Prepare the employment path for final review
Arrange the current card, employment periods, social insurance data and employer documents. The AMS confirmation and the general NAG requirements must be in place together.
Red White Red Card plus: when the switch through work or family fits
Red White Red Card plus after own employment or through family reunification: distinguishing requirements, AMS confirmation and evidence.
22 July 2026
Application
Mag. Mirela Saric, Attorney at Law
The Red White Red Card plus opens up unrestricted access to the labour market. The path to it, however, is not always the same. An employed person moves out of their own Red White Red Card, while a family member can derive the permit from the status of the sponsoring person.
For the employment-based switch, permit holding and the employment periods confirmed by the AMS count. In family reunification, by contrast, the family relationship, the sponsor's permit and the general conditions for issuance stand at the centre. Mixing the two paths often means gathering the wrong evidence.
Section 41a NAG and Section 20e AuslBG govern the switch after own employment. The family-based cases are set out mainly in Section 46 NAG.
Switch check
On which basis should the plus card be issued?
The check separates own employment from a derived family reunification and passes the chosen context on to the enquiry.
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Which starting status describes your situation?
All paths at a glance
Overview of all answers.
Clarify employment months and countable periods
A simple calendar count is not enough. Check when the employment corresponded to the original admission conditions and which statutorily named periods of absence still count towards the total.
Position the family route without an own 21-month check
In family reunification, the type of card is derived from the sponsor. Check family relationship, sponsor's permit, accommodation, insurance, means of support and any German language evidence required.
With an Austrian sponsor, examine the family member permit
For the core family of an Austrian person permanently resident in Austria, Section 47 NAG and the family member permit are usually the applicable route. The plus card is not the correct permit merely because of the family relationship.
Identify the sponsor's permit before gathering documents
A short description in a message is not enough. A copy of the card and, where possible, the decision are needed so that permit, legal basis, validity and family route can be assigned correctly.
Assess another basis for the switch separately
Section 41a NAG contains several special switch routes. Determine the exact current permit and its duration to date first, before the requirements of the plus card are examined.
The plus card releases the tie to the employer
The Red White Red Card plus grants temporary settlement together with self-employed and employed activity. A job is no longer restricted to the employer named in the original admission procedure.
This broader scope explains why the switch from an employer-bound card is examined separately. The authority does not simply issue a new document but a permit with extended labour market access.
A short overview of the scope is available in the glossary entry on the Red White Red Card plus.
On the work path, permit holding and matching employment count
Section 41a(1) NAG requires for the classic switch that the applicant has held a recorded Red White Red Card for two years, meets the general requirements and has received a notification from the AMS under Section 20e(1) point 2 AuslBG.
The AMS confirms whether within the last 24 months there are 21 months of employment under the conditions that were decisive for admission. What counts is therefore not only insurance months but also the link to the authorised activity and to the admitted employer.
The switch is handled in a procedure under Section 24(4) or Section 26 NAG. The current permit, the desired new scope and the timing of the application therefore belong in a joint procedural plan.
Not every interruption breaks the 21-out-of-24 count
Section 20e(2) AuslBG names periods that can count in the employment check. These include, in particular, annual leave, receipt of maternity allowance, statutory parental leave, educational leave, a short agreed unpaid leave and illness with continued pay.
This does not mean that every gap is automatically harmless. Start, end and legal basis of the respective period must be documented. Where the employer has changed, it must additionally be checked whether the required admission was in place for the new employment.
A statement of social insurance data is a good starting point but does not answer every legal question. Employment contracts, registrations, payroll records and decisions show whether the employment matched the decisive conditions.
The family path is not a shortened work switch
Family members of certain third-country nationals receive a Red White Red Card plus under Section 46 NAG if the sponsor's permit and the further requirements are met. They do not need to have worked 21 months themselves under their own Red White Red Card.
Under Section 2(1) point 9 NAG, the core family includes spouses, registered partners and minor unmarried children, including adopted and stepchildren. Spouses and registered partners must already be 21 years old when the application is filed.
The Family reunification topic page shows how the sponsor's permit and the family relationship interact. For choosing the card type, this assignment matters more than the family member's own employment.
The sponsor's permit also determines whether a quota applies
Section 46 NAG distinguishes several groups. Family members of holders of a Red White Red Card, an EU Blue Card, a settlement permit researcher and certain other permits can be exempt from the quota. With other sponsor permits, a quota place may become necessary.
A copy of the residence card alone should be supplemented with the decision where the exact legal basis is not clear. With a Red White Red Card plus, for example, the provision on which it is based is relevant.
Family members of Austrian citizens usually receive the family member permit under Section 47(2) NAG, provided the domestic and Union law situation there applies. The umbrella term family reunification therefore does not always lead to the plus card.
The evidence packages overlap only in part
On the work path, the previous Red White Red Card, AMS-relevant employment periods, social insurance, employer and any interruptions come to the fore. Added to that are the general NAG requirements, which continue to apply.
On the family path, passport, civil status documents, sponsor's permit, right to accommodation of local standard, health insurance and secured means of support are regularly important. A German language proof may be required; Section 21a NAG, however, contains permit- and sponsor-related exemptions.
The Family reunification checklist helps with the family package. For the work path, a separate timeline of employment and admission should be kept alongside it.
Four mix-ups lead to unnecessary follow-up requests
First, two years of holding the card do not automatically replace the AMS confirmation. Second, a family member does not need the 21 employment months of the work path. Third, an Austrian sponsor usually leads to a different family permit. Fourth, the plus card is not the same as the permanent EU long-term residence permit.
The term switch can also be misleading. For an employed cardholder, it is about extending labour market access. In family reunification, it is about the first or further issuance of a permit derived from the family.
The Family reunification check sorts the family route. With an own Red White Red Card, the history of your permit and the employment months are the first inputs instead.
Common questions on the switch to the Red White Red Card plus
Are two years with a Red White Red Card enough for the switch?
No. For the classic work path, Section 41a(1) NAG additionally requires the general requirements and an AMS notification. The AMS in particular checks 21 months of qualifying employment within the last 24 months.
Does statutory parental leave count towards the 21 months?
Section 20e(2) AuslBG counts, among other things, certain statutory parental leave periods as employment for this check. The period and legal basis should be documented.
Does a spouse reuniting to Austria need to have worked 21 months themselves?
No. In family reunification, issuance follows Section 46 NAG, the sponsor's permit, the family relationship and the further requirements. Own 21 months of employment belong to the other switch route.
Is the plus card permanent?
No. It is a temporary settlement permit with unrestricted labour market access. EU long-term residence is a separate permit with its own requirements.