Specialist employment site Jobsiz published a detailed explainer on 7 October outlining the practical impact of Austria’s latest amendments to the Settlement and Residence Act (NAG) and the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals (AuslBG), promulgated in Federal Law Gazette I No. 81/2026. The changes, in force since 7 August, significantly relax rules for third-country nationals holding employer-linked permits such as the Red-White-Red Card. Key provisions include a six-month “grace period” during which the immigration authority may not withdraw a permit after job loss, extended to nine months in cases of proven labour exploitation. Workers changing employers may provisionally start the new position 45 days after filing the application if no decision has been issued—mirroring the 45-day stand-still allowed under the recast EU Single Permit Directive (EU) 2024/1233. Decision times for many residence applications are capped at 90 days, bringing Austrian practice into line with the directive’s deadlines. For global-mobility managers the reform reduces the risk that layoffs, restructuring or project cancellations will trigger an immediate loss of immigration status for non-EU staff. It also makes Austria more competitive against peer markets by simplifying intra-company transfers and employee-initiated moves to better-paying roles. Companies should, however, remind permit holders that the grace period does not extend the card’s printed expiry date and that they must still file renewals on time. The Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) has issued internal guidance instructing caseworkers to pause negative labour-market opinions for at least six months after receiving a job-loss notification. HR departments should update termination checklists accordingly and provide prompt proof of redundancy so that employees can report it to the residence authority without delay. Legal practitioners expect the new rules to cut appeal volumes at the Federal Administrative Court, where short-notice permit withdrawals previously generated case backlogs. They also anticipate closer scrutiny of employers who terminate foreign staff shortly before card expiry, as labour inspectors will monitor for potential abuse of the 45-day provisional-work mechanism.
Source: Jobsiz
