From next week, third-country nationals who live just across the Austrian border but work in Tirol, Salzburg or Carinthia will have their own immigration category. Regulations published on 26 November create the “Residence Permit – Cross-Border Commuter” (Aufenthaltstitel Grenzgänger), combining the right to reside and work in Austria’s border districts without the full bureaucracy of a Red-White-Red Card.
To qualify, applicants must hold an unrestricted long-term residence title in a neighbouring country and keep their primary home there. They also need a binding employment contract with a company located in an Austrian frontier district (or 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 local district rather than nationwide, cutting processing times from months to weeks. Students, seasonal workers and posted workers remain excluded.
![Austria Introduces New Frontier-Worker Residence Permit Effective 1 December]()
The permit is initially valid for up to two years and can be renewed for five. Holders will pay Austrian income tax on wages earned domestically while remaining subject to social-security rules under EU Regulation 883/2004, typically in their country of residence. Cross-border health-care coverage will therefore require coordination between insurers on both sides of the frontier.
Employers in tourism-reliant regions such as the Tyrolean ski resorts have lobbied hard for a simplified process as they grapple with post-pandemic labour shortages. The government hopes the measure will entice skilled chefs from northern Italy and logistics drivers from Slovakia who currently find Austrian red tape prohibitive.
Global-mobility managers should update assignment policies to reflect the new path. Because applicants must keep their main residence abroad, housing allowances may need to cover commuting costs rather than relocation expenses.
To qualify, applicants must hold an unrestricted long-term residence title in a neighbouring country and keep their primary home there. They also need a binding employment contract with a company located in an Austrian frontier district (or 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 local district rather than nationwide, cutting processing times from months to weeks. Students, seasonal workers and posted workers remain excluded.
The permit is initially valid for up to two years and can be renewed for five. Holders will pay Austrian income tax on wages earned domestically while remaining subject to social-security rules under EU Regulation 883/2004, typically in their country of residence. Cross-border health-care coverage will therefore require coordination between insurers on both sides of the frontier.
Employers in tourism-reliant regions such as the Tyrolean ski resorts have lobbied hard for a simplified process as they grapple with post-pandemic labour shortages. The government hopes the measure will entice skilled chefs from northern Italy and logistics drivers from Slovakia who currently find Austrian red tape prohibitive.
Global-mobility managers should update assignment policies to reflect the new path. Because applicants must keep their main residence abroad, housing allowances may need to cover commuting costs rather than relocation expenses.
