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Job-Seeker Visa for Very Highly Qualified Workers

AustriaWork

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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What type of worker, employment situation, occupation or professional activity is this pathway actually designed for?

This route is for a highly qualified worker from a third country who does not yet have a job offer in Austria. The job-seeker visa is valid for six months and is used to look for work; a worker in the same profile who already holds a job offer applies for a Red-White-Red Card instead.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The captured official page does not establish every condition for this route; verify the remaining route-specific rules before approval.

Does the applicant need a job offer, employer, sponsor, transfer relationship or other employer involvement? What is important about that employer relationship?

No employer or job offer is required to obtain this visa: it exists precisely so that a very highly qualified worker without a job offer can come to Austria, valid for six months, to look for work.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The captured official page does not establish every condition for this route; verify the remaining route-specific rules before approval.
  • captured paragraph
    If you don't yet have a job offer, you can come to Austria on a job-seeker visa, valid for six months, to look for work.

What are the few decisive professional characteristics of the pathway: occupation, qualifications, experience, salary, skill level, shortage status, labour-market condition or equivalent?

The job-seeker visa uses the very-highly-qualified points test rather than any job offer: the same threshold of at least 70 points applies to the visa as to the Red-White-Red Card itself, so the applicant qualifies on their own profile before having an Austrian employer. A higher-education degree of at least four years' duration is the base scoring item, with MINT subjects, doctoral qualification, senior-management salary history, research output and awards carrying the rest of the score.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Points tables and salary figures are the values published on the captured page; confirm the current year's figures before publication.
  • migration.gv.at
    To qualify for either the job-seeker visa or the Red-White-Red Card, you must score at least 70 points
  • migration.gv.at
    Graduation from an institution of higher education, minimum duration of programme: four years

What work does the permission allow? Is the holder tied to an employer, occupation or sector? Can family accompany where clearly established?

The job-seeker visa is for coming to Austria for six months to look for work; the official page does not state that it allows the holder to take up employment. If the holder receives a job offer (an employment contract) while the visa is still valid, they can apply for a Red-White-Red Card at the relevant residence authority in Austria. The official page does not state whether family members can accompany the holder.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The job-seeker visa is for coming to Austria for six months to look for work; the official page does not state that it allows the holder to take up employment.
  • The official page does not state whether family members can accompany the holder.

How long is the permission normally granted for, how is it renewed, and what longer-term residence direction exists if officially stated?

The job-seeker visa for very highly qualified workers is valid for six months and is intended for applicants who do not yet hold a job offer. The official page does not establish an extension of that period or an automatic progression to a longer-term status.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The captured official page does not establish every condition for this route; verify the remaining route-specific rules before approval.
  • captured paragraph
    If you don't yet have a job offer, you can come to Austria on a job-seeker visa, valid for six months, to look for work.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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