A foreign worker from a third country may be allowed to freely move in Austria, depending on what kind of work permit s/he holds:

Arbeitserlaubnis (general work permit), section 14a Aliens Employment Act: it grants relative freedom of movement within the labour market to those persons, who have worked legally within the last 14 months for at least 52 weeks. The permit may be used for any employment in each of the Länder for which the permit is valid. It the third country national wants to move to a different Land, he or she has to apply for a new general work permit.

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A foreign worker from a third country may be allowed to freely move in Austria, depending on what kind of work permit s/he holds:

Arbeitserlaubnis (general work permit), section 14a Aliens Employment Act: it grants relative freedom of movement within the labour market to those persons, who have worked legally within the last 14 months for at least 52 weeks. The permit may be used for any employment in each of the Länder for which the permit is valid. It the third country national wants to move to a different Land, he or she has to apply for a new general work permit.

Befreiungsschein (employment authorization), section 15 Alien Employment Act: it grants the most secure status for a dependent employee. The holder of this permit has the same rights as Austrians/EU nationals in relation to access to employment. The permit is valid in the whole country.

Article 24 of the Aliens Act states that aliens who stay in Austria with a Niederlassungsnachweis (Certificate of Residency) have the right to work everywhere in Austria. It is a long-term (or permanent) residence permit – EC, which is granted for immigrants who have resided legally and permanently in Austria for at least five years and who are able to substantiate regular means of existence from (self-) employment and sickness insurance.

In 1998 The negotiating process between the EU and the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia (the so-called Luxembourg Group) to be admitted into the European Union started in 1998. In 2000 the European Council in Helsinki decided to open talks with six further candidates, the so-called Helsinki Group. An intense negotiating pace enabled Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia to finally catch up with the members of the Luxembourg Group. Bulgaria and Romania, with which negotiations are continuing, have a target date of 2007 for their accession to the Union.

Several sensitive and difficult chapters like energy, free movement of persons, or free movement of capital have to be concluded with the majority of applicants. In connection with the free movement of persons, Austria presented in 2000 an information note compiled by leading experts and describing the specific situation of the Austrian labour market arising from the country’s geographical position. This provided the basis for an objective discussion on this chapter. In 2001 an agreement was reached among the EU members on a Common Position that provides for a transitional period of up to seven years for the free movement of labour. On this basis the chapter was provisionally closed with the ten candidates in 2002. Reviews undertaken two and five years, respectively after accession will allow the transitional mechanism to be interpreted flexibly, including full liberalization at an even earlier stage.

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

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