Green & Blue Card: Working legally in Vienna 2025
Green card, blue card & Private escort in Vienna: Your complete guide to legal sex work 2025
By Intimcity editorial team - October 2025
Dear ladies,
you want to work legally, safely and lucratively in Vienna - whether in studios, with escort agencies or as a private escort? Then the Blue Card and Green Card are your tickets to legal business.
This comprehensive guide explains step by step:
- How to get the cards (free of charge!)
- Where you can work legally (and where you can't!)
- What private escort means - and why the same rules apply
- Current statistics 2025 & practical checklists
Blue card: Your "driver's license" for sex work
Without a blue card = illegal work → Immediate punishment!
What is the Blue Card?
The Blue Card is the official confirmation of registration issued by the City of Vienna (MA 15). It certifies: "You are authorized to carry out sex work - voluntarily, of legal age and without coercion."
Prerequisites
Required: At least 18 years of age, valid photo ID, residence permit with work permit (for third-country nationals)
Not permitted: Ongoing criminal proceedings (prostitution)
Super-new since June 2023: You no longer need a green card to register! First register, then examine.
Where & How?
MA 15 - Health Service of the City of Vienna
Address: Thomas-Klestil-Platz 11, 1030 Vienna
Date: Book online → wien.gv.at/ma15
Phone: +43 1 4000-40151
Cost: 0 €
Duration: approx. 15 minutes
Validity
Unlimited (as long as active)
Have it stamped annually (MA 15)
Green Card: Your free health protection
Without a Green Card = a fine of up to €1,200!
What is the Green Card?
The health card that confirms: "You are free of HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia."
Obligation to examine
Every 3 months
Mandatory: HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia
Voluntary: Hepatitis B/C, HPV vaccination
Where? Only central & free of charge!
Outpatient clinic for sexually transmitted diseases
Address: Schnirchgasse 11, 1030 Vienna
Opening hours:
Mon, Tue, Thu: 7:30-11:30
Wed: 12:00-16:00
Fri: 7:30-10:30
No appointment necessary - just go!
Costs: 100 % free of charge (incl. consultation & exhibition)
Validity
3 months
Must be carried at all times (also permitted digitally on cell phone)
Work locations: Where CAN you work?
Allowed:✅
- Legal studios/brothels (with MA 15 permit)
- Home visits (outcalls) from a legal studio/agency
- Hotel meeting (booked by the customer)
Strictly prohibited:🚫
- Private apartments - also with landlord consent!
- AirBnB, hotel as "office"
- Receiving customers in their own home
Most important law: Vienna Prostitution Act 2011 § 4 - residential prostitution is illegal. Penalty: 400 € + closure + complaint against landlord.
Escort Services & Private Escort: Everything legal - but with rules!
Escort with agency
- Legal if agency has operating license MA 15
- You need: Blue + green card
- Advantages: protection, advertising, driver
- Examples: Darling Vienna, Vienna Escort - all licensed
Private escort (without agency)
YES, you can work alone - but:
Allowed:✅
- Own website / Intimcity profile
- WhatsApp/phone
- Virtual office as a business address
Forbidden:🚫
- Start from home
- Invite customers into your home
Tip: Rent a studio room for 1 day/week (50-80 €) → as a legal basis for outcalls.
- Business & Taxes: Self-employed registration (mandatory!)
- Tax office → Register new self-employed person
→ SVS health insurance (approx. €70/month)
→ VAT from €35,000/year - MA 15 → Trade license "Sex services" (free of charge)
- Bookkeeping: note income/expenses
Tip: Use Elster or FinanzOnline - everything is digital.
Statistics 2025: The harsh reality
Category | Number | Source
Registered sex workers | 3,370 | MA 15
With blue card | 3,210 (95 %) | MA 15
With a valid Green Card | 3,050 (90 %) | MA 15
Illegal apartments closed | 39 (Oct.) | Police
Penalties (missing tickets) | €190,000 | Police
Authorized escort agencies | ~50 | MA 15
Priority checks | 68 | LPD Vienna
Conclusion: 95% work legally - but every 10th person does not have a current Green Card!
- Step-by-step: How to become legal (checklist)
- Day 1: Appointment at MA 15 → Get a blue card
- Day 2-3: Schnirchgasse 11 → Green Card (free of charge!)
- Day 4: Tax office + MA 15 → Register business
- Day 5: Secure a legal basis
- Rent a studio room or
- Virtual office
- Tag 6: Place intimcity advertisement
- Intimcity profile
- Own website (with imprint!)
- Get going: Only outcalls / hotel - never out of the apartment!
- Annually: stamp blue card + green card every 3 months
- Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Question | Answer
Can I work as a private escort? | Yes - but not from the apartment!
Can I invite customers to visit me? | No! Illegal → Penalty.
Do I need an agency? | No, but recommended for security.
Are examinations really free of charge? | Yes! Only in Schnirchgasse.
What if I come from a non-EU country? | Yes - with a residence permit + work permit.
Is there an app? | Yes! "Sexarbeit Wien" - shows appointments, doctors, laws.
- Helpful contacts & links
- MA 15 Date: wien.gv.at/ma15
- Green card: Schnirchgasse 11 - wien.gv.at/sti
- Consulting:
- Sophie: +43 1 317 44 22
- LEFÖ (migrant women): +43 1 581 18 81
- Intimcity: jobs.intimcity.at - only legal offers!
Conclusion: Legal = Safe = More money
You work with blue card + green card:
- Without fear of a raid
- Free health protection (Schnirchgasse!)
- In top studios or as an escort
- With tax deductibility & SVS protection
Golden tip from Intimcity: Sign up in the first 7 days, get your cards in 1 hour - and start with a legal studio as your base. Then you are 100% safe as a private escort!
You want to start now?
Write to us at Intimcity.at - we will connect you free of charge:
- Legal studio room
- Trade consultants
- Safe escort partners
Stay safe, stay legal - your Intimcity editorial team
Sources: MA 15 Vienna, Ambulatorium Schnirchgasse, LPD Vienna, Vienna Prostitution Act 2011, AMS, ÖGK (as of October 2025)