Household staff for families in Austria, selected in Spain
Vienna, Salzburg and Kitzbühel
Live-in housekeepers, domestic couples and nannies for families in Döbling and Hietzing, the Salzburg hills and the chalets of Kitzbühel. Austria is a country we know well from Madrid, and Vienna is where most of our Austrian work sits; we explain the binding minimum wage table for household staff and the permit rules before you start.
- Placement agency licensed by the SNE, no. 1300000318
- 4.8 · 79 Google reviews
- One-off fee · 6-month guarantee
Why Austrian families hire live-in staff through a Spanish agency
Austria is one of the countries where our work from Spain fits best, and Vienna is where most of the requests come from. The families are a mix of Viennese households, diplomats and international staff of the organisations based in the city, and owners of chalets in Kitzbühel who spend the winter there and the summer somewhere warmer, often Spain. What they have in common is a house that has to be run to a standard and very few live-in candidates available nearby.
What they tell us is that Vienna has excellent hourly help and a strong tradition of Hausangestellte, but that live-in staff with experience of a large, formal house and references anyone has called is scarce. A Spanish or Filipino housekeeper trained in a Madrid household, or a couple who ran a villa in Marbella, brings exactly that. And Austria pays them properly: it is one of two countries in Europe with a legally binding minimum wage table specifically for household employees.
The move is free for an EU candidate and, as in Germany and Switzerland, closed in practice for a non-EU one: the Red-White-Red Card does not cover household work. We say so before the search starts, and we present candidates with EU passports for Austria.
Vienna, Salzburg and Kitzbühel
A capital where most of our Austrian families live, a city of villas in the hills, and an Alpine resort of winter chalets.
Vienna
Döbling, Hietzing and the villa districts along the Vienna Woods, plus the diplomatic quarter around the UN and the embassies in the 19th. Vienna is where most of our Austrian work sits: live-in housekeepers for large villas and Altbau apartments, nannies for international families, and domestic couples for houses with a staff flat.
Salzburg
Aigen, Parsch and the villas on the Mönchsberg and Gaisberg slopes, homes of families with a foot in the city and one in the mountains. Requests here are for a housekeeper who cooks and for a couple to keep a house with grounds through the Salzburg winters.
Kitzbühel
Chalets in Kitzbühel, Reith and Aurach used from December to March and again in summer, some all year. A couple living on the property, keeping the chalet, driving in snow and receiving guests during the Hahnenkamm week, is the request we hear from Kitzbühel owners, many of them German or international families.
The profiles Austrian families ask us for
Housekeepers for Vienna, couples for chalets and villas with grounds, nannies for international families.
Live-in housekeeper
Runs a Vienna villa or apartment, laundry and cooking; German is welcome but not expected, English or Spanish is what the family uses at home.
Domestic couple
For Kitzbühel chalets and Vienna Woods villas with a staff flat: housekeeper and houseman-driver, snow included; one of the roles Vienna and Kitzbühel ask us for most.
Live-in nanny
For diplomatic and international families in Vienna with children in the international schools; Spanish or English, first aid, school runs.
Private chef / cook
For Vienna homes that entertain and for chalet weeks in Kitzbühel; often combined with housekeeping in a live-in role.
Permits and rules for household staff in Austria
Austria applies EU free movement and regulates household employment through a dedicated law, the Hausgehilfen- und Hausangestelltengesetz, and a binding minimum wage tariff. Non-EU household staff has no admission route in practice.
EU/EEA/Swiss candidates: no permit, registration within four months
A Spanish or other EU candidate takes up the job with her passport. She registers her address (Meldezettel) within three days of arrival and, if the stay exceeds three months, applies for the registration certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung) within four months with the employment contract. No quota, no labour-market test.
Non-EU candidates: household work is not a Red-White-Red Card category
Third-country nationals are admitted to work in Austria through the Red-White-Red Card in defined categories: very highly qualified workers, skilled workers in shortage occupations, other key workers, graduates of Austrian universities, regular workers in tourism, agriculture, forestry and care, self-employed key workers and start-up founders. Household employment in a private home is not among them, so a Filipino or Latin American housekeeper with Spanish residence cannot normally be hired for an Austrian home. We present EU-passport holders for Austria.
Binding minimum wage table and employment law
Household employees are covered by the Hausgehilfen- und Hausangestelltengesetz and by a Mindestlohntarif für im Haushalt Beschäftigte, a legally binding minimum wage tariff published in the Federal Law Gazette (BGBl. II Nr. 279/2025) and in force since 1 January 2026, with monthly minimum gross wages by wage group, a 238-hour monthly basis for live-in staff with board and lodging, and a separate tariff for Vienna. The family registers the employee with the ÖGK health insurance fund before the first day and runs payroll.
Who employs, and under which law
The employer is the family, in the country where the home is. We are a placement agency: we select and present, we are neither the employer nor a temp agency, so the Posting of Workers Directive (written for companies) does not apply. The contract is governed by the law of the place where the work is habitually done, even if the parties choose another (Rome I Regulation, art. 8).
