Doing a Ski Season in St Anton: Jobs, Visas and Housing

When the season runs and when to arrive

Ski Arlberg’s 2026/27 season times for St Anton, St Christoph and Stuben, and for Lech, Oberlech and Zürs, are 2 December 2026 to 18 April 2027. Ski Arlberg notes that operation may be limited and that the start and end aren’t fixed dates (skiarlberg.at).

Hotels, lift companies and ski schools hire before the season, and many jobs start before the lifts open. Apply in autumn, and arrive with your job and staff room confirmed.

Visas and the right to work

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can work in Austria on the same terms as Austrians (migration.gv.at). If you stay more than three months, apply for a registration certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung) within four months of arriving (oesterreich.gv.at).
Working holiday countries. Austria has working holiday programmes with Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and the USA, generally for people aged 18 to 30, as listed on 16 October 2026 (oesterreich.gv.at). The Foreign Ministry says participants may take any job to fund their stay; conditions differ by country (Austrian Foreign Ministry).
UK citizens aren’t in the working holiday programme (Austrian Embassy London). GOV.UK says you may need a work visa to work in Austria (living in Austria, travel to Austria for work).
Seasonal worker permits. For other non-EU workers, the employer can apply to the AMS for a seasonal permit under an annual quota, for up to six months at a time (migration.gv.at).

This is general information, not immigration advice. Check your own situation on the official pages.

Finding work

The village job portal. St Anton’s tourism board runs a job portal with hotel and catering, sports and leisure, shop and rental, and transport jobs (stanton.job-offers.com).
The lift company. Arlberger Bergbahnen lists its jobs on Ski Arlberg’s site, with a free Ski Arlberg ski and hiking pass, discounted staff meals, a regional job ticket and accommodation for staff from outside the area. Its application form asks for your German level (skiarlberg.at).
Ski schools. Skischule Arlberg and the Ski- und Snowboardschule St. Anton both recruit instructors (Skischule Arlberg, Skischule St. Anton). Ski Club Arlberg has run a trainee instructor course in St Anton with the Tyrolean ski instructors’ association; check for the next one (Ski Club Arlberg).
National job search. The AMS, Austria’s public employment service, runs online job search, and EURES serves EU jobseekers (AMS).

Finding somewhere to live

In Austrian ski villages, staff accommodation usually comes with the job, and St Anton is no exception. The tourism board says there’s a wide range of accommodation for employees and publishes lists of seasonal accommodation for St Anton and the Stanzertal valley (stantonamarlberg.com).

It’s a small village that fills up in winter: the municipality counts about 2,380 residents and over 11,000 tourist beds, and second-home registrations rise from 1,257 in summer to 3,162 during the winter season (Gemeinde St. Anton, 2024). Ask about staff accommodation in your interview, and if your job doesn’t include it, use the tourism board’s lists before you arrive.

Getting around

Train: St Anton has a central railway station on the Arlberg line, with direct Railjet trains from Vienna and Zurich (stantonamarlberg.com).
Ski bus: the ski bus between St Christoph and Flirsch is free for winter sports enthusiasts (skiarlberg.at).
Getting to work is different. The municipality’s bus rules say trips not related to winter sports, including your commute, need a valid ticket from VVT, the Tyrol transport network (Gemeinde St. Anton). Employers can provide a VVT job ticket (VVT), so ask yours.

Making friends and finding people to ride with

St Anton’s season crew comes from all over Europe and beyond, and staff houses make the first friends easy. The challenge is finding people who share your day off, especially if you work split shifts in a hotel.

Broski

Using Broski in St Anton

Broski is a free app for iPhone and Android that helps skiers and snowboarders find people to ride with, matched by resort, by the days they’re free and by ability. It suits season workers, whose days off rarely line up with their housemates’.

Set your home resort (St Anton or Lech Zürs) and add your sport, ability and season pass to your profile.
Mark your days off as soon as your roster comes out. Riders can see each other’s free days for the next two weeks, so pick a date and see who else is riding then, at your level.
Join the resort group chat. Every resort, pass and event on Broski has one: ask who’s keen for first chair, or who’s riding on Tuesday.
Go to a meetup, or host one. Riders host lift laps, après and other events, and you can see who’s going before you turn up. Hosts can make an event women-only.
Send a request to ride with someone. Once it’s accepted, you can chat and plan where to meet.

