Up to 1,400 asylum seekers may keep working during appeal
Asylum seekers in Austria who are appealing against a negative asylum decision can keep working for now. The labour ministry has told the Public Employment Service AMS not to process applications to extend their work permits until the highest court has ruled. People who already hold a work permit can continue working in the meantime. According to AMS head Johannes Kopf, this affects at most 1,400 people.
The problem began on 12 June 2026, when the EU asylum pact took effect and Austrian employment law was changed. Since then, the AMS has treated every renewal as a new application and refused permits to people whose first decision was negative and who had appealed. Since June, 230 asylum seekers have applied for an extension. Employers lost staff, and some workers had to return to state basic care. The Federal Administrative Court has ruled in favour of some applicants, but only in individual cases, and legal experts have questioned whether the strict approach fits EU rules.
The ministry says it chose a restrictive reading of the new EU rules and that it remains to be seen whether the law has to change after the court ruling. A final decision could take a long time, and the cases could go as far as the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
What you can do: if you have a work permit and have appealed your asylum decision, keep working and keep copies of your permit and your appeal. Submit any renewal application to the AMS before your permit expires, and ask an asylum counselling service for advice. Employers can contact their local AMS office.