Austria's shortage occupation list 2026 and the points threshold for the Red White Red Card

A Red White Red Card for a shortage occupation in Austria requires at least 55 of 90 points and a post in an occupation named in the 2026 Skilled Workers Ordinance, which lists 64 nationwide and 66 regional shortage occupations. The employer files an employer declaration, the Public Employment Service AMS reviews it, and the application fee is 218 euros.

The points: 55 of 90, and where they come from

The points system published by migration.gv.at in 2026 spreads a maximum of 90 points across four criteria plus a bonus. A candidate who does not reach 55 points cannot be carried by a vacancy in a shortage occupation. The arithmetic therefore belongs at the start of the shortlist, not at the end.

The bonus for English as the company language is the only line the employer influences directly. Every other point comes with the candidate. Above the age of 40 the age block falls away noticeably, and from there the language certificate usually decides whether the threshold is met.

The 2026 list: nationwide and regional

The shortage occupations are set each year by the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection in the Skilled Workers Ordinance. The 2026 edition contains 64 nationwide and 66 regional shortage occupations. Nationwide means the occupation counts anywhere in Austria. Regional means it counts only in the provinces named in the ordinance, and a post in the wrong province will not carry the application.

That distinction is the most common planning error. An occupation treated as a shortage in Tyrol and Salzburg may not be one in Vienna. What matters is the place of work, not the registered seat of the company. An employer recruiting for several sites at once checks the list site by site before contracts are signed. The ordinance is reissued every year, so the check always applies to the current year.

The employer submits an employer declaration and guarantees in it the collective agreement or statutory minimum pay for the post. The AMS reviews those statements, according to migration.gv.at. Pay below the collective agreement is the surest route to a negative opinion, whatever the candidate's score. How closely Austria inspects pay and documents is set out in the wage dumping act inspections.

Fee, validity and the switch after 21 months

The application fee is 218 euros, according to migration.gv.at in 2026. The card is valid for 24 months and ties the holder to the employer named in the application. Changing employer inside those 24 months is not a formality; it requires a fresh procedure with a fresh employer declaration.

After 21 months of employment within 24 months, the holder can move to the Red White Red Card plus, which grants free access to the labour market, according to migration.gv.at. That figure deserves a diary entry: 21 of 24 months means long interruptions push the switch back. An employer who treats the card as a clean two year tie and starts the extension in the final month loses time to a procedure that was predictable.

Timing falls into three blocks: the check of points and list before the contract, the procedure at the settlement authority with the AMS opinion, and the entry itself. Only the authority block is outside the employer's control; the other two are not.

For seasonal roles the card is the wrong instrument altogether, since quotas and employment permits govern there, as described in Austria's seasonal quotas. Where staff from another EU state work in Austria only temporarily, the load bearing document is not the card but the A1 certificate.

The Red White Red Card for shortage occupations therefore rests on three hard numbers: 55 points, an occupation on that year's list, and 21 of 24 months to free labour market access. An employer who checks all three before making an offer knows the outcome before the file reaches the authority. Employer duties across the other Austrian routes are collected on the employers page.