. |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, minor child as of 2026-08-12[4][15] migration.gv.at's definition of family member under the NAG: spouses, registered partners and minor unmarried children including adopted and step-children. Spouses and registered partners must have completed their 21st year at the time of application. |
| Family may apply at the same time | Yes as of 2026-08-12[2] AuslBG § 20d Abs. 1 second sentence: the intended employer may file the application in Austria for the foreign national and, where filed at the same time, for their family members. |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2026-08-12[4][16] NAG § 8 Abs. 1 Z 2: the „Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte plus“ carries unrestricted labour-market access. |
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.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 18 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 18 |
| 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] AuslBG § 12 — Besonders Hochqualifizierte (admission as a key worker on the Anlage A points test)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2022-10-01 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [2] AuslBG § 20d — Zulassungsverfahren for the Red-White-Red Card, EU Blue Card, Niederlassungsbewilligung – Künstler and Grenzgänger permission, including the four-week AMS deadline and the six-month post-unemployment job-search period (version in force from 7 August 2026)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-08-07 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [3] AuslBG § 20e — Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte plus (the 21-of-24-months employment condition and the six-week AMS deadline) (version in force from 7 August 2026)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-08-07 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [4] 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 - [5] 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 - [6] 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 - [7] Besonders Hochqualifizierte — Red-White-Red Card for Very Highly Qualified Workers and the Job-Seeker Visa: Anlage A points table, minimum 70 points, 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 - [8] Very Highly Qualified Workers — English-language version of the same route page (states an itemised Red-White-Red Card fee of EUR 156 + EUR 26 + EUR 20 and equalisation supplement reference rates dated 1 January 2024)
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 - [9] 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 - [10] 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 - [11] 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 - [12] NAG § 41 — Aufenthaltstitel „Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte“ (version in force from 7 August 2026)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-08-07 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [13] NAG § 41a — Aufenthaltstitel „Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte plus“ (version in force from 7 August 2026)
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-08-07 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [14] NAG § 45 — Aufenthaltstitel „Daueraufenthalt – EU“
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Bundeskanzleramt · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-12 - [15] 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 - [16] 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 - [17] „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 - [18] 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