Maybe this will help
http://www.help.gv.at/Content.Node/12/Seite.120000.html
only in German though

Some data I have from an old file (ie last week’s research!!)

Hope it helps —

Will also post some links later if I find it

ALSO you may want to go to the MA35 with your gf to enquire as hearing it from the horse’s mouth can be helpful maybe??

Work Permits – Austria

The Austrian authorities issue three types of work permits. What type of permit you can or will get depends on your personal situation, your future plans and (unfortunately) on some other factors you might not be able to influence.

• Restricted work permit ( Beschäftigungsbewilligung for one year)
• Work permit ( Arbeitserlaubnis for two years)
• Unrestricted work permit ( Befreiungsschein for five years)

The restricted work permit is issued for a specific job and employer at a specific location. If you change your job or even if you just change site while working for the same company, you will need to apply for a new Beschäftigungsbewilligung. If you have worked (using the restricted permit) for one year, you can either get another restricted permit, or you can apply for the real work permit – Arbeitserlaubnis, valid for one specific district within Austria and allowing you to change employer. After two years, you can renew the work permit.

If you have made it so far and you have worked legally for five years, you can then apply for the unrestricted permit – Befreiungsschein.

If you get it, you are free to choose any job in any district of Austria for a period of five years. If you manage to find a company which supports your application, things move quickly and smoothly.

In summary: You first apply for the restricted work permit. Then you need at least two periods (2 years each) of employment with the work permit. And then, after five years, you can get the unrestricted work permit.

Does this sound complex to you? Yes, it is complex and takes a lot of time and paperwork. If you manage to find a company which supports your application, things move quickly and smoothly.

Beschäftigungsbewilligung

TAKING UP EMPLOYMENT

Depending on the respective residence title, holders have different ways of accessing the labour market. In principle, groups of people not under the provisions of the law governing the employment of foreign workers (Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz), such as EU citizens with the
exception of citizens of the new member states, have unrestricted access to the labour market.

Also those who have a residence title of unlimited duration (”Daueraufenthalt – EG“) enjoy unrestricted access to the labour market.

A wide variety of different titles apply to people under the Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz.

Some important ones are presented here in brief:
1. Work permit (“Arbeitserlaubnis”)
The “Arbeitserlaubnis” is a personal permit for employees enabling them to take up employment in a specified Austrian province. It can be issued to people who legally reside in Austria.

The application for the “Arbeitserlaubnis” is filed with the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS) and has a maximum validity of 2 years, but can be extended in case of a valid employment relationship. An “Arbeitserlaubnis” can also be issued to “Angehörige” (spouses
and children up to 18 years of age) if they reside legally in Austria as well.
Employers will not require any additional employment permit (“Beschäftigungsbewilligung”) for people who have a work permit.

2. Restricted employment permit (“Beschäftigungsbewilligung”)
The employer will require a “Beschäftigungsbewilligung” for foreign workers who have a residence title or to whom the right of establishment applies (these are the new EU citizens) but
who have no permit to take up an employment relationship.
Relevant applications are filed by the employer / company with the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS) and have a validity of one year. In this case, employment of the foreign workers is only possible at the company filing the application. Before issuing the permit, the AMS is obliged to examine whether qualified Austrian
unemployed people or recipients of AMS benefits can be recruited (this procedure is called a “review of the labour market”).

The “Beschäftigungsbewilligung” expires upon termination of
the employment relationship.
Obtaining a “Beschäftigungsbewilligung” without the necessity of a review of the labour market
• “Angehörige” (spouses and children up to 18 years of age) of foreigners who reside and are employed in Austria permanently and legally
• Migrants with “advanced integration” (compliance with Integration Agreement)
• foreigners affected by domestic violence
• established foreign youth
• new EU citizens from EU enlargement rounds I and II (see Essay 1) for employment in an
occupation in the health care and social services sector.
• specific occupational groups and key personnel. (Note: These key workers have to meet the following conditions in particular: They need to boast a professional skill in demand in Austria and earn at least 60% of the maximum ceiling on insurable earning for social security. The application for admission as a key worker must be filed by the employer with the competent provincial governor or the competent administrative district authority and
include the employer’s consent together with statement of reasons.)
• short-term employed foreigners (such as harvest helpers, between 6 weeks and 3 months)
= restricted employment permit for seasonal workers (“Beschäftigungsbewilligung für
Saisonarbeitskräfte”) (i.e. an employment license according to Art. 5 of the law governing
the employment of foreign workers)

3. 3. Certificate of exemption (“Befreiungsschein”)
Also the “Befreiungsschein” is a personal permit for foreign workers entitling them to take up employment in the entire federal territory (unrestricted access to the labour market). In this case, the employer does not need a “Beschäftigungsbewilligung”. The “Befreiungsschein” is valid for five years, with applications filed with the Public
Employment Service Austria (AMS).

Topic: Immigration and the world of work page 5

A “Befreiungsschein” will be issued in particular to the following groups of people:
• adults who can furnish proof of having completed five years of legal employment in
Austria over the past eight years.
• young people who have completed their final year of compulsory schooling in Austria PLUS
gainful employment of one parent of at least 3 years over the past 5 years.
• In each case, the foreigner must be entitled to settlement in Austria.
IMPORTANT: Foreigners to whom one of these preconditions applies should alternatively examine whether they are entitled to “Daueraufenthalt – EG“, which is of unlimited validity
and replaces both the “Niederlassungsbewilligung” and the “Befreiungsschein”.

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