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Residence & Employment

Long-Term Resident EU Permit

After a five-year, uninterrupted stay in Austria, third-country nationals can apply for the residence permit “Long-Term Resident EU permit” (“Daueraufenthalt EU”). This residence permit offers unrestricted access to the Austrian labour market. This means you can work both as a salaried employee as well as on a self-employed basis, and you are not bound to an employer.

The Long-Term Resident EU permit is issued for a period of five years, but in principle is valid indefinitely as long as the person continues to reside in Austria on a permanent basis. In addition to residing in Austria for 5 years, the basic requirement for this residence permit is to fulfil Module 2 of the Integration Agreement (“Integrationsvereinbarung”). This includes German language competence on a B1 level.

For example, you can apply for the Long-Term Resident EU permit if you have lived in Austria uninterruptedly for five years and currently have one of the following residence permits:

  • Red-White-Red – Card Plus (“Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte Plus”)
  • Settlement Permit (“Niederlassungsbewilligung´”)
  • Residence Permit – Family Member (“Aufenthaltstitel Familienangehöriger”)
  • Settlement Permit – Artist (“Niederlassungsbewilligung – Künstler”)
  • Settlement Permit – Special Cases of Gainful Employment (“Niederlassungsbewilligung – Sonderfälle unselbstständiger Erwerbstätigkeit”)
  • Settlement Permit – Gainful Employment Excepted (“Niederlassungsbewilligung – ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit”)
  • Settlement Permit – Relative (“Niederlassungsbewilligung – Angehöriger”)
  • Red-White-Red – Card (“Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte”)
  • EU Blue Card (“Blaue Karte EU”)
  • Settlement Permit – Researcher (“Niederlassungsbewilligung – Forscher”)

Note

If you have lived in Austria for at least 5 years with a legitimation card (“Legitimationskarte”) (for example as an employee of an international organisation or as a family member of a diplomat), you can also apply for a Long-Term Resident EU permit.

A special regulation with regard to the five-year period, which must precede the Long-Term Resident EU permit, exists for persons who have been living in Austria on the basis of an EU Blue Card for 2 years without interruption and have previously held an EU Blue Card or a Residence Permit – Researcher or Residence Permit – Student of another EU Member State, or have lived in such a country as a person entitled to asylum or as a person entitled to subsidiary protection. Corresponding legal and continuous periods of residence in another EU member state are taken into account when it comes to calculating the 5 years.

You are not obliged to apply for the Long-Term Resident EU permit. For example, if you are not able to show all documents in a timely manner, or if you did not pass the ÖIF Integration Exam at a B1 level (“ÖIF-Integrationsprüfung B1”), you can simply extend the residence permit that you currently have. You can then apply for the Long-Term Resident EU permit at a later date.  

Special rules apply for periods during which you lived in Austria based on a mere residence permit (“Aufenthaltsbewilligung”). Only 50 percent of the time spent in Austria with such a permit counts for the Long-Term Resident EU permit.

It is not sufficient, for example, if you have lived in Austria for 10 years with a Residence Permit – Student (“Aufenthaltsbewilligung Student”). You must have held a Red-White-Red – Card, an EU Blue Card or one of the various settlement permits. 

How to apply for a Long-Term Resident EU permit

In any case, you need these documents to apply for a Long-Term Resident EU permit:

  • Application form 
  • Passport with copy
  • Passport photo fulfilling EU criteria (not older than six months, with an invoice or different proof)
  • Proof of having sufficient financial means in Austria (pay slips, bank account statements, employment contracts)
  • Proof of health insurance coverage in Austria over the last five years (e.g., social insurance data sheet (“Versicherungsdatenauszug”) of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund ÖGK)
  • Proof of accommodations in Austria (residence registration (“Meldezettel”), rental agreement, rental payments, etc.)
  • You also need the following in the case of self-employed work:
    • Your trade license (“gewerberechtliche Bewilligung”)
    • Salary as the managing director or withdrawals of income (confirmation by the tax consultant)
    • Income tax assessment (“Einkommenssteuerbescheid”), if available
    • Income statement, if available
    • Cash-oriented accounting (confirmation by the tax consultant)
  • B1 Integration Exam Certificate by ÖIF
    - Children who are older than the age of six can show their school report as a substitute for this certificate if they have a positive mark in German. Children under the age of six do not need a B1 Integration Exam Certificate.
    - Attention: You only need to show a B1 Integration Exam Certificate once, namely when you apply for the Long-Term Resident EU permit for the first time. You do not need this certificate for any further extensions.  
  • Fees: € 210 and € 195 for children under the age of 6.

Are you applying for the Long-Term Resident EU permit on behalf of a child who lives in Austria?