Social security: the destination country's
The general rule of Regulation (EC) 883/2004 (art. 11(3)(a)) is to contribute where you work. The exception is a temporary posting (art. 12): a family resident in Spain that takes an employee already hired here may keep her in the Spanish system for up to 24 months with the A1 certificate issued by the TGSS, if the conditions are met. Otherwise the registration is done in the destination country.
Data protection when sending profiles
Profiles travel with the candidate's informed consent. Within the EEA there is no international transfer; to Switzerland, the UK and Andorra there is, covered by a European Commission adequacy decision (GDPR arts. 44-45). Monaco has no adequacy decision: we rely on appropriate safeguards or the explicit consent of art. 49.
Checked on 12 September 2026 against migration.gv.at (Red-White-Red Card categories), the Mindestlohntarif für im Haushalt Beschäftigte BGBl. II Nr. 279/2025 in the RIS legal information system, EUR-Lex and the European Commission adequacy list.
What you need to know before starting, not legal advice: each case is confirmed by the family with its adviser or the country's authorities. We keep these notes reviewed and tell you what we have checked and where.
Languages, currency and cost of living
German; English in international and diplomatic households
Families rarely require German from live-in staff; Spanish or English is spoken at home.
Euro (EUR)
No exchange risk on the salary or on our fee.
Vienna moderate for a capital; Kitzbühel expensive in season
Live-in accommodation in a Döbling villa or a Kitzbühel chalet is a significant part of the package.
ÖGK health insurance fund, registered by the family before the first day
Fourteen payments a year are standard in Austria (Urlaubs- und Weihnachtsgeld) and the tariff sets them for household staff.
Binding monthly minimum by wage group (Mindestlohntarif 2026); exact figure to be validated
The tariff sets monthly gross minimums for live-in household employees on a 238-hour basis, with a separate Vienna tariff; we have not verified the current figure per group on an official page, so we confirm it against the tariff before you make an offer. The market range is agreed case by case and we give it to you with the quote.
Figure pending confirmation from an official sourceMindestlohntarif für im Haushalt Beschäftigte, BGBl. II Nr. 279/2025, in force since 1 January 2026; the 2026 negotiation raised the lowest wage group by 3.7 percent.
An Austrian placement, step by step
Austria combines a free move for EU candidates with unusually clear wage rules for household staff: the tariff tells you the floor before you write the offer.
Brief and wage group
We confirm the candidate holds an EU passport and define the role in the terms of the tariff: wage group, live-in with board and lodging, hours and rest days, city or chalet.
Selection in Spain
Interviews in Madrid or by video, references called, and a frank talk about Austrian winters, snow driving for a couple and the rhythm of a diplomatic or chalet household.
Video interviews and trial
From your client portal; Vienna families often meet the finalist on a trip to Spain, and chalet owners bring a couple to Kitzbühel for two days before the season.
Contract, ÖGK and move
Written contract at or above the tariff minimum, ÖGK registration by the family before the first day, Meldezettel and registration certificate on arrival, and a start date around the notice period in Spain.
One-off fee and a 6-month guarantee, outside Spain too
You pay nothing during the search. Only once you take the person on and you're happy do you pay a single fee: the equivalent of one month of the agreed salary, plus VAT where applicable depending on where the job is. No subscriptions or lock-in.
One-off fee: one month's salary (+ VAT where applicable)
A single payment, only once you take the person on. We confirm the exact amount upfront, in euros or in your country's currency.
6-month guarantee
Replacement at no cost if the person isn't the right fit, and a 50% refund of the fee if you're not satisfied during the first month.
Relocation and trial
The family covers the relocation trip; before that you can interview by video and, if you travel to Spain or the candidate to your city, run a two-day trial.
Hiring household staff in Austria from Spain
No. EU citizens work in Austria without a permit. She registers her address within three days and, for a stay over three months, applies for the registration certificate within four months with the employment contract.
Not in the normal case: household work is not one of the Red-White-Red Card categories, and her Spanish permit is valid only in Spain. We present candidates with EU passports for Austria.
Yes, a legally binding one: the Mindestlohntarif für im Haushalt Beschäftigte, published in the Federal Law Gazette and in force since 1 January 2026, with monthly minimums by wage group, a 238-hour basis for live-in staff and a separate tariff for Vienna. Austria has no general statutory minimum wage, so this tariff is the floor.
Yes. The family registers the employee with the ÖGK health insurance fund before the first working day and runs the payroll, with the fourteen payments that are standard in Austria.
Yes. A couple living on the property, keeping the chalet, driving in snow and receiving guests in season, is the request we hear from Kitzbühel owners; we keep couples with chalet and villa experience available for Austria.
Domestic couplesFirst profiles in days; start date usually four to six weeks after your decision, allowing for the notice period in Spain and the move. No permit is needed for EU candidates.
Pages families in Austria also read
Looking for live-in staff for a home in Austria?
Tell us the city or resort, the role and the date. We answer with the tariff wage group, what the rules allow and the first profiles.