Austria: New Labor Authority Requirements for Verifying Professional Experience

Austrian labor authorities (AMS) have recently begun requesting, in practice, not only employer-issued work certificates but also official social or health insurance records (Versicherungsdatenauszüge) as additional proof of professional experience in new residence permit applications. Importantly, these are not Austrian documents, but records issued by the employee’s home country or the country where the professional experience was gained, such as confirmations from social security, health insurance or comparable state authorities.

As these records vary significantly by jurisdiction in format, accessibility, and issuing authority, and may take time to obtain, this change is expected to introduce additional lead time for new applications. Extensions are not affected, as once an individual has been insured in Austria, the authorities can rely on domestic insurance data already available to them.

Employers and applicants are therefore advised to factor this new requirement into upfront document planning for new filings. 

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.