It is employer's duty to apply for a work permit for a foreign worker in Austria. The application must be submitted in German. The employer can be either an Austrian company, or a foreign company that provides service to an Austrian company.

The application for a work permit is submitted to the local Job Centre (Arbeitsmarktservice). Once it is approved, the candidate will have to apply for a Residence Visa at the Austrian embassy in their home country.

A Work Permit is a permission for the employer to employ a candidate in Austria. The candidate is not eligible to start the employment yet. they need to apply for a Residence Visa first.

Nationas of old countries of the European Union are free to take any employment in Austria at any time. Citizens of the new EU countries must apply for a Work Permit and Residence Visa at the moment.

Germany, Europe's largest market, has a great shortage of skilled IT staff. Each year 75,000 work permits (Green Cards) are issued for immigrants in Germany, most of them n the Information Technology industry.

Apart of IT professionals, next highly skilled workers are required in Germany as well: scientists, engineers, professors, biologists, chemists, and physicists.

Highly qualified immigrants can get the Work Permit and Permanent Residence from the very beginning. They must hold a job offer from the perspective employer and a permission from German Employment Agency prior to their arrival to the country.

Family members can accompany the successful applicants and get Work Permits as well.

German embassies are responsible for collecting applications for immigration and Work Permits in Germany. Only citizens of next countries may apply for Work Permits while visiting Germany as tourists: Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and United States of America.

Nationas of old countries of the European Union are free to take any employment at any time. Citizens of the new EU countries must apply for Work Permit at the moment.

It is extremely difficult for an unskilled worker to get a Work Permit in Germany.

France has the most protected labour market in Europe. There are many beurocratic obstacles in a way to a Work Permit for a foreign worker.

The employer applies for a work permit on behalf of the candidate. A Work Permit comes with a Work Visa; the Work Permit allows the company to emply the non-EEA national, the Work Visa allow the candidate to live and work in the country. The Work Visa come with the Work Permit.

There are two types of Work Permits in France:

1. Full Work Permit is for the established French companies that want to employ non-EEA workers. This kind of Work Permits is issued with no expiry dat.
2. Temporary Secondment is for a non-French company that wants to place their employee on their client's site in France. This Work Permits are issued for a period of up to 18 months and can be renewed for additional 9 months after the initial period expires.

Because in France the local employment offices (Direction Departmentale du Travail, de L'Emploi et de la Formation Professionale - DDTEFP) are responsible for processing Work Permits, the time it takes to process the application varies from town to town. Usually it takes from 4 to 10 weeks.

First, the application has to be submitted to a local branch of DDTEFP. If the DDTEFP approves the application, it will be returned to the employer. The candidate takes the approved application to the French consulate in their home country and the embassy issues the Long Stay Visa for the candidate - this allows the candidate to travel to France. After the candidate arrives to the country, they must take a medical test and afterwards they are issued the Residence Permit from the French police.

The United Kingdom has traditionally always been one of the most popular European destinations of emigrants from all around the world.

Highly Skilled Programme

The UK Highly Skilled Programme enables professional people with strong skills to immigrate to the country and grants them a work permit. Those with better education, more work experience, and higher past earnings have a better chance of scoring more points in the point-based immigration programme.

Sector Based Scheme Work Permits

There is a new immigration scheme for low skilled workers who wish to emigrate to the UK - Sector Based Scheme Work Permits. Workers in next sectors are in constant demand in the UK: hospitality, catering, nd food manufacturing. Applicants under this programme must be between 18 and 30 years. They can get a temporary work permit for a period of up to 12 months. The employer must prove there is a shortage of workers in the area. The workers cannot bring their families with them. A period of at least 2 months spent outside the UK must follow the stay in the UK with the temporary Work Permit under this scheme.

Workers from the European Union

Nationals of the European Economic Area (i.e. countries of the European Union plus Norway, Iceland, and Lichtenstein) can live and work in the UK freely without the need to apply for a work permit. Citizens of next new EU countries must register with the Workers Registration Scheme a month after they start an employment for a period of 12 months: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

Employers in New Zealand must prove they are unable to find a suitable employee for the position in New Zealand before they hire someone from overseas. If no New Zealanders are suitably qualified or experienced for the job, the employer can get an Approval in Principle from the New Zealand Immigration Service (NZIS). The candidate then applies for the Work Visa with a written offer of employment, proofs of qualification and work experience, and an Approval in Principle from the NZIS.

Once a Work Visa is granted, the employee may apply for a further Work Permit on arrival in New Zealand.

Employees need to apply for Work Visa first. If they are successful, they get the endorsement to their passports. This allows them to enter and re-enter New Zealand freely. However, the endorsement is not the Work Permit - they will need to apply for it once they are in the country.

Employees are allowed to work in New Zealand with a valid Work Permit only. Work Visa do not represent, nor replace the Work Permit.

Work Permits are valid for a period of three years. Once they expire, new applications have to be made again.

Australia attracts many especially young people. It offers a great lifestyle and many excellent job opportunities. About 120,000 immigrants arrive to the country every year.

Australia's point-based General Skilled Migration scheme has proven to be very succesful. Applicants can get points for their qualifications, work experience, and English language proficiency. All applicants must meet the basic criteria to qualify for the programme; they must be under 45 years of age, be able to communicate in English, have post-secondary education and recent work experience.

Those who do not meet the basic criteria should not apply for immigration / work permit in Australia under General Skilled Migration scheme.

If you or your spouse have a close family relative in Australia, you can apply for a sponsored immigration visa. Your relative must be eligible as a sponsor: an Australian citizen who lives in Australia, aged 18 years or over.

Firstly, to be able to travel abroad, you will need a valid passport. Apart from the passport, it is recommended to have other ID documents with you all the time, such as a driving license. Once you get to the ship the purser will file your passport and other documents and keep them in a safe, since you won't need them during the cruise.

Most staff on cruise ships do not come from the same country from where the ship is registered. Therefore many of them need a valid visa and/or work permit to work on a cruise ship legally.

If your ship embarks from a port in the USA or you have a stopover in one of the US ports, you will need the appropriate visa. You do not need to apply for a Green Card. All you need is your letter of employment (from your employer) and apply for C1 Transit, D1 Seamen and B2 Visitor visa at the US embassy in your country. These visas allow you to enter the USA for a limited time (usually 30 days) only when your ship calls to a US port.

If you choose to stay in the USA, you will need to return to your home country to apply for the work permit - you cannot stay in the USA with C1/D1/B2 visa. Contact the US embassy in your country for more information. See more information about immigration and work permits in the USA, and the Green Card lottery.

If your cruise ship is registered in the UK, you will need to apply for the appropriate work permit at the British embassy in your country, unless you come from a country of the European Economic Area (EEA): Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Nationals of 8 new member states of the European Union need to register with the Home Office (Workers Registration Scheme) if they haven't worked in the UK legally for a period of at least 12 months before. This applies to the citizens of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Read more about immigration and work permits in the UK.

If your ship cruises the waters under the Italian, Greek, Norwegian, German, or French flag, you need to apply for the appropriate work visa unless you are a national of one of the old EU countries. Read more about work permits and work visas in Germany, France and other countries.

Cruise ship companies are used to employing staff from all over the world. They know how to obtain necessary visas and work permits. They will assist you and guide you through the process of applying for all the work visas and permits once they give you a job offer and you accept it.

Work Permits & Immigration: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Austria