Best way to move to Innsbruck, Austria?
Posted by FarCheck4854@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 19 comments
I'm 27M from USA, I spent the whole winter skiing in Europe and fell in love with Austria. I don't speak German and I spent 3 weeks in Innsbruck. A little extra information about me is that I pretty much spent all my 20s on a ship in the ocean or away from home and all my friends are spread out and I'm single with no home. I've been to almost every state in the US and ultimately, it doesn't excite me at all. I would take an intensive language course in Innsbruck and try to find some basic job in town to meet people and work on my German. I have plenty of money for now so I can pretty much do whatever I want without working for a couple years. I'm a skilled electrical/diesel mechanic/hvac/powerplant worker with an engineering degree and all my experience is on European standard equipment.
Is this stupid or should I just double down on America and try to make millions and get involved into politics so I can build a decent place to live in the US?
Competitive-Leg-962@reddit
Is your engineering degree a bachelors or masters? That would enable you to at least apply for jobs, once your German is good enough.
If they are trade certificates or associates degrees, your best bet would be to do come on a student visa if you can afford it, or do an apprenticeship in a trade and capitalize on your existing experience.
oils-and-opioids@reddit
The EU doesn't give out work visas for "basic jobs", and I think you're deeply underestimating the level of German you'd need to work even as a cashier.
That's also not how visas work. At least not in Austria.
FarCheck4854@reddit (OP)
I already have friends and a girl I like there through skiing, most of them are students but I know everybody with jobs there still skis and mountain bikes. I have a place I can rent there too with native German speakers. I just don't know what type of job is in demand there yet but I don't care about the income. I'd love to open my own shop or restaurant which seems like a thing a lot of immigrants do.
Subterraniate2@reddit
Did you not take any notice of previous responses? There are regulations governing such a move, and you need to abide by them, fulfilling every criterion.
Have you at least looked at these rules, on the Austrian government’s website, under ‘Immigration’? As it stands, you sound disconnected from reality, and that will not carry you far.
oils-and-opioids@reddit
You need to care about the income, because a work visa will only give you a skilled job in your field, for equal or higher to what is expected for your job, with your credentials with the local market. If the immigration authorities think the salary you're being offered is too low or your position is too junior, they will not approve your work permit.
It matters deeply how they got there, and you can't just assume. Austria and Germany had decades of Gästearbeiters after the war. Many from places like Turkey and Vietnam and other countries to help rebuild. They stayed and eventually became citizens and had families. A proportion will be former refugees, some will be EU citizens exercising their freedom of movement. Austria does have a visa for starting a business if you get your business plan approved, have significant capital, and meet a host of other criteria. However, I think someone with no culinary background trying to open a restaurant would be pretty unsuccessful.
You need a realistic plan with a solid understanding of what visas would be available under which conditions. If you really want to move to Austria you need to be serious. What do you need to do to have your educational credentials recognised? What licensing if any do you need? What salary range is required? If you are serious about opening a business you need to start making a business plan and getting your finances in order. You need to learn German now. Not later.
Zweidreifierfunf@reddit
German is a very difficult language to learn from scratch. I started at age 25 and severely underestimated how hard it would be. Expect 2-5 years minimum just to have a chance at understanding what people are saying. A few intensive 2 week courses will not get you there. You’ll feel like a bumbling idiot. It will be very isolating not being able to understand conversations. You will question whether it’s worth the effort unless the plan is to stay forever.
The other problem is that the language spoken in Austria is a unique dialect that even Germans can’t understand.
Therefore, if I haven’t scared you off completely, I would look at nearby Southern Germany instead of Austria, especially given your engineering background. It’s close enough to Innsbruck to go on weekends.
FarCheck4854@reddit (OP)
The first class I would take is 20+ hours a week for 6 months in Innsbruck. I know German is very difficult, but there are so many immigrants that learned it as adults. I don't like making groups speak English but it seems like everybody speaks English in Innsbruck since it's such an international young ski town. I have a job I can do in Hamburg but I just love Innsbruck and want to create and contribute to the community there
oils-and-opioids@reddit
If the job you're targeting is in Hamburg (and you'd be eligible for the visa) than you cannot live in Austria. You can live in Germany and visit Austria.
Only EU citizens have the freedom to live in one country and work on another l.
Mean__MrMustard@reddit
LOL most Austrians can speak and understand normal German tough. And even the Austrian German is way easier to understand than eg swiss-German. It’s mostly just different terms for food and some other stuff. Why the tyrolean accent is unique, it’s not like everybody speaks it in Innsbruck or the touristic centers.
His main problem will be that there are not many jobs without quite good German, and in Innsbruck you have plenty of competition for any English-speaking only jobs due to the (albeit small) student population.
VillaVillekullaa@reddit
Working holiday visa and then work sponsorship... but you will need German
VillaVillekullaa@reddit
Also you will likely never feel like a local, which is something to consider when making this decision
FarCheck4854@reddit (OP)
I mean I don't really feel like a local anywhere in the US right now. In my 6 weeks of skiing in Austria I met so many people skiing and was in big group chats with locals. I'm sure I could move to Salt Lake City and accomplish this but I didn't really have that hard of a time with the language in Austria. I have people who helped me with all the paperwork stuff
CheeseLouiseEatsMacN@reddit
Short of a legal marriage, American citizens are eligible for:
From a non-legal perspective: during that time, I'd suggest focusing on German language proficiency constantly - no speaking English at all whenever possible. In fact, you should start tomorrow: plenty of programs you could buy to get started (Rosetta Stone, etc) and most cities have "language cafes" that you can join to practice your skills.
FarCheck4854@reddit (OP)
Do you speak German? Do you have an online class recommendation in the mean time besides Rosetta Stone? I heard about Nico's Weg
CuriosTiger@reddit
As a US citizen, you require a residence permit to stay in Austria (or indeed, Schengen) for more than 90 days, and you require a work permit to take up employment there.
What's your plan for obtaining those?
FarCheck4854@reddit (OP)
Well I'm considering taking an intensive German course to get an extra year there. I'm not sure about the work permit but I met an American barber there so it seems like it can't that bad
Embarrassed-Wolf-609@reddit
Probably marry an eu cit
oils-and-opioids@reddit
“Marry me because I'm an American who wants to move to Austria" isn't exactly peak dating profile material.
Not to mention most EU countries including Austria require spouses to pass a language test before granting them a visa
Aggravating_Cup7644@reddit
How do you plan on getting a visa there?