The Austrian government is entitled to negotiate and determine quotas (contingents) bilaterally and on a mutual basis for the employment of key personnel with neighboring countries upon initiative by the minister for the industries and labor (AuslBG.section.1 paragraph 5). Austria has cross-border cooperation programs with Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. These programs cover a wide range of joint activities in the border regions, for example joint research centres, cross-border infrastructure projects, joint tourist activities, etc.

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The Austrian government is entitled to negotiate and determine quotas (contingents) bilaterally and on a mutual basis for the employment of key personnel with neighboring countries upon initiative by the minister for the industries and labor (AuslBG.section.1 paragraph 5). Austria has cross-border cooperation programs with Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. These programs cover a wide range of joint activities in the border regions, for example joint research centres, cross-border infrastructure projects, joint tourist activities, etc.

Another kind of bilateral agreement signed by Austria are the readmission agreements with Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Switzerland. These agreements do not refer solely to asylum seekers and refugees, but to foreigners in general. Austria also has signed a bilateral protocol with Romania that applies solely to the return of nationals of both states.

The reform of the Foreigners’ Employment Act 2002 (Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz, AuslBG) provides for bilateral agreements for commuters with neighboring countries (mostly future EU member states: Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland) in order to deal in a flexible way with labor migration during the transition period leading to freedom of movement for workers of the new Member States. The definition of commuters (Grenzgänger) was extended: according to the revised Aliens Act (Fremdengesetz, FrG, article.1 paragraph 11), a commuter is a person who travels back and forth at least once a week (in the past the definition required traveling back and forth on a daily basis) between his/her country of residence and a bordering Austrian district. Commuter workers have to apply for a Commuter Permit (Grenzgängerbewilligung) which has a length of one year and can be extended for maximum one more year. Commuters need to obtain a temporary residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) and are exempt from the residence quota system, but their employers are required to obtain a work permit for them. Two of such agreements have already been negotiated, one with the Czech and the other with the Slovak Republic.

Turkish nationals enjoy the privileges of the Association Agreement EEC/Turkey, section 4c.

However, this agreement does not exempt Turkish workers from the requirement to obtain a residence and work permit if they wish to enter Austria for the first time for the purpose of paid employment.

Article 6 entitles those employees to have their restricted work permit renewed if they have beenworking for one year with the same employer.

Analysis provided by: Antonella C. Attardo PhD (History of Law), Italy.

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