Austria · Talent & extraordinary ability
Red-White-Red Card (Rot-Weiß-Rot Karte)
Open and actively reformed. Salary thresholds rose for 2026, and from 1 January 2026 the EU Blue Card salary threshold must be met in every pay period rather than averaged across the year.
For a UHNW family this is rarely the headline route, but it is the reliable one — it is rules-based and appealable, unlike §10(6). The start-up founder category is the most relevant for entrepreneurial families, and the points system rewards youth and Austrian education heavily.
Qualifying routes
70 of 100 points. No job offer needed to qualify for the 6-month Job Seeker Visa D; no salary floor beyond the collective-bargaining rate.
55 points; no labour-market test. The 2026 shortage list covers 64 nationwide and 66 regional occupations.
55 of 90 points; requires a job offer at a minimum gross salary of EUR 3,465/month for 2026, up from EUR 3,225 in 2025.
50 of 85 points; requires an innovative business plan, funding and a support letter from a recognised Austrian start-up initiative.
No points test; 12-month post-graduation job-search stay, then a matching job offer at the required wage.
The facts
- Total landed cost
- Official fees of a few hundred euros plus translation, document legalisation and legal support — typically under EUR 5,000
- Timeline
- 2–6 months — Processing is generally efficient once a qualifying job offer or points score is established
- Physical presence
- Genuine residence and employment in Austria
- Family
- spouse or registered partner (Red-White-Red Card plus, with full labour market access)children under 18
- Permanent residency
- Red-White-Red Card plus after 24 months, then Daueraufenthalt-EU after 5 years
- Citizenship
- 10 years' lawful residence, or 6 years in limited cases — requires renouncing your existing citizenship
- Language test
- B1 German for naturalisation
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- meet the points threshold for the chosen categorya qualifying job offer (all categories except Very Highly Qualified Workers)salary at or above the applicable 2026 threshold and the collective-bargaining rateadequate accommodation and health insurancerecognised qualifications and documented experience
- Salary thresholds move annually and rose for 2026 — a package structured on 2025 figures may now fail.
- The EU Blue Card threshold (EUR 55,678 gross for 2026) must from 1 January 2026 be met in EVERY pay period, not averaged — a real trap for bonus-weighted packages.
- Points weight age heavily; applicants over 45 lose most of the age points.
- This route leads to citizenship only through ordinary naturalisation, which means giving up your current citizenship.
- Residence makes you fully taxable in Austria at up to 55%, with CFC and exit-tax exposure.