Skilled Pakistanis can apply for an Austria work visa called the Red-White-Red Card if they work in a job Austria is short of, and the country’s official 2026 list includes chefs, IT professionals and electrical workers. The Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) has pointed Pakistani workers towards the scheme, according to media reports.
The Red-White-Red Card is a combined residence and work permit for people from outside the European Union. According to Austria’s official migration website, it is usually issued for 24 months and lets the holder work for the employer named in the application.
For 2026, Austria lists 64 shortage jobs across the whole country and 66 more that apply only in certain provinces, according to WORK in AUSTRIA, the government’s agency for foreign workers.
Which jobs are actually on the list
Reports of the BEOE advice named IT professionals, electrical and electronics engineers, drivers, retail workers, shopkeepers, restaurant staff, chefs and kitchen staff. We checked each one against Austria’s official 2026 lists.
Chefs and cooks are on the nationwide list. It covers a wide range of kitchen roles, from head chef to junior cook, and even names pizza, sushi and kebab cooks.
IT workers are also on the nationwide list, including software developers, network engineers, database staff and IT managers. Electrical engineers, electricians and electronics technicians appear on it as well.
Drivers are a different story. The only drivers on the 2026 lists are train drivers. Truck, bus and car drivers are not listed.
Some retail jobs appear only on the provincial lists. For example, department store sales staff are listed in Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, and food sales staff in Vorarlberg only. Waiters are listed only for Vorarlberg. For these jobs, the employer must be in one of the listed provinces.
Reports also mention 15,000 cards for 2027. We could not find this figure on Austria’s official migration website, and Austria has not yet published its shortage list for 2027.
You need 55 points and a job offer
Being in a listed job is not enough. Under the official rules, you need completed training in that job, a binding job offer from an Austrian employer paying at least the legal minimum for the role, and at least 55 points.
| Criteria | Points |
|---|---|
| Completed training in the shortage job | 30 |
| Work experience, per six months (max 20) | 1 |
| Work experience in Austria, per six months | 2 |
| German at A1 / A2 / B1 level | 5 / 10 / 15 |
| English at A2 / B1 level | 5 / 10 |
| Age under 30 / under 40 / under 50 | 15 / 10 / 5 |
| Extra if the company mainly works in English | 5 |
Here is how it can work for a Pakistani cook. Take a 28-year-old with a cooking diploma, four years of kitchen experience and B1-level English, but no German. That person scores 30 for training, 8 for experience, 10 for English and 15 for age: 63 points, enough to apply.
The same cook at age 45 would score 53 and fall short. Learning basic German to A1 level would add 5 points and push them over the line.
You or your employer can apply at the Austrian embassy or through the local authority in Austria. The application fee is €218, according to the official website.
After working for at least 21 months in the previous 24 months under the card’s conditions, you can apply for the Red-White-Red Card Plus. That card gives full access to Austria’s job market, so you are no longer tied to one employer.
The process starts with an employer, not an agent. Anyone offering an Austrian visa without a real job offer from an Austrian company should be treated with caution.
