The recognition of foreign certificates

Workers may only be employed for work, which requires specialist skills – such as operating cranes or driving forklift trucks – if they possess a certificate that is recognised in Austria.

Employees who have only been posted temporarily to Austria are exempted from this. The conditions for this exemption are as follows:

  • The posting only lasts a maximum of four weeks in total in the calendar year
  • The employers possess confirmation that the posted workers have proof of their specialist skills in their country of origin (if such proof is required there).
  • To carry out blasting work, proof of relevant experience with a minimum duration of two years acquired during the last ten years is needed.

Recognition of foreign certificates, qualifications and work experience can be obtained from specific authorised training institutions: the Institutes for Economic Promotion (WIFI), which have been established by the Austrian Economic Chamber and can be found in every province. Recognition is carried out according to the provisions of the European Directive on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications (2005/36/EC).

Letzte Änderung am: 20.02.2026