According to the German and English versions of the 1997 Federal Law Concerning the Entry, Residence And Settlement of Aliens (1997 Aliens Act), there are two types of residence authorizations (Aufenthaltstitel): residence permits (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) and settlement permits (Niederlassungsbewilligung) (Austria 1997a; Austria 1997b). Paragraph 2 of Article 7 stipulates that holders of a residence authorization are entitled "to residence for a specific purpose or to permanent residence, and also to entry connected with such cases of residence" (Austria 1997b).

In a 8 March 2002 telephone interview, the consul of the Austrian embassy in Ottawa stated that a residence authorization (Aufenthaltstitel) includes the right to exit and return to Austria (Embassy of Austria 8 Mar. 2002). The consul added that "in theory" holders of an Austrian residence authorization may be admitted to a country of the Schengen area as a visitor, including if they have left the Schengen area (ibid.). The Austrian foreign ministry's Website indicates that non-EU citizens who obtained a residence authorization issued by one of the Schengen countries may stay in any other Schengen country for up to three months (n.d.).

With reference to the right to employment, the Website of the Austrian embassy in the United Kingdom states that non-EU nationals wanting to work in Austria must have both work and residence permits regardless of the type of employment (n.d.). The work permit must be obtained before leaving the country of residence on application by the prospective employer in Austria (ibid.). There is no indication on the Austrian embassy's Webpage as to whether the term 'residence permit' refers to Aufenthaltserlaubnis.

In a study on the admission of non-EU citizens to EU countries for the purposes of paid employment or self-employed activity conducted by the Brussels-based ECOTEC Research and Consulting Limited on behalf of the European Commission, the section on Austria indicates that despite privileges granted to Turkish citizens pursuant to the Association Agreement EEC/Turkey, Turkish citizens may enter Austria for the purpose of paid employment only after obtaining both residence and work permits (2000, 40). There is no indication in the study as to whether the term 'residence permit' refers to Aufenthaltserlaubnis. No additional information on the privileges granted to Turkish citizens pursuant to the Association Agreement EEC/Turkey could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Article 6 of "Decision No 1/80 of the Association Council of 19 September 1980 on the Development of the Association" grants Turkish citizens who have legally worked in a EU country for one year the right to have their work permit renewed to work for the same employer (Representation of the European Commission to Turkey n.d., Chapter II). For more information on the rights of Turkish citizens working in a EU country, please see Chapter II, Section 1 on questions relating to employment and the free movement of workers of Decision No 1/80.

According to the consul, an Austrian residence authorization (Aufenthaltstitel) does not include the right to seek employment in Schengen countries other than Austria (8 Mar. 2002).

For a summary indicating the correspondence between the type(s) of entry and residence permits required, the nature and the length of the stay in Austria, please see the attached table by the Austrian Academic Exchange Service.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Austria. 1997a. Bundesgesetz über die Einreise, den Aufenthalt und die Niederlassung von Fremden (Fremdengesetz 1997 - FrG). http://ln-inter1.bmi.gv.at/web/bmiwebp.nsf/c72e990058fa92d2c12567d600767ceb/c125675b000c6b6dc1256a4200783f0e/$FILE/Fremdengesetz1997.pdf [Accessed 12 Mar. 2002]

Austria. 1997b. Federal Law Concerning the Entry, Residence And Settlement of Aliens (Aliens Act). http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/+cwwBmeHi269wwwwMwwwwwwwtFqrE15BGowcFqo-uPPyER0MFmqDFqm7y-dFqo2IyP0HEP3zmtwwwwwwwGFqmEuRBFqt20-P0H/rsddocview.pdf [Accessed 11 Mar. 2002]

Austria, Foreign Ministry [Vienna]. "Schengener Übereinkommen." http://www.bmaa.gv.at/botschaften/konsularfragen/schengen.html.de [Accessed 8 Mar. 2002]

ECOTEC Research and Consulting Limited [Brussels]. 2000. Admission of Third Country Nationals for Paid Employment or Self-Employed Activity. Study carried out on behalf of the European Commission (DG Justice and Home Affairs). http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/unit/doc_asile_immigrat/study_ecotec.pdf [Accessed 11 Mar. 2002]

Embassy of Austria, Ottawa. 8 March 2002. Telephone interview with the consul.

Embassy of Austria, United Kingdom. n.d. "Finding Work." http://www.bmaa.gv.at/embassy/uk/service/work.html.en [Accessed 8 Mar. 2002]

Representation of the European Commission to Turkey. n.d. "Decision No 1/80 of the Association Council of 19 September 1980 on the Development of the Association." http://www.deltur.cec.eu.int/english/ei1-80.html [Accessed 12 Mar. 2002]

Attachment

Austrian Academic Exchange Service [Vienna]. 1999. Entry and Residence Requirements for Foreigners in Austria. http://www.oead.ac.at/Dokumente/Studyoe/neu/einren.pdf [Accessed 12 Mar. 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

Internet sites including:

The Austrian General Consulate in Istanbul

Austrian Academic Exchange Service

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency [Swansea, UK]

Sicherheitsdirektion für das Bundesland Oberösterreich [Linz]

Landsalzburg.

Search engines including:

Fast Search

Google

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