Austria is creating a dedicated residence–work permit for so-called “frontier workers” who live in a neighbouring country but cross the border regularly to work in an Austrian border district. According to an immigration alert published on 14 November 2025 by Fragomen, the new permit will become available from 1 December 2025 and is intended to give legal certainty to the thousands of commuters who already shuttle each day from Slovakia, Hungary, Czechia, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland and Liechtenstein into Austrian workplaces. Officials estimate that, even after the pandemic, roughly 40 000 people still make regular cross-border commutes into Austria, with almost half of them travelling between Bratislava and Vienna’s eastern suburbs.
Under the upcoming scheme an applicant must (1) have permanent residence and unrestricted labour-market access in a country that directly borders Austria; (2) work for an Austrian employer whose physical worksite lies in an Austrian district that itself borders the worker’s country of residence; (3) enter Austria frequently for employment purposes; and (4) obtain a positive labour-market opinion from the Public Employment Service (AMS) confirming that no suitable replacement worker is available locally. Family members will not receive derivative rights and will need to qualify independently for residence if they wish to live in Austria.
![Austria to Introduce New Frontier-Worker Permit on 1 December 2025]()
For employers, the permit plugs a regulatory gap that has existed since Austria tightened enforcement of posted-worker rules in 2021. Companies in Burgenland and Lower Austria have complained that short-term assignment rules and the EU Posting of Workers Directive were ill-suited to permanent commuters who spend every evening back in their home country. The new document provides a single-point compliance solution, eliminating the need to file repetitive posted-worker notifications and wage attestations for staff who cross the border daily. Payroll withholding and social-security rules remain unchanged; commuters will still be subject to bilateral double-taxation agreements and A1 certificates where applicable.
Mobility managers should review their commuter populations now. The AMS has indicated that applications filed in December could take four to six weeks to adjudicate; during that window companies must ensure that commuters continue to carry valid passports or national ID cards and proof of employment (e.g., work contracts or assignment letters) in case of spot checks at temporary Schengen border controls. Although Austria’s current internal-border checks with Hungary and Slovenia are slated to run only until 15 December 2025, Vienna routinely renews the measures, meaning commuters could still face inspections in early 2026. Employers should also note that the permit is geographically restricted: if a worker is transferred from, say, a warehouse in Nickelsdorf to a site in Vienna city, a new authorisation will be needed.
In the medium term, the government hopes the permit will help alleviate persistent labour shortages in manufacturing, logistics and care services along the frontier regions. Business chambers in Burgenland welcomed the move, noting that the region has one of Austria’s lowest unemployment rates and relies heavily on skilled staff from western Hungary and southern Slovakia. However, trade unions have urged the AMS to apply the local-worker-first test strictly to prevent wage dumping. Multinationals with plants or shared-service centres in border districts should therefore budget extra lead time to gather evidence of recruitment efforts when sponsoring new commuter hires.
Under the upcoming scheme an applicant must (1) have permanent residence and unrestricted labour-market access in a country that directly borders Austria; (2) work for an Austrian employer whose physical worksite lies in an Austrian district that itself borders the worker’s country of residence; (3) enter Austria frequently for employment purposes; and (4) obtain a positive labour-market opinion from the Public Employment Service (AMS) confirming that no suitable replacement worker is available locally. Family members will not receive derivative rights and will need to qualify independently for residence if they wish to live in Austria.
For employers, the permit plugs a regulatory gap that has existed since Austria tightened enforcement of posted-worker rules in 2021. Companies in Burgenland and Lower Austria have complained that short-term assignment rules and the EU Posting of Workers Directive were ill-suited to permanent commuters who spend every evening back in their home country. The new document provides a single-point compliance solution, eliminating the need to file repetitive posted-worker notifications and wage attestations for staff who cross the border daily. Payroll withholding and social-security rules remain unchanged; commuters will still be subject to bilateral double-taxation agreements and A1 certificates where applicable.
Mobility managers should review their commuter populations now. The AMS has indicated that applications filed in December could take four to six weeks to adjudicate; during that window companies must ensure that commuters continue to carry valid passports or national ID cards and proof of employment (e.g., work contracts or assignment letters) in case of spot checks at temporary Schengen border controls. Although Austria’s current internal-border checks with Hungary and Slovenia are slated to run only until 15 December 2025, Vienna routinely renews the measures, meaning commuters could still face inspections in early 2026. Employers should also note that the permit is geographically restricted: if a worker is transferred from, say, a warehouse in Nickelsdorf to a site in Vienna city, a new authorisation will be needed.
In the medium term, the government hopes the permit will help alleviate persistent labour shortages in manufacturing, logistics and care services along the frontier regions. Business chambers in Burgenland welcomed the move, noting that the region has one of Austria’s lowest unemployment rates and relies heavily on skilled staff from western Hungary and southern Slovakia. However, trade unions have urged the AMS to apply the local-worker-first test strictly to prevent wage dumping. Multinationals with plants or shared-service centres in border districts should therefore budget extra lead time to gather evidence of recruitment efforts when sponsoring new commuter hires.
