Permanent residence after five years
Daueraufenthalt – EU: what counts towards the five years, which absences reset the clock, and what the status actually changes.
In short
- Five years of continuous, lawful settlement in Austria qualify a third-country national for the permit Daueraufenthalt – EU — permanent residence with unrestricted access to the labour market.
- Module 2 of the Integration Agreement — German at B1 — plus adequate income, insurance and accommodation are required at grant.
- Absences of more than six consecutive months, or more than ten months in total, outside Austria restart the five-year clock — for EU Blue Card holders the lines are twelve months at a stretch or eighteen in total, measured against the EEA.
- Once granted, the status is open-ended; it lapses after 12 consecutive months outside the EEA (24 where the permit was granted to an EU Blue Card holder or his or her family members). The card itself is renewed every five years.
- EU, EEA and Swiss citizens follow an easier track: a certificate of permanent residence after five years, with no further conditions.
What the permit is — and what counts towards it
Daueraufenthalt – EU is the end-point of the ordinary immigration ladder for non-EU nationals: a permanent settlement title based on the EU long-term residents framework. It detaches your right to live in Austria from any particular job, business or purpose, and it is the last station before citizenship. Where each route on the ladder starts is mapped on the immigration overview.
The five years must be spent in lawful settlement. Time on a Red-White-Red Card or Red-White-Red Card plus, an EU Blue Card, a settlement permit — including the independent-means permit — or a family title all counts in full. A period on a mere residence permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung), such as a student permit, counts at only 50% — and only where it immediately precedes the switch to a settlement title; earlier, non-contiguous periods do not count at all. The clock is personal: each family member accrues his or her own five years from his or her own arrival.
The requirements at grant
Five years alone do not complete the case. At the time of decision the applicant must also satisfy the general settlement conditions and, critically, the language module that most new arrivals have not yet needed:
| Requirement | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Five years' settlement | Continuous and lawful, with settlement titles counting in full and an immediately preceding residence permit at half. |
| German at B1 — Module 2 | Fulfilled by a recognised B1 integration examination or equivalent qualifications; the step up from the A2 required in the first two years. |
| Secured livelihood | Fixed and regular income at least at the ASVG reference rates (2026: EUR 1,308.39 single, EUR 2,064.12 couple, EUR 201.88 per child, monthly). |
| Health insurance | Cover in Austria throughout — in practice the authority looks back across the whole five years. |
| Accommodation | Adequate housing in Austria, owned or rented. |
Absences: the six- and ten-month lines
Continuity is where internationally mobile applicants most often stumble. During the qualifying period, an absence of more than six consecutive months — or absences totalling more than ten months across the five years — interrupts settlement, and the clock starts again from the next lawful entry. For EU Blue Card holders the lines are more generous — twelve months at a stretch or eighteen in total, and measured against the EEA rather than Austria. A single academic year abroad, or an extended family stay outside Austria, can quietly reset four years of progress. Two statutory exceptions soften the rule even during the qualifying period: time spent abroad in the course of your work, in particular the cross-border provision of services, does not count against you at all, and up to 24 months abroad for weighty reasons — grave illness, a social obligation, compulsory-service duties — leaves the clock running if the authority is demonstrably notified.
After the permit is granted the rules relax, but they do not disappear: the status lapses after 12 consecutive months outside the EEA, or 24 months where the permit was granted to an EU Blue Card holder or his or her family members. Anyone planning a longer absence for serious reasons — grave illness, a social obligation, compulsory-service duties — should notify the residence authority in advance rather than argue about it afterwards: the notification buys up to 24 months outside the EEA.
Keep a travel record. The same day-counting discipline that Austrian tax law rewards — described under tax residence — is what proves, five years on, that no six- or ten-month line was ever crossed.
What permanent residence changes
The practical gains are considerable. Work becomes unconditional: any employment, any employer, self-employment, with no labour-market test and no tie to the category you arrived under — a particular relief for holders of the independent-means permit, which until then excludes gainful activity. Renewals shrink to a five-yearly exchange of the card document, while the status itself is open-ended. The permit also eases a later move to another EU member state under the long-term residents framework, although the destination state still issues its own title.
Two things it does not change. It is not citizenship: no passport, no vote in national elections, and the absence limits above still apply — the comparison with naturalisation is drawn on the citizenship page. And it has no tax meaning: Austrian tax residence attaches to a domicile or habitual abode, not to immigration status, so the tax analysis on the tax residence page runs on its own track entirely.
The easier track for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland do not use the Daueraufenthalt – EU system at all. After five years of continuous lawful residence under free-movement rules they acquire a right of permanent residence and can have it documented with a certificate (Bescheinigung des Daueraufenthalts) — with no language module, no income test at that stage and no quota. The details, including the position of their non-EU family members and of UK nationals since Brexit, are on the page for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens.
Planning the ladder from day one
For a family relocating permanently, the five-year horizon is worth building into the plan before arrival. Choosing a title whose years count in full, starting German early enough that B1 is a formality rather than a scramble, and keeping absences inside the six- and ten-month lines together decide whether year five delivers permanent residence on schedule. From there, citizenship follows at the ten-year mark — six in privileged cases — with its own, stricter conditions. The wider sequencing of the move, tax first among the considerations, is set out in the relocation timeline.
Questions on this page
Do years on a student permit count towards the five?
Only at half value, and only if they run straight