Austria: Red-White-Red Plus Card to Soon Extend to Displaced Persons from Ukraine

Update – July 10, 2024: This policy will go into effect on October 1, 2024. Additionally, it is confirmed that applicants must have been working for at least 12 months in the last two years with full coverage under the Austrian social and health insurance scheme. Standard Red White Red Plus requirements also apply (including sufficient funds and, with exceptions, adequate language skills). Part-time workers may be eligible; however, those earning less than EUR 518.44 gross per month (so called ‘marginal employment’) are not eligible.

April 17, 2024: The country's Red-White-Red Plus Card (a work permit for skilled workers that provides open access to the labor market) will soon be available to displaced persons from Ukraine who have worked (including in a self-employed capacity) in Austria for at least twelve months in the two years preceding their application. The proposal, which was informally agreed among the country's governing parties, still needs to be approved in other legislative steps, which is expected to occur in two to three months. Faced with a significant labor shortage (as in much of Europe), employers in Austria are likely to welcome this policy change as it will increase the size of the skilled-worker labor market in the country and may also result in better skilled talent retention in the near future.