Secondment of Ukrainian workers from Poland to Austria – what is required?

  • Post published:18/11/2021

You are a Polish company and have for example Ukrainian or Belorussian employees who you want to temporarily deploy for the implementation of projects in Austria? In times of a shortage of skilled workers in Austria, the question of what requirements have to be fulfilled arises more and more often. The answer is unfortunately complicated – it depends:

The general prerequisite for the secondment of Ukrainian workers from Poland to Austria is first of all that

  • the posted worker is duly employed in the posting state (i.e. Poland) and carries out his/her main activity there and
  • the Austrian wage and working conditions and social security regulations are complied with during the secondment (as is the case with the secondment of your Polish workers).

If you fulfil these points, it is easiest to second your Ukrainian employees to Austria for up to 3 months at a time for the implementation of projects with a total project duration of up to 6 months, as:

  • according to § 18 para. 12 AuslBG, an EU secondment confirmation is required;
  • no separate visa is required for the duration of up to 3 months.

In the case of the planned temporary secondment of your Ukrainian employees (with a residence title and work permit in Poland), a ZKO 3 notification must be submitted – just as with the secondment of your Polish employees – stating the data on the residence title and work permit in Poland.

In this case, the notification is automatically forwarded to the competent office of the Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS).

The AMS issues an EU secondment confirmation (“EU-Entsendebestätigung”) within 14 days if the prerequisites are deemed to be met. If the AMS does not consider the prerequisites to be met, it may refuse to issue the EU posting confirmation. Therefore, the registration process should be started early.

In case of a secondment of more than 3 months, a visa D (acquisition) is required, which has to be applied for at the Austrian embassy or consulate in Poland.

If the secondment of Ukrainian workers is planned for longer than 4 months, an employment permit is required in each case, and if the duration is longer than 6 months, a residence permit is needed instead of a visa.

Since the applicable regulations are quite complex in their entirety, it is worthwhile to seek advice from competent bodies in advance.