Citizens of EU/EEA countries

Employment

Citizens of the EU Member States and EEA Member States of Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein have free access to the Austrian labour market and therefore do not require authorisation to start work from the labour market authorities (they enjoy freedom of movement for workers).

Their

• spouses or registered partners,
• own direct relatives and the direct relatives of their spouses or registered partners in the descending line below the age of 21 (children, grandchildren) and above that age if they are dependants, and
• own direct relatives and the direct relatives of their spouses or registered partners in the ascending line if they are dependants (parents, grandparents)

who accompany or join them also have free access to the Austrian labour market – irrespective of nationality – and they can have this confirmed by the AMS. In order to apply for confirmation, the form “Confirmation of exception pursuant to section 3 paragraph 8”^{German text} is used.

With regard to access to the Austrian labour market, Swiss nationals are also treated as EU/EEA citizens from the older Member States.

Information on the right to settle under EU law can be found on our websites in the section “Residence in Austria”.

When implementing transitional arrangements, Austria is obliged to give preference to new EU citizens over third-country nationals when admitting workers to the labour market (Community preference), in implementation of the Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz (AuslBG).

Detailed information can be found on the migration portal of the Austrian Federal Government.

Form

Confirmation of exception pursuant to section 3 paragraph 8 Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz^{German text}

Further links

• Migrationsplattform (→ BMAW, BMI)^{German text}
• Offices of the AMS (→ AMS)^{German text}
• Working in Austria and the EU (→ AMS)^{German text}

Legal basis

Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz (AuslBG)