Please note that the following documents must be submitted for children:

 

  • the last school report and school enrolment certificate (“Schulbesuchsbestätigung”)(in the case of a school-age child) and
  • confirmation of receiving the family allowance (“Familenbeihilfe”) (this confirmation can be downloaded from Finanz Online or one can apply for it to the Ministry of Finance (“Bundesministerium für Finanzen”)

Note

  • Children under the age of six are usually not required to accompany you to appointments with public authorities.
  • The period of time in which your passport is still valid is not a relevant factor for the Long-Term Resident EU permit.  
  • Many of the Immigration and Residence Authority branches demand a so-called KSV Excerpt (excerpt from the Austrian Credit Protection Association - “Kreditschutzerband - KSV”) in extending residence permits. This KSC Excerpt is an official document which shows whether you have taken out loans in Austria. If you are married, you must always show your own KSV Excerpt and that of your spouse. You can easily order the KSV Excerpt for public authorities online.
  • Similar to all extensions, it is important that you apply for the permit in the three-month period before your current residence permit expires. You do not have to wait until you have been in Austria for exactly five years in order to submit your application for the Long-Term Resident EU permit but are encouraged to submit it in the three months beforehand.
  • It is highly recommended to submit your application only when you already have your B1 Integration Exam Certificate.
  • For the Immigration Authority, you are first considered to be in Austria for five years when precisely five years have passed since the day in which you received your very first residence permit. The Immigration Authority will not hand you the actual card for the Long-Term Resident EU permit any earlier than this. If you have applied for the Long-Term Resident EU permit and your current residence permit has already expired, but you must urgently travel outside of the country, you can apply for a so-called “emergency vignette” (“Notvignette”). This is valid for three months and is stamped into your passport.   

The following examples of extensions could be relevant for you:

  1. You immigrate to Austria with your family. You apply for an EU Blue Card and your family applies for the Red-White-Red – Card Plus. No member of your family needs a certificate showing their German language competence. All the permits are valid for a period of 2 years. After this two-year period, you and each member of your family apply for a Red-White-Red – Card Plus which is then valid for 3 years. For this purpose, every family member needs an A2 Integration Exam Certificate (“Zertifikat der Integrationsprüfung A2“) or an equivalent (e.g., a university diploma). After these 3 years have passed, you and your family will have been in Austria without interruption for 5 years. Then, all of you apply for the Long-Term Resident EU permit. To get this, you and your family must show proof of passing the B1 Integration Exam.   
  2. You immigrate to Austria alone. You apply for a Red-White-Red – Card for Skilled Workers in Shortage Occupations which is valid for 2 years. Shortly before these 2 years are over, you apply for a Red-White-Red – Card Plus which is then valid for another 3 years. After these 3 years have passed, you will have been in Austria without interruption for a total of 5 years. You apply for the Long-Term Resident EU permit. Now, you must show a B1 Integration Exam Certificate.
  3. You immigrate to Austria with your family. You apply for a Red-White-Red – Card for Other Key Workers which is valid for 2 years. Your family members each apply for the Red-White-Red – Card Plus. Your family members who are older than the age of 14 require an A1 German Certificate or proof that they have concluded their studies before immigrating. The first Red-White-Red – Cards Plus of your family are also valid for 2 years if all requirements are met. After these 2 years, you and your family apply for Red-White-Red – Cards Plus which are valid for 3 years. Only your family must show an A2 Integration Exam Certificate or an equivalent (e.g., a university diploma); you do not have to show this. After these 3 years have passed, all of you have been living in Austria for 5 years and are entitled to apply for the Long-Term Resident EU permit. For this purpose, you and your family must present a B1 Integration Exam Certificate.

  4. You immigrate to Austria with your family. You apply for a Settlement Permit – Researcher (“Niederlassungsbewilligung Forscher”) which is valid for 2 years. Your family applies for Red-White-Red – Cards Plus. No member of your family needs a certificate showing their German language competence before immigrating. The Red-White-Red – Cards Plus of your family are valid just as long as your Settlement Permit. After these 2 years you and your family apply for Red-White-Red – Cards Plus which are valid for 3 years. For this purpose, you and your family need an A2 Integration Exam Certificate or an equivalent (e.g., a university diploma). After these 3 years have passed, you and your family will have been in Austria without interruption for 5 years. Then, all of you apply for the Long-Term Resident EU permit. To obtain this permit, you and your family must present a B1 Integration Exam Certificate.

What must you be aware of when you have a Long-Term Resident EU permit?

If you are outside of the EU/EEA area for longer than 12 consecutive months (longer than 24 months in the case of a person who previously had an EU Blue Card), your Long-Term Resident EU permit expires.

Exception: However, your Long-Term Resident EU permit does not expire if you stay outside of the EU/EEA area for up to 24 months due to special, extenuating circumstances and if you notified the Immigration Authority before your departure. For example, such reasons could be a serious illness or compulsory military service or comparable services to alternative civilian service.

As a rule, you can apply for Austrian citizenship after 5 years with a Long-Term Resident EU permit and 10 years of staying in Austria.


Family reunification 

If you have a Long-Term Resident EU permit, your family members can apply for a Red-White-Red – Card Plus

They require a quota place for this purpose.


Do you have a Long-Term Resident EU permit from another EU member state? 

If you have a Long-Term Resident EU permit from another EU member state, you must still apply for a residence permit for Austria if you want to live (and work) in Austria.

If you want to work in Austria on a self-employed basis, a Settlement Permit (“Niederlassungsbewilligung”) could be a good option for you. However, you need a quota place for this unless you once had an EU Blue Card from another EU member state before your Long-Term Resident EU permit.

If you want to work in Austria as a salaried employee, you must apply for a Red-White-Red – Card or an EU Blue Card. In this case, you must fulfil the same requirements as skilled workers who immigrate to the EU/EEA area or Switzerland for the first time. In any case, you are permitted to submit your application directly in Austria within 3 months after entering the country as long as your Long-Term Resident EU permit is valid. 

Copyright: © Westend61 / Sofie Delauw (top) / © Westend61 / Uwe Umstätter/ AustrianImages (bottom)

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Legal Foundations: 

  • Sect 45, 46 Para. 1 (2a), Sect 49 Austrian Settlement and Residence Act (“Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz” - NAG)
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