Third-country nationals need an Austrian residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) to stay there for over 6 months. Generally, you must apply for a visa and residence permit at the embassy or consulate in your home country before entering Austria.

A few exceptions allow you to apply for your residence permit from Austria. For example, if you're applying for a student or research permit or can enter Austria and then apply for a residence permit.

Types of Austrian residence permits

Residence permits allow non-EU citizens to reside in Austria and engage in authorized activities such as work or study, but they don’t grant permanent residency or the same rights as Austrian citizens.

Austrian residence permits for work

1. Red-White-Red Card allows you to stay and work in Austria for a specific employer or as a self-employed individual. It’s valid for the duration of your contract, up to a maximum of 2 years, and can be renewed.

You’re eligible for a Red-White-Red Card if you fall into one of the following categories:

• Very highly qualified workers
• Skilled workers in short-supply occupations
• Key personnel
• Graduates of an Austrian university
• Regular workers in tourism, agriculture, and forestry
• Self-employed key workers
• Start-up founders

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Eligibility for Red-White-Red Card is evaluated using a point-based system specific for each category.

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2. EU Blue Card enables highly qualified workers to reside and work in Austria for a specific employer. This card is issued for up to 2 years and can be renewed.

You’re eligible for an Austrian EU Blue Card if you meet all the following requirements:

• You’ve completed a university course of at least 3 years or, if you're an IT professional, gained a minimum of 3 years of relevant job experience within the past 7 years.
• You have a binding job offer for at least 6 months in Austria, and the nature of your employment corresponds to your training.
• You’ll earn at least the average gross annual income of full-time employees in Austria (€45,595 in 2023).
• The labor market assessment (Arbeitsmarktprüfung) confirmed that there’re no equally qualified job seekers registered with the Public Employment Service (AMS).

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If you hold an EU Blue Card or Red-White-Red Card in Austria, you can engage in self-employment activities alongside your primary employment.

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3. Residence permit ICT (Aufenthaltsbewilligung Unternehmensintern transferierte Arbeitnehmer) allows you to stay in Austria and work for a specific company as an intra-corporate transferee for a maximum of 3 years, or 1 year for trainees.

You’re eligible for the residence permit ICT if you’re going to work as a:

• Manager of the branch or a department of the branch.
• Specialist with specific knowledge and high qualifications in the field.
• Trainee whose professional development is being promoted or who will receive further training in industry-specific, technical, or methodological areas.

4. Red-White-Red Card Plus entitles you to live and work without restrictions in Austria.

You’re eligible for Red-White-Red Card Plus if you fall into one of the following categories:

• Holders of Red-White-Red Card or EU Blue Card who’ve been employed according to the requirements of their permit for at least 21 months in the past 24 months.
• Family members of Red-White-Red Card or EU Blue Card holders, including spouses, registered partners, and unmarried minor children (including adoptive and stepchildren) up to the age of 18
• Family members of foreign citizens permanently settled in Austria

Austrian residence permits for students

Residence permit for students (Aufenthaltsbewilligung Student) allows you to study in Austria for 12 months. You can renew the permit before its expiration date.

To qualify for a student residence permit, you must meet one of the following requirements:

• You’re enrolled in a degree program at an Austrian university, university of applied sciences, accredited private university, or university college of teacher education.
• You’re enrolled in a non-degree program within a public/private certificate university program, certificate university of applied sciences program, or certificate program at a university college of teacher education, with at least 40 ECTS credits. The program can’t be exclusively for language learning.
• You’re enrolled in a non-degree program as part of a University Preparation Program to prepare for additional exams required for your admission to the university.
• You’re enrolled in a non-degree program to prove that your foreign university degree is equivalent to an Austrian degree ( Nostrifizierung).

If you’d like to work during your studies, you must request an employment permit separately. With the employment permit, you can work for up to 20 hours/week.

Permanent residence permit in Austria

EU Long-Term Residence Permit (Daueraufenthalt-EU) allows you to permanently stay and work freely in Austria. The long-term residence permit is issued for 5 years and can be renewed.

You’ll be eligible for a long-term residence permit if you meet all the following requirements:

• You meet the general requirements for granting the residence permit.
• You held Red-White-Red Card, Red-White-Red Card Plus, EU Blue Card, or Settlement permit for uninterrupted 5 years.
• You have passed the integration exam, proving your German language proficiency at level B1 and understanding of the basic principles of Austrian laws and society.

General requirements for an Austrian residence permit

To apply for a residence permit in Austria, you must always provide the following documents:

• A valid passport
• A passport photo not older than 6 months (in the format 45 mm x 35 mm)
• Proof of accommodation in Austria
• Proof of health insurance
• Proof of sufficient income (except for Red-White-Red Card)
• Filled in application form
• Certificate of no criminal record from your country of residence

Other documents specific to your type of permit might include proof of German language skills, proof of qualification, proof of relevant education, birth/marriage certificate and employer’s declaration.

Keep in mind that you must submit all documents in original and copy. The documents must be legalized and translated into German by a sworn translator.

How to apply for Austrian residence permit

1. Gather necessary documents. Collecting the documents for your residence permit might take time, especially if you need to translate them. So start preparing weeks in advance.

2. Make an appointment at your local Austrian embassy. Typically, applying for a temporary residence permit in Austria costs €160, while a permanent residence permit costs €210. The renewal fee is €30.70.

3. Attend the appointment and pay the application fee.

4. Apply for a visa. The application processing time for visas is typically shorter than for residence permits, so you can apply for it as your last step.

5. Travel to Austria and pick up your residence permit. You can enter Austria with a visa and pick up your residence permit from the Austrian settlement authority within 6 months.

Austrian residence permit processing time

The processing time for an Austrian residence permit can range from several weeks to 6 months.

For the following resident permits you’ll typically get response within 8 weeks:

• Red-White-Red Card
• Red-White-Red Card Plus
• Blue Card
• Residence Permit ICT

It usually takes up to 90 days to process applications for the following Austrian residence permit types:

• Residence permit for students
• Settlement permit

Once you've applied for your residence permit, it's time to cross off the rest of the items from your relocation checklist. Finding your new home is a crucial step to ensure a smooth transition and settle comfortably in Austria. Start planning ahead and explore rental properties in Austria on HousingAnywhere! Have you chosen to move to Austria's capital? Then start your search and find a furnished rental in Vienna.

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