Austria has introduced a new criteria based immigration scheme: the Red-White-Red Card (RWR Card). 

 

Overview

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The RWR Card model aims at a more flexible immigration of qualified third-country work force and their families who wish to settle permanently in Austria according to personal and labour market criteria.

The most important requirements are qualification, work experience, age, language skills, offer of employment according to the qualification and minimum remuneration.

The new regulations came into force on 1^st July 2011.

RWR Card

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RWR Card is available for following groups of applicants:

• Very highly qualified workers
• Skilled workers in shortage professions
• Other key workers
• Graduates of universities and colleges of higher education in Austria

Types of RWR Card

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The RWR Card is available for people who meet the requirements in two different versions:

• RWR Card: entitles to residence and employment only with a certain employer
• RWR Card plus: entitles to residence and unlimited labour market access

Application and Assessment

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• Very highly qualified workers

Very highly qualified workerswithout an employer in Austria may apply for a visa for the purpose of searching for employmentin Austria with the competent Austrian representation (embassy, consulate) of their native country respectively their country of residence. This visa is issued under  the  condition  that  the  Labour  Market  Service  for  Vienna  (AMS  Wien)  confirms  to  the representation that the applicant achieves minimum amount of points required for the grant.

• Highly qualified worker

Highly qualified workerholding a visa for the purpose of searching for employment may apply for a RWR Card with the competent residence authority in Austria, if during the validity period of this visa they submit a legally binding offer of employment (valid work contract) by an employer with a seat in Austria. The intended employment must be in accordance with the qualification of the applicant and must be adequately remunerated. The Labour Market Service examines and confirms whether these criteria are fulfilled. 

• Skilled workers in shortage professions

Skilled workers in shortage professions and other key workersmay apply for a RWR Card with the competent Austrian representation abroad (embassy, consulate). A declaration by the intended employer on compliance with the employment conditions must be submitted together with the application. Applicants who are entitled to entry without a visa and foreign graduates of universities in Austriaholding a confirmation by the competent residence authority may submit their application directly with the competent residence authority, who will forward the application for examination and confirmation of the admission criteria.

Note:Skilled workers in shortage professions can only apply for a RWR Card starting from 1st May 2012 at the earliest.

• Family members

Family membersof highly qualified workers, skilled workers and key workers may apply for a RWR Card plus with the competent Austrian representation abroad (embassy, consulate) respectively after lawful entry without a visa with the competent residence authority in Austria (Bezirkshauptmannschaft/BH, Magistrat, in Vienna MA 35).

The RWR Card is issued by the residence authority, if all general and special requirements according to the Act on Settlement and Residence (Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz, NAG) are fulfilled.

The ‘red-white-red card’ has been fashioned along the lines of the US Green Card and named after colors in the national flag of Austria. The card gives points to the migrants on the basis of their age, previous pay scales, education, and work experience and language proficiency in German.

The Interior Ministry intends to offer 8,000 Red-White-Red cards annually; however, the overall immigration limit will remain unchanged.

Around 35,000 migrants come to Austria each year to live here permanently out of which one-third come to live with their family members who are already living in Austria.

RWR Card Plus

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RWR Card plus is available for the following groups of applicants:

• Family members of applicant groups 1 to 4 and holders of an EU Blue Card
• Family members of foreign citizens permanently settled in Austria

Austria Permanent Residency

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• Austrian Permanent Residence can be obtained after staying in Austria for 5 years
• Time spent in Austria for study purposes is not counted towards residency requirement of Permanent Residence

Austria Citizenship

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• Austrian Citizenship can be obtained after staying in Austria for 5 years on a Permanent Residence. Since initial entry to Austria, it takes 10 years to attain citizenship
• The applicant must have permanent resident status in Austria to be eligible for citizenship
• The applicant must also have sufficient knowledge of the German language and no criminal record
• The applicant will be required to renounce his/her current nationality when becoming a citizen of Austria.

To know more about the visa fee and documents required, contact us!

Price List, Fee Schedule & Refund Policy

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Opulentus Overseas Careers’ Service fee is Competitive & among the best you will find in the industry. At any given time, our state of the art Processing Centre is processing over 5000 active cases from across the world. Our processes are standard & Process Consultants are the best in the world.

Our Prices are standard across all our offices. We guarantee that other than company offers & promotions, you will not be quoted a higher price & eventually pay a lower price. Prices are determined by the company & set for all clients, all offices & all cases. You know you are paying the right price – the same as all our 10000+ clients around the world.