Austria will add a brand-new immigration category next week that is tailor-made for third-country nationals who live just across the border but work for employers in Austrian frontier districts. Published on 26 November 2025 in the law-firm alert cited below, the measure creates a combined residence-and-work authorisation called the “Residence Permit – Cross-Border Commuter” (Aufenthaltstitel Grenzgänger). It comes into force on 1 December 2025 under amendments to §20a of the Settlement and Residence Act (NAG).
Why introduce a frontier-worker permit now? Labour-market gaps in western and southern border regions have widened as Austria’s post-pandemic economy approaches full employment and as construction, logistics and tourism battle chronic staff shortages. Until now, non-EU nationals living in neighbouring states such as Slovakia or Italy had to apply for standard Red-White-Red Cards, even if they returned home every evening. Those procedures require labour-market tests for nationwide roles, proof of integration measures and higher salary thresholds—obligations that made little practical sense for daily commuters.
![Austria unveils new “Residence Permit – Cross-Border Commuter” to start 1 December 2025]()
The new route simplifies things dramatically. Applicants must already hold a long-term (unrestricted) residence title in a country that shares a land border with Austria and must keep their main home there. They also need a binding employment contract for work physically performed in an Austrian border district (or in the statutory cities of Innsbruck, Salzburg, Klagenfurt or Villach). The Public Employment Service (AMS) will still issue a labour-market opinion but only for the relevant district, not for the whole country, making approval faster. Excluded categories include students, seasonal workers and posted workers.
Processing will take place at provincial immigration offices; initial validity is up to two years and renewals can be granted for five. Dependants remain subject to the regular family-reunification quotas. While numbers are hard to predict, the Interior Ministry told industry bodies it expects “several thousand” applications in the first six months—particularly from skilled Ukrainian and Serbian nationals who settled in Slovakia and Slovenia during the war and already commute informally.
For employers the permit promises three immediate benefits: quicker start dates, reduced assignment costs (no relocation package, no housing allowance) and a lower compliance burden because social-security contributions will accrue in Austria only for the days actually worked in the country. Mobility managers should update global-payroll instructions, prepare template employment contracts that reference the new law and brief commuters on insurance coverage during cross-border travel.
Why introduce a frontier-worker permit now? Labour-market gaps in western and southern border regions have widened as Austria’s post-pandemic economy approaches full employment and as construction, logistics and tourism battle chronic staff shortages. Until now, non-EU nationals living in neighbouring states such as Slovakia or Italy had to apply for standard Red-White-Red Cards, even if they returned home every evening. Those procedures require labour-market tests for nationwide roles, proof of integration measures and higher salary thresholds—obligations that made little practical sense for daily commuters.
The new route simplifies things dramatically. Applicants must already hold a long-term (unrestricted) residence title in a country that shares a land border with Austria and must keep their main home there. They also need a binding employment contract for work physically performed in an Austrian border district (or in the statutory cities of Innsbruck, Salzburg, Klagenfurt or Villach). The Public Employment Service (AMS) will still issue a labour-market opinion but only for the relevant district, not for the whole country, making approval faster. Excluded categories include students, seasonal workers and posted workers.
Processing will take place at provincial immigration offices; initial validity is up to two years and renewals can be granted for five. Dependants remain subject to the regular family-reunification quotas. While numbers are hard to predict, the Interior Ministry told industry bodies it expects “several thousand” applications in the first six months—particularly from skilled Ukrainian and Serbian nationals who settled in Slovakia and Slovenia during the war and already commute informally.
For employers the permit promises three immediate benefits: quicker start dates, reduced assignment costs (no relocation package, no housing allowance) and a lower compliance burden because social-security contributions will accrue in Austria only for the days actually worked in the country. Mobility managers should update global-payroll instructions, prepare template employment contracts that reference the new law and brief commuters on insurance coverage during cross-border travel.
