Nurses Immigration to Austria

Nurses are a very essential occupational group for every society, and developed countries are always diligent in employing them and creating suitable employment conditions. Some of these developed countries, due to the shortage of nursing labor, always welcome the entry of skilled foreign nurses. However, nurses cannot simply work in Austria, and due to educational and linguistic differences with their country of origin, they are forced to equalize their education (nostrification) and learn German at a high level. In this article, we will examine the immigration path for nurses to Austria in more detail. Every year, numerous nurses receive consultations from MIE about residency programs in Austria and various countries.

Topics reviewed in this article:

Overview of Nursing degree recognition in Austria

Requirements of Nursing degree recognition in Austria

Required Documents for Nursing in Austria

Nurses immigration to Austria and their Exams

Nursing in Austria and Residency Process

Job Opportunities for Nursing Jobs in Austria

Nurses immigration to Austria and their Salary

Benefits and challenges of Nurses immigration to Austria

Overview of Nursing degree recognition in Austria

If foreign nurses intend to work in Austria and obtain legal residence in Austria through work, they must take certain steps on this path. The first step is to recognize the nursing degree. Nursing is not taught in the same system everywhere in the world, and due to the direct contact of nurses with patients, it is essential to know the language of the destination country at an excellent level. The nursing degree must be checked by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Social Affairs. If they are not enough to be recognized, the applicant must take an adaptation course or bridge course. The recognition of the nursing degree in Austria is carried out in accordance with the European Directive on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications (2005/36/EG).

After completing the necessary units and courses, provided that the German language level is at least B2, an identification test is held to measure nursing knowledge and skills according to the Austrian higher education system. After that, with a job offer, the nurse can continue the work residence permit process and obtain a renewable residence permit. If the nurse’s work continues, they can obtain permanent residence in Austria after 5 years. This path can also lead to obtaining Austrian citizenship/passport.

Required Documents for Nursing in Austria

To start the nostrification process (Nostrifizierung) in Austria, nurses must submit documents to a university of applied sciences (Fachhochschule). These documents include identity documents, academic and professional documents. If any of the documents are not issued in English or German, they must be officially translated into German. Depending on the country of origin, some documents also need to be legalized. Identity documents include:

Required educational documents include:

Required professional documents include:

Nurses immigration to Austria and their Exams

There is no uniform and universal exam for the recognition of nursing degrees in Austria, and depending on the conditions of each applicant and their educational qualifications, it is necessary to see what exams they must pass. Several types of exams can be held for the applicant in this path. A number of the exams are supplementary exams or Ergänzungsprüfungen, which are held in different subject areas. A number of exams are also related to the assessment of nursing skills (Kenntnisprüfung). These exams show how close the applicant has been to the educational and working standards of nursing in Austria. The German language exam is a prerequisite for passing the above exams, and the applicant must take official German language exams such as OSD. Usually, level B2 is accepted, but in Vienna the level must be C1. After receiving B2, some applicants must also take a test on nursing terminology in German.

Nursing in Austria and Residency Process

Nurses need a residence permit to stay in Austria. This process must be initiated after receiving the nostrification confirmation (Bescheid). Nostrification usually takes between 3 and 6 months, but even after it is completed, it is not possible to apply for a residence permit (RWR card) all at once. After recognition, nurses must obtain a job offer from a licensed healthcare center in Austria. After receiving the job offer, nurses can submit their residence application to the immigration office (MA35). This residence application can be registered through the Austrian embassy in the applicant’s country of origin. Nursing is one of the professions in which there is a shortage of workers (Mangelberuf) and with the recognition confirmation, job offer and German language certificate, it is possible to apply for a residence card called “Red White Red”.

In the next step, applicants will have a type D visa, which allows them to travel to Austria for a limited period of time and receive their residence card there. This visa has limited validity, and if a nurse enters Austria once with it and leaves once, he/she is not allowed to enter again unless they residence card after arrival.

Job Opportunities for Nursing Jobs in Austria

Given that nursing is a profession with shortage (Mangelberuf), job opportunities for nurses in Austria are better than in many fields. Nurses can work in both care centers and hospitals. Employment in both public and private hospitals is possible for nurses who have completed the recognition process. If the job offer is issued for two years, the nurse can receive an initial residence of two years.

In Austria, there are welfare facilities for nurses apart from monthly and annual salaries, and the government takes great care of this group so that they can always maintain high quality health and treatment conditions These facilities include on-site medical and care assistance and access to nursing schools for free preparation and specialized courses. Even certain kindergartens have contracts with hospitals in Austria, and nurses who are mothers of young children can benefit from their services. Another employment facility is accommodation, which is usually provided by hospitals or some government centers.

Nurses immigration to Austria and their Salary

The salary of nurses in Austria varies depending on work experience and specialized skills. Employers also do not have the same salary routine for all nurses. Even the city where the nurse is employed has an impact on the salary. For new and newly qualified nurses, the annual salary is up to 45,000 euros. In some regions, such as Tyrol, salaries are higher and can reach up to 70,000 euros. In Austria, nurses are paid 14 times a year, with two additional months for Christmas and summer holidays.

If the nurse is a new nurse, he/she usually has the lowest salary, and with each year of experience and work, the salary can increase. Nurses who work in critical areas such as post-operative care or ICU have higher salaries, while nurses who work in areas such as injections and simple services have lower salaries depending on the type of job they do. Nurses are also employed in care facilities such as elderly care and children’s care, and their salaries maybe be even higher than some hospital nurses, depending on the employer and the city they work in.

Benefits and challenges of Nurses immigration to Austria

Working in Austria as a nurse have many advantages, including:

• Working in an advanced medical system
• Having welfare and social facilities for medical staff
• High wages and financial benefits
• Standard and international work environment
• Residence permit conditions with professional work programs
• Dynamic economy and efficient legal system
• Possibility of continuing education for free
• Possibility of bringing spouse and children under 18 years of age

Similarly, foreign nurses will face challenges such as:

• Requirement to learn German at a very high level, which is time-consuming and difficult
• Requirement to pass additional units and specialized exams
• Cultural and linguistic differences
• Time-consuming to understand the medical system, bureaucracy, and job search

Concluding remarks

Nurses Immigration to Austria has steps that include the recognition of educational qualifications to the application of residency. In order for foreign nurses to be able to work in Austria, they must first equivalence their educational qualifications through a process called nostrification and complete courses and units to meet Austrian educational and language standards. After receiving a job offer, nurses enter the residency application process. By receiving a residence permit called RWR, depending on the job offer, one to two years of residence could be received, and after 5 years of nursing work and residence in Austria, the foreign nurse can also obtain permanent residency. MIE has been active in residency affairs for doctors and nurses for many years, and many doctors and nurses have succeeded in obtaining residency in Austria and other countries worldwide with the advice of its consultations.