Working in Austria

For students and graduates of third countries

How international is the University of Vienna?

125 nationalities are represented at the University of Vienna. Among students, 30% come from abroad. For the academic year 2019/20 the International Office's 'International Report' stated the following numbers regarding students’ countries of origin:

  • 70,5% Austria
  • 20,7% EU (excl. Austria)
  • 8,8% from outside the EU

The total number of third-country nationals studying at the University of Vienna is 4.267; many of whom plan to stay in Austria after graduation and to enter the Austrian employment market.

Career Coaching free of cost

Access to the Austrian labour market is regulated by legal prerequesites. For some, these can become major hurdles. For this reason, two years ago Unioport in cooperation with the National Employment Service (Arbeitsmarktservice) Vienna has introduced a dedicated service targeting third-country nationals. This involves individual coaching sessions as well as group webinars, both available in German and English.


Clara-Maria Köck, BA MDVST MSW(Q)
With Uniport since 2020, supporting the team as a legal and career counsellor for third-country nationals. Studied Art History and Law in Vienna as well as International Development and Social Work in Sydney.

"For two years now I’ve been having the pleasure and seeing it as an exceptional privilege to work on this project."

Uniport career coach Clara states about her work. What made her feel that way?

“Each day – with every consultation, every webinar - I get the chance to meet people who have come to Austria bringing along already an incredible repertoire of cultural background, languages, and personal experiences. Many times, this has been my core task: assisting my clients in acknowledging their very own treasure – that they already hold such a huge range of resources. They simply need to tap into them and become aware of their value – in particular also regarding the employment market.”

The various reasons for choosing Vienna as your “home”

Apart from that, it can be exciting to simply listen: Why my clients have chosen Vienna as their place to study. These conversations have also encouraged me to look at my hometown from a different angle and – yes – also appreciate more what is too easily taken for granted when having grown up here.

Despite all these fascinating stories I am perfectly aware that some of my clients chose studying and potentially settling in a foreign country due to reasons based not solely on personal preference. In particular, political, social, or even military conflict and unrest may make it a necessity to look into building a new life elsewhere if seeking long-term economic and professional stability. And many see such opportunity in Austria.

For students from Ukraine:

Information about Labour Market in Austria for Ukrainian Refugees:
https://www.ams.at/arbeitsuchende/arbeiten-in-oesterreich-und-der-eu/ukraine 

Webinar: Studying and working in Austria as a third-country national (in English)
21 April, 10 am to 11.30 am
>>Free registration and further details

General information on studying and enrollment at the University of Vienna for asylum seekers: https://studieren.univie.ac.at/en/admission/information-for-asylum-seekers/

UniVie stands with Ukraine
https://ukraine.univie.ac.at/

International Communities – network and mutual support

Academia worldwide is characterized by internationality and thrives on mutual exchange and support – this not only when looking at it from a professional angle. This isn’t any different for University of Vienna. To make this community tangible and turn it into a lived experience is crucial to its vitality as a whole as well as the well-being of each individual involved – now more than ever.

Further information and web resources

Uniport – as University of Vienna’s careers service – offers besides networking events also individual coaching. In the following we would like to introduce a number of services and web resources which might be useful for you when coming from a third country; some also touching on areas beyond career advice.

Uniport’s services:

Information and services outside of University:

Further information in particular for people arriving from Ukraine: