Your Chances to Get an Austrian Work Visa Are Higher If You Belong to One of These Professions

• During the first quarter of 2024, Austria reported 196,400 job vacancies.

• With an ageing population, Austria heavily relies on foreign workers, just like the rest of most Western European countries.

• The current minimum wage in Austria is estimated to start at €1,500 per month.

An average of 196,400 job vacancies were registered as unfilled in Austrian enterprises in the first quarter of 2024, according to Statistics Austria, the country’s official statistics agency.

Such a figure represents an 8.5 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter, when the number of vacancies accounted for 181,000, Schengen. News reports.

According to the  General Director of Statistics Austria, Tobias Thomas, this is the first increase recorded in a year.

Of the overall 196,400 job vacancies, 113,200 were in the service sector, 46,100 in manufacturing, and 37,100 in the public sector.

Although first-quarter figures are lower than in 2022 and 2023, they are higher compared to the pre-pandemic year.

The population in Austria registered as of April 2024, is estimated at about 9.17 million. Of those, around six million are considered of working age. 

Austria Needs Foreign Workforce to Deal With Labour  Shortages

The average population age in Austria is 43.4 years, while last year, the total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.41. Moreover, in 2022, Austria registered a decrease in births and an increase in deaths compared to the previous year, resulting in a negative balance of births and deaths amounting to 9,909. According to Thomas, Austria has been facing a birth deficit for the third year in a row.

For these reasons, Austria relies heavily on foreign workers to support its economy. Foreigners who aim to live and work in Austria can benefit from this labour shortage and start the procedures of getting a work visa for Austria.

Some of the occupations that need the most skilled workers, according to the 2023 EURES report on shortages and surpluses, are as follows:

•       Electrical mechanics and fitters

•       Agricultural and industrial machinery mechanics and repairers

•       Motor vehicle mechanics and repairers

•       Sheet metal workers

•       Welders and flame cutters

•       Spray painters and varnishers

•       Plumbers and pipefitters

•       Roofers

•       Carpenters and joiners

•       Cooks

•       Nursing associate professionals

•       Construction supervisors

•       Physical and engineering science technicians not elsewhere classified

•       Mechanical engineering technicians

•       Electronics engineering technicians

•       Electrical engineering technicians

•       Systems analysts

•       Midwifery professionals

•       Generalist medical practitioners

•       Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified

Some of Shortage Occupations in Austria Are Amongst Better Paid Ones

According to the Economic Research Institute (ERI), the average pay for medical general practitioners in Austria is €162,974 and €78 an hour, while for registered nurses is  €69,552 a year and €33 an hour.

Meanwhile, the average pay for electrical engineers in Austria is €75,384 and €36 an hour, for electrical repairers is €65,008 and €31 per hour, while for automotive mechanics is €43,001 a year and €21 an hour.

Pipefitters in Austria have an average pay of €56,843 a year and €27 an hour, while for fitters, it is €31,851 a year and €15 an hour, and for plumbers, it is €53,688 a year and €15 an hour.

The minimum wage in Austria is estimated to start at €1,500 per month, while the average wage is €2,182 per month, according to Expatica.

Is a Visa Necessary to Work in Austria?

In order to work in Austria, non-Austrian citizens need to apply for a D Visa, which is a long-term visa, while the only exceptions to this rule are residents from within the EU and EFA.

However, highly skilled workers from other countries who want to live and work in Austria can earn a Red-White-Red card. This document guarantees its holder a both work and residence permit for up to two years.

Travellers to Austria on a Schengen Visa are not eligible to work or to convert their short-term visa into a long-term visa for employment or other purposes. In order to be eligible to work in Austria, foreign nationals should apply from their country of residence.

According to EURES, as of October 2022, there were over 900,000 foreign workers employed in Austria.