Workforce Mobility & Immigration in Austria

Red-White-Red Card and EU Blue Card coordination for non-EU hires, including salary-threshold checks against the 2026 minimums.

Austria Reviewed September 2026

Currency

EUR

EU/EEA/Swiss nationals

No visa or work permit required

Main non-EU route

EU Blue Card (€55

Registration deadline

Typically within 1–2 weeks of arrival

Housing — single employee

~€900–1,400/month (1-bed, central districts higher)

Housing — family of four

~€1,800–2,600/month (3-bed)

Talk to a Austria mobility expert

Moving workforce into Austria

Austria applies a flat 23% corporate income tax rate, unchanged since 2024 after a phased reduction from 25%, alongside a 20% standard VAT rate and employer social security contributions of 20.98% of gross salary under the ASVG system. Dividends are subject to 27.5% withholding tax (23% where the recipient is a corporation), reducible under double tax treaties. A GmbH can be formed with a reduced minimum share capital of €10,000 (€5,000 paid in cash) since 2024, or the standard €35,000 (€17,500 paid in) variant; an AG requires €70,000.

Discuss your Austria relocation plan

Freedom of movement, and the route for everyone else

Nationals of EU and EEA member states, and Switzerland, have full freedom of movement into Austria: no visa and no work permit are required, though address and tax registration is still expected shortly after arrival.

For third-country nationals, EU Blue Card (€55,678/year threshold, 2026) and the national Red-White-Red Card (points-based, €3,465/month threshold, 2026) are the two main routes for skilled non-EU hires

Confirm the right route for a hire

What sits with the company

Once the right to work is confirmed, payroll registration follows — see our Payroll & Workforce Management in Austria guide for the employer registration steps that come next.

Set up a relocation process

What it costs to house a relocating employee

Figures below are indicative for Vienna, Austria's primary market for relocating employees — a company relocating multiple staff should budget by destination city, not a single national number.

Item	Single employee	Family of four
Typical apartment	1-bedroom	3-bedroom
Rent (Vienna)	~€900–1,400/month (1-bed, central districts higher)	~€1,800–2,600/month (3-bed)
Security deposit	Typically up to 3 months' net rent by convention (Mietrechtsgesetz sets a 3-month net-rent guideline; courts have referenced up to 6 gross months as an outer limit)	Typically up to 3 months' net rent by convention (Mietrechtsgesetz sets a 3-month net-rent guideline; courts have referenced up to 6 gross months as an outer limit)

Get a city-specific relocation estimate

Frequently asked questions

How does Gruppenbesteuerung loss recapture actually work?

Losses of a foreign group member may be deducted from the Austrian group's taxable income in proportion to the direct shareholding, but these are timing benefits, not permanent deductions. If the foreign entity subsequently generates enough profit to use those same losses under its own domestic tax regime, or if it drops out of the group, the previously deducted amount is recaptured and taxed in Austria.

Which foreign subsidiaries can join an Austrian tax group?

Only first-tier foreign subsidiaries qualify: those held at more than 50% directly by an Austrian group member, and resident either in an EU member state or in a country that has a comprehensive administrative assistance arrangement with Austria. Lower-tier (indirectly held) foreign entities cannot be included.

Does Austria have a national minimum wage?

No. Austria has no single statutory minimum wage; pay floors are set through sector-level collective bargaining agreements (Kollektivverträge) covering roughly 95% of employees. Most 2026 entry-level minimums fall between €1,800 and €2,000 gross per month, paid across 14 instalments including the mandatory 13th and 14th month payments.

What is the minimum share capital for a GmbH?

Since 2024, a GmbH can be formed with a reduced minimum share capital of €10,000, of which €5,000 must be paid in cash at formation. The standard variant still requires €35,000 (€17,500 paid in). An AG requires €70,000. The reduced-capital GmbH is also subject to a lower minimum corporate tax of €125 per quarter (€500/year).

Talk to a Austria mobility expert

Companies structuring Austria as a regional holding or operating hub should model the group-taxation recapture liability from day one, not only the day-one deduction — and should budget payroll planning around Austria's sector-bargained wage floors rather than a single statutory number.

Talk to an expert Explore our Workforce Mobility service