Austria’s 39th Council of Ministers, which met in Vienna on 28 January 2026, approved a diplomatic note-exchange that amends the 2009 bilateral treaty on mutual recognition of academic degrees with Italy. The change – negotiated by a joint expert commission in March 2025 and now cleared for entry into force – adds 24 study programmes to the list of qualifications that are automatically deemed equivalent on either side of the Alps. For the first time, Austrian Fachhochschule (universities of applied sciences) degrees are included, after Rome dropped its long-standing objection that these practice-oriented institutions had no direct counterpart in the Italian system. (bundeskanzleramt.gv.at)
The upgrade is more than a symbolic gesture. Until now, thousands of South Tyrolean and Italian students who earn Austrian applied-science diplomas have faced time-consuming individual recognition procedures before they could pursue regulated professions or postgraduate studies at home. Once the new list takes legal effect – on the first day of the second month following the exchange of notes – those graduates will be able to register with professional bodies or apply for jobs in Italy without additional bureaucracy.
For internationally active employers the move expands the pool of talent that can be deployed seamlessly across the Brenner corridor. A Vienna-based engineering firm, for example, will soon be able to second an Italian Red-White-Red Card holder who studied mechatronics at an Austrian Fachhochschule to a project site in Lombardy without triggering a re-credentialing process. HR specialists say that will cut onboarding times by several weeks and lower compliance costs.
![Austria and Italy broaden mutual recognition of university and applied-science degrees]()
If cross-border study or work arising from these new equivalencies also involves navigating visa formalities, VisaHQ offers a convenient digital gateway for securing Austrian or Italian entry permits, document legalisations and apostilles. Its step-by-step platform (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) helps students, graduates and employers assemble the right paperwork quickly, reducing the administrative drag that often accompanies international mobility.
The decision also dovetails with Austria’s wider skills-attraction agenda. By signalling that its applied-science degrees enjoy full EU mobility, Vienna strengthens the country’s appeal to third-country students who look for qualifications that travel well. University administrators expect the change to feature prominently in recruitment campaigns in India, Southeast Asia and the Western Balkans.
Practically, graduates should watch for a bulletin from the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs confirming the exact effective date. Employers planning intra-company transfers should update their mobility checklists and verify whether professional licensing bodies in Italy have revised their databases to reflect the new equivalencies.
The upgrade is more than a symbolic gesture. Until now, thousands of South Tyrolean and Italian students who earn Austrian applied-science diplomas have faced time-consuming individual recognition procedures before they could pursue regulated professions or postgraduate studies at home. Once the new list takes legal effect – on the first day of the second month following the exchange of notes – those graduates will be able to register with professional bodies or apply for jobs in Italy without additional bureaucracy.
For internationally active employers the move expands the pool of talent that can be deployed seamlessly across the Brenner corridor. A Vienna-based engineering firm, for example, will soon be able to second an Italian Red-White-Red Card holder who studied mechatronics at an Austrian Fachhochschule to a project site in Lombardy without triggering a re-credentialing process. HR specialists say that will cut onboarding times by several weeks and lower compliance costs.
If cross-border study or work arising from these new equivalencies also involves navigating visa formalities, VisaHQ offers a convenient digital gateway for securing Austrian or Italian entry permits, document legalisations and apostilles. Its step-by-step platform (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) helps students, graduates and employers assemble the right paperwork quickly, reducing the administrative drag that often accompanies international mobility.
The decision also dovetails with Austria’s wider skills-attraction agenda. By signalling that its applied-science degrees enjoy full EU mobility, Vienna strengthens the country’s appeal to third-country students who look for qualifications that travel well. University administrators expect the change to feature prominently in recruitment campaigns in India, Southeast Asia and the Western Balkans.
Practically, graduates should watch for a bulletin from the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs confirming the exact effective date. Employers planning intra-company transfers should update their mobility checklists and verify whether professional licensing bodies in Italy have revised their databases to reflect the new equivalencies.