Meeting someone new? Chat first, meet at a lift base or a café, and read our guide to meeting ski buddies safely. You can report or block anyone, and Broski is for adults only.

Other ways in

Season events. St Anton’s 2026/27 calendar includes the Stanton Ski Open on 4 to 6 December 2026, the Schneetreiben ski show on Wednesdays from 13 January 2027, the FIS European Cup Finals on 23 and 24 March 2027 (stantonamarlberg.com), and Der Weiße Rausch, the mass-start race down from the Valluga, on 17 April 2027 (Tirol Werbung).
Ski Club Arlberg, founded in 1901, holds regular Stammtisch meet-ups open to locals, instructors, members and people thinking of joining (Ski Club Arlberg).
Arlberg WellCom, the village leisure centre, has pools, saunas, a gym and tennis (arlberg-wellcom.at).
Learn some German. Even a little goes a long way with colleagues and locals.

More ideas in our guide to making friends during a ski season, and check the snow forecasts before a day off.

First week checklist

Register your address (Meldezettel) within three days of moving in. It’s free; your landlord or host signs the form, and you bring your passport (oesterreich.gv.at).
Check you’re registered for social insurance. Your employer must register you before you start work and give you a copy (USP).
EU citizens staying over three months: apply for your registration certificate within four months (oesterreich.gv.at).
Open a bank account. Consumers lawfully resident in the EU have a right to a basic account (Basiskonto) (Arbeiterkammer).
Ask about your job ticket for the bus, and pick up your staff pass.
Set up Broski and join the St Anton group chat.

Questions and answers

When is the ski season in St Anton?

Early December to mid-April. Ski Arlberg’s 2026/27 season times for St Anton, St Christoph and Stuben are 2 December 2026 to 18 April 2027, with limited operation possible. Der Weiße Rausch, St Anton’s mass-start race, is on 17 April 2027, the day before the season ends.

Can I work a season in St Anton as a Brit?

Not as easily as before Brexit. GOV.UK says UK nationals may need a work visa to work in Austria, and the UK isn’t one of Austria’s working holiday partner countries. Some seasonal jobs go through Austria’s seasonal worker permits, which the employer applies for. Check the official pages before you accept a job. This is general information, not immigration advice.

Can Australians, Kiwis and Canadians work in Austria?

Austria has working holiday programmes with a list of countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Each has its own conditions, such as age, length of stay, funds and insurance, so check the Austrian Foreign Ministry’s working holiday pages and the embassy for your country.

Do St Anton employers give staff accommodation?

Many do. The lift company, Arlberger Bergbahnen, lists accommodation for staff from outside the area, and St Anton’s tourism board says there’s a wide range of staff accommodation. Ask about it in your interview.

Do I need to speak German to work in St Anton?

It helps. The lift company’s application form asks for your German level, and German helps in most jobs that deal with guests and local teams. Read each job ad and ask in the interview.

How do I meet people to ride with in St Anton?

Start with your colleagues and staff house. Then join the resort group chat on Broski and mark your days off so riders at St Anton and Lech Zürs can see when you’re free, go to meetups and season events, and look at Ski Club Arlberg’s regular meet-ups.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from these official pages, checked on 16 October 2026. Visa rules, job openings and season dates change every year, so check the official page before you book anything.

All 28 official sources

Photos

On the mountain at St Anton am Arlberg: Maarten Scheer on Unsplash (Unsplash License)
Golden hour at St Anton am Arlberg: Oskar Kadaksoo on Unsplash (Unsplash License)
Peaks above the clouds at St Anton am Arlberg: Oskar Kadaksoo on Unsplash (Unsplash License)

Doing a ski season in St Anton

Season calendar

When the season runs and when to arrive

Visas and the right to work

Finding work

Finding somewhere to live

Getting around