Employers based in the European Union/European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland sending employees on assignment to Austria must appoint a document maintenance and information agent by January 1, 2017, according to a new law. For staffing assignments, appointing an agent is optional.
Employers can appoint an assigned employee who is in Austria during the entire project or a lawyer, notary or tax consultant based in Austria as the agent.
Employers must disclose the appointed agent and the document storage location at the beginning of every project, or at the latest with the first KIAB/ZKO filing that has a validity period on or after January 1, 2017.
Document Storage Rules
The document agent must have access to the documents of all employees assigned to the specific project and must keep the document accessible to migration officers in case of an audit.
Documents must be stored at one of the following locations:
- The Austrian workplace;
- The workplace of the document agent in Austria;
- With a lawyer, notary or tax consultant in Austria if that is who the employer has appointed as the agent; or
- At the offices of an Austrian affiliate of the EU/EEA/Swiss employer.
Non-EU/EEA/Swiss employers assigning foreign workers to Austria must abide by the document storage rules but do not have to appoint a document maintenance agent.
What This Means for Employers and Foreign Nationals
EU employers should appoint a document maintenance and information agent and develop a document storage plan by mid-December. Non-EU/EEA/Swiss employers should ensure they abide by the document storage rules.
Employers with questions on the new policy should contact their immigration professional.