New guidance limits work-permit renewals for asylum seekers in appeal stage

The Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO) released an industry briefing late on 22 September clarifying how the Asyl- und Migrationspakt-Anpassungsgesetz (AMPAG) affects businesses employing asylum seekers. Effective immediately, the Public Employment Service (AMS) will no longer issue new Beschäftigungsbewilligungen—or extend existing ones—for applicants who have received a first-instance rejection and are pursuing an appeal. Until now, asylum seekers who had been in process for at least three months could continue working during legal challenges, provided no EU/EEA jobseeker was available. AMPAG transposes elements of the EU’s revamped Common European Asylum System but Austria has chosen a restrictive interpretation: every renewal counts as a ‘new grant’, which is barred once a negative decision exists. According to WKO data, roughly 1,400 permit holders—many in hospitality and agriculture—risk losing their jobs when current permissions expire. The timing is awkward for tourist regions gearing up for the winter season, where foreign seasonal staff fill chronic labour gaps. Employers now face either recruiting replacements or sponsoring workers under the Red-White-Red points system, a process that can take six to eight weeks. HR practitioners should urgently audit their workforce to identify employees on asylum-linked permits and submit renewal applications well before expiry. If the AMS refuses, businesses should explore short-term agency staffing or intra-EU secondments. The WKO legal service advises documenting recruitment difficulties to support any future request for a labour-market test exemption. Longer term, the change may accelerate Austria’s shift toward skills-based immigration while narrowing humanitarian pathways to employment. Multinationals with ESG commitments will want to assess reputational risk if large numbers of refugee workers are laid off as a result of the new rules.