Problem: Income is not guaranteed for an entire year

Solution: If income can be covered for a few months (probably 5 or 6) and, for the months further in the future, there are individual contracts in place but not in sufficient amounts, you can argue based on “expected contracts.” Performances are rarely firmly scheduled a year in advance. Letters of intent are helpful in this regard. If this is an application for an extension, it may be possible to provide a plausible explanation based on past experience that contracts are typically signed 5 or 7 months in advance, but not a full year.

Problem: Overlapping (potential) residence permits. This is the case, for example, when a person is pursuing a PhD while also receiving payment for a small project or a teaching position at a university, and additionally has freelance service contracts.

Solution: The “best-paid” or longest-lasting activity must be examined first. Example: The teaching position lasts a full year but is not sufficient on its own in terms of pay. In the practice of the AMS (Public Employment Service Austria) and the BMI’s (Federal Ministry of the Interior) directives to the residence authorities, however, “Special Cases of Gainful Employment” must be examined first. The other service contracts merely supplement the income. The BMI takes the view that artistic performances are also permissible alongside this (even if the “special cases” are carried out at the university). This interpretation reaches its limits when the “main job” falls below the marginal earnings threshold (because automatic social insurance coverage cannot be derived in that case) or is significantly less than half of the required income. In that case, the settlement permit for the practice of art would again be “essential.”

Problem: Free service contract. This is a “less strictly regulated employment arrangement in which there is room for substitution and, above all, the scope of work is variable. For example, an agency may organize gigs, but the number of gigs is uncertain.

Solution: In that case, the “declaration of liability” can be formulated as a kind of shortfall liability clause to ensure that the income benchmarks are met.

Problem: Some agreements are not yet available at the time of application. The agency recommends waiting to submit the application until all documents are in hand. Time is running out, and there are no more available application dates.

Solution: Submit the incomplete application in writing. Although this constitutes a formal deficiency, a request for correction (requiring a personal appearance) will be issued. And you’ll also gain a week or two to finalize the contract.

Important: According to the case law of the Supreme Administrative Court (VwGH), an application to change the purpose of a residence permit filed toward the end of its validity period always constitutes an application for renewal, which must be reviewed if the change of purpose is denied. The authorities will have to request updated documents, which buys more time, and fees are charged only once (whereas an application for renewal/change of purpose filed in this manner would incur fees twice).

Also important: An application for a change of purpose can be “supplemented” until a negative decision on the extension application is received. Since the authority must grant the parties a hearing before issuing a negative decision and generally allows a two-week period for comments, an application for a change of purpose can be supplemented at the end of that period (in which case a new fee notice will be issued).

Problem: The embassy does not offer (prompt) appointments for applications for a residence permit.

Solution: There isn’t really one, but it is possible to send the application by mail to the domestic authority. They will then issue a request for further action stating “go to the embassy,” and it is more likely that you will be able to secure an appointment with that specific request.

Important: For Iranian nationals, there is currently (2026) no competent embassy. This means the model described above reaches its limits, but if “habitual residence” in another country can be proven (right of residence for more than 3 months), the BMEIA (Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs) can more easily declare the embassy there competent for the specific case.