Red-White-Red Card — Very Highly Qualified

Why this category and not the other three

Austria publishes four separate points grids for the Red-White-Red Card. Three require German. This one scores language as "German or English" — that is the published wording — which makes it the only realistic entry point into the Austrian system from India.

Seventy points, and no job offer needed

Reaching 70 of 100 with an offer gets you the card. Reaching 70 without one gets you a six-month residence visa to come to Austria and look for work.

Very little in Europe works that way. It is the single most useful fact about Austrian migration and it is almost never mentioned.

The grid

A degree from a programme of at least four years scores 20, or 30 in maths, informatics, natural sciences or technology. A doctorate or habilitation scores 40 and replaces those rather than adding to them.

Work experience earns one point per half-year up to 20 — so seven years is 14, not 7. Six months worked in Austria adds 10. Age scores 20 up to 35, 15 up to 40, 10 up to 45. Language at A2 in either German or English is worth 10; A1 is worth 5.

Senior-management salary is worth 20 to 30, research and innovation activity 20, and recognised awards 20. Our calculator asks about none of those, so the number it shows is a floor.

From card to settlement

The card runs 24 months and is tied to the employer who hired you. After working 21 of 24 months it becomes the Red-White-Red Card plus, which removes that tie — conditional on German at A2 under Integration Agreement Module 1. Long-term residence follows after five uninterrupted years, with German at B1.

English opens the door. German is what lets you stay on your own terms, and starting it late is the most common regret here.

Where it goes wrong

Applying under the wrong grid. Shortage-occupation and key-worker routes look easier and require German, and their occupation lists are re-issued annually by ordinance — so guidance from last year is frequently wrong this year.

Who this suits

A graduate in engineering, IT or a natural science, under 40, with several years of experience and English but no German. That profile scores close to the threshold on qualification, experience, age and language alone — before any job offer, salary or research record is counted at all.

Above 45 the age points disappear entirely, and the grid becomes hard to clear without the salary or research rows.