Finding Work in Austria

Hi Claire-Marie;

There is no other way to say it you have to know German if you want to carry on with your profession. There are some jobs that don't require it but these are very few between.

I would suggest you learn the language of the basics while you are in Christchruch.

I can not really comment on the visa as I do not require one as I am Britain and we are part of the EU.

I have heard though that it can be expensive.

Regards

Simon

You definitely face several challenges. You can look here for the information regarding obtaining a residence permit. I work at a university so it was much easier to obtain, but this still was not an easy task. Since my employer sponsored me my wife gets a work permit automatically austria.org/residence

The permit is not expensive, something like 80 Euros. But you 1) need an employer to sponsor you (which doesn't sound promising), or 2) be self-employed and I think speak German and proof that you have enough financial means to stay and show proof of health insurance.

Obtaining a residence permit without a job is much easier if you are married, fyi.

Another road is to obtain a student resident permit, you get one automatically if you're been admitted to a university. Austria is nice is that if you meet the requirements they must admit you. However, sometimes these prerequisites are not flexible (i.e. for a masters in chem you need a bachelor in chem), but they could admit you and require you take additional courses. Tuition for non-EU citizens is like 300/semester. And if you're living in Vienna, Universitaet Wien has many programs in English, as does Wien Tech. Salzburg/Graz/Linz/Innsbruck have programs in English but not nearly as many.

It's going to be difficult to near impossible to find a job without knowing German (and esp without the permit). My wife works in the hard sciences and hasn't been able to find a job since all employers know you to know German and English, though she's had a couple interviews. We are taking intensive German courses so after 3-4 of these she should be able to get a job. But will be 12-18 months after arriving here.

I wish I could be more promising. Austria is a beautiful country.