Austria’s shortage occupation list isn’t widely known among international professionals considering a move to Austria.Yet for certain roles, it can materially change whether working in Austria is realistically possible at all.
With the shortage occupation route, some professionals find that Austria becomes a more viable option than it was before – particularly where other residence permits rely on higher fixed salary thresholds or narrowly defined academic profiles.
This article explains what the 2026 shortage occupation list is, why Austria publishes it and what actually changes in practice if you are suitable for a role on it.
Each year, Austria formally identifies professions it has repeatedly struggled to fill from within the local labour market.
These are not short-term hiring gaps. They reflect structural issues such as long training pipelines, demographic change, regional imbalances and the practical difficulty of recruiting for certain roles.
Where these shortages persist, Austria adjusts its immigration framework accordingly. One of the results is the Red-White-Red Card for shortage occupations (Rot-Weiß-Rot Karte: Fachkräfte in Mangelberufen), a specific residence and work permit designed to support international recruitment where domestic supply has consistently fallen short.
If someone sees a role on the list that matches their skills, training and experience, they may be eligible for this permit.
| 💡The shortage occupation lists are updated annually by regulation. Roles may be added, removed or reclassified each year depending on labour-market demand. |
On migration.gv.at, shortage occupation groups are shown in English, but the specific job titles are usually kept in German – even on the English-language pages.This is because these titles are the formal Austrian role designations used in immigration and labour administration.
To make the list easier to interpret, we have created reference tables (in the links below) covering Austria-wide and regional shortage occupations – keeping the official German job titles and including English translations to help with orientation and role recognition.
| ⚠️ Please note: These English titles are intended to support understanding and role recognition. They are not official translations and do not replace the German wording used by the authorities when assessing applications. |
The list covers a wide spread of professions, but it heavily features roles like:
engineering and technical specialists (e.g. machinery, electrical, IT)
skilled trades and construction roles (e.g. bricklaying, roofing, plumbing)
transport roles (including rail-related roles)
healthcare and care roles
commercial roles such as accounting and payroll
The fastest way to check whether it is relevant to you is to search the reference table for your role – or the closest equivalent – and compare the German title to how your role is described in contracts or certificates.
To expedite vacancy filling where demand remains high, the government adjusts the eligibility criteria for shortage occupation roles. The aim is to make international hiring more workable in professions that have proven difficult to fill locally over time. In practice, this means:
Unlike other Red-White-Red (RWR) permits, the labour market test (Ersatzkraftverfahren) is not required for this route. Removing this procedural step typically makes the process more straightforward than other RWR routes that still require labour market clearance through the Public Employment Service (Arbeitsmarktservice – AMS).
Unlike other RWR Card categories, minimum salary thresholds for shortage occupation permits are not set as fixed statutory thresholds.
Instead, they are tied to the applicable collective agreement (Kollektivvertrag or KV) for the role.
This allows a wider range of candidates to be considered for roles that may fall below higher fixed thresholds used in other RWR categories, while still meeting Austria’s legal wage standards. Companies can, of course, still offer above these minimums, in line with their own policies.
In practice, employers often pay above the collective-agreement minimum, depending on experience, working patterns, location and demand.
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💡 Good to Know: Collective agreements are negotiated by sector: so the relevant agreement depends on the employer’s industry, not the employee’s job title. This means the same profession can be subject to different minimum salaries – and therefore the immigration threshold – depending on where the role sits. For example, an accountant in a hotel is subject to the hotel and catering collective agreement, while an accountant working for a metalworking company follows that sector's rules. |
Eligibility for shortage occupation permits is tied to whether an applicant’s skills and experience match the role, not only (or not necessarily) to academic qualifications.
This often benefits candidates with vocational, technical or role-specific training, particularly in sectors where formal degrees are not the primary route into the profession.
The Family BonusFamily considerations often determine whether a move is viable at all. Family members of anyone granted a RWR Card receive a Red-White-Red Card Plus, with unrestricted access to the Austrian labour market. While this applies across all RWR categories, it can be particularly relevant for shortage roles, where salaries are tied to collective agreements rather than higher minimum thresholds. The ability for a partner to work immediately often plays a decisive role in whether a move makes financial sense in practice. |
In practice, the shortage occupation route most often benefits people whose roles combine defined skills with practical experience – particularly where those roles are difficult to staff locally.
This includes, but is not limited to, technical and engineering roles, skilled trades, manufacturing, healthcare, transport and hospitality. The common factor is not the sector itself, but the alignment between training, experience and an occupation Austria has formally identified as hard to fill.
This approach, combined with KV-linked salary thresholds and the waived labour market test, can make the shortage occupation route accessible to profiles that would not meet fixed-threshold categories.
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The shortage occupation list is not a guarantee of approval, nor a hiring promise.
It is an indicator of where Austria has identified persistent recruitment gaps and adjusted its immigration framework accordingly.
For international professionals, its value lies in understanding whether the immigration system is likely to support a role and profile. Seeing a suitable role on the list can make the Red-White-Red Card process more predictable, particularly where the labour market test is waived and salary thresholds are linked to collective agreements rather than fixed national minimums.
The list helps frame more realistic questions about eligibility, timing and financial viability before committing to an application.
If you’re considering this route and want help interpreting the list against your profile and job offer, a relocation and immigration specialist can help you sanity-check the fit before you invest time and fees.