EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
No visa, no permit, no quota — but a registration duty many newcomers miss, and conditions that quietly apply from month four.
In short
- Up to three months in Austria with nothing but a valid passport or identity card.
- Staying longer requires one of: employment or self-employment in Austria; studies; or sufficient own funds — the last two combined with comprehensive health insurance.
- The registration certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung) must be applied for within four months of arrival; late applications risk an administrative fine.
- After five years of continuous lawful residence: a certificate of permanent residence, with no further conditions to meet.
- Third-country family members receive a residence card and may work.
- UK nationals are now third-country nationals unless protected by the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
Three months, no questions asked
Free movement gives citizens of the EU, the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Switzerland the right to enter Austria without a visa and stay for up to three months with no conditions attached beyond carrying a valid travel document. There is no application, no sponsor and no minimum income for this initial period.
Two duties still apply from day one. Anyone taking up accommodation — even a rented flat for a trial period — must register the address with the local registration office within three days (the Meldezettel, covered in the first-weeks checklist). And anyone intending to stay beyond three months moves into the conditional part of the regime described below.
The registration certificate
A stay of more than three months is lawful if the person is a worker or self-employed in Austria, is enrolled as a student, or has sufficient resources and comprehensive health insurance so that no recourse to social assistance is needed. Whichever ground applies, the person must apply for a registration certificate at the competent settlement authority — in Vienna, Municipal Department 35 — within four months of entering Austria.
The certificate is declaratory: the right of residence comes from EU law, and the paper merely confirms it. Missing the deadline is nonetheless an administrative offence that can draw a fine, and the certificate is routinely asked for later — by banks, by the authority handling permanent residence, and as evidence of when lawful residence began.
| Ground for residence | What to show |
|---|---|
| Employed in Austria | Confirmation from the employer or an employment contract. |
| Self-employed in Austria | Evidence of the business — trade licence, commercial-register extract or comparable proof. |
| Studying | Enrolment at a recognised institution, a declaration of sufficient funds and health insurance cover. |
| Financially self-sufficient | Proof of sufficient funds — measured against the social-assistance reference rates (for 2026, EUR 1,308.39 a month for a single person) — plus comprehensive health insurance. |
For financially independent newcomers the funds test is undemanding by private-client standards: bank statements, investment accounts or pension income well above the reference rate settle the point. The health-insurance condition deserves more attention — private cover must be comprehensive and valid in Austria, and those without Austrian employment often combine it with the voluntary self-insurance described under healthcare.
Family members — including third-country spouses
Free movement extends to the family. A spouse or registered partner, children under 21 (or older dependants) and dependent parents may accompany or join an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who exercises the right of residence. Family members who are themselves EU, EEA or Swiss citizens apply for their own registration certificate.
Family members from third countries — a US spouse, say — apply for a residence card (Aufenthaltskarte) within four months of arrival. The card confirms a right of residence derived from the EU citizen's, and it carries full access to the labour market. After five years, a permanent residence card follows. This derived route is markedly simpler than any third-country permit — no quota, no points and no German requirement — which is why mixed-nationality couples usually plan the move around the EU spouse's rights, not the third-country spouse's.
Permanent residence after five years
After five years of continuous lawful residence, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens acquire the right of permanent residence automatically — no further conditions on income, insurance or language. On request the authority issues a certificate of permanent residence (Bescheinigung des Daueraufenthalts), which is useful evidence for banks, authorities and any later citizenship application.
Continuity is assessed sensibly: absences totalling up to six months in any year, absences to perform military service, and a single absence of up to twelve consecutive months for an important reason — a posting, serious illness, study or childbirth — do not break the five-year clock. Once acquired, permanent residence is only lost after an absence of more than two consecutive years. The parallel rules for third-country nationals are covered under permanent residence.
UK nationals after Brexit
UK citizens no longer enjoy free movement. Those who were lawfully resident in Austria before the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020 keep their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement and hold a dedicated residence title (the "Article 50 EUV" card). Everyone else is a third-country national.
For a British family planning a move today, that means choosing among the third-country routes: the independent-means permit for those living off capital, the Red-White-Red Card for those taking up employment, or the EU Blue Card for well-paid graduates. A UK national married to an EU citizen can still ride on the spouse's free-movement rights as described above.
What free movement does not cover
Free movement settles the immigration question — and nothing else. Taking a home in Austria and living here makes you an Austrian tax resident under the ordinary rules, taxable on worldwide income, whether or not any certificate has been issued; the mechanics are set out under tax residence. Because EU citizens can move at a week's notice, they are also the group most likely to move first and discover the tax consequences afterwards — the case for a review beforehand is made under pre-immigration planning.
On the practical side, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens buy property on an equal footing with Austrians — no approval needed, as explained under foreign buyers — and their route to the health system, schools and banking is the same first-weeks sequence as for everyone else. The immigration hub compares all routes side by side.
Questions on this page
What formalities apply to EU citizens who settle in Austria?
Very few. Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland may enter with a passport or identity card and settle under free movement rules. Their only formality is a registration certificate, applied for within four months of arrival.
What happens if I miss the four-month registration deadline?
The right of residence itself is unaffected — it flows from EU law, not from the certificate — but late registration is an administrative offence and can draw a fine. Registering promptly also creates clean evidence for the five-year path to permanent residence.
Can my non-EU spouse and children join me under free movement?
Yes. Third-country family members of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen exercising free movement rights receive a residence card (Aufenthaltskarte), applied for within four months of arrival, and may work in Austria.
Does registering make me an Austrian tax resident?
Not by itself — but the move usually does. Tax residence follows from having a home in Austria or staying more than six months, regardless of any certificate. The tax review belongs before the move, not after it.
Considering a move to Austria?
Tell us where you stand — the country you are leaving, the shape of your family and your assets, and when you plan to move. We advise on the legal and tax consequences of relocating to Austria and coordinate with advisers in the country of departure.
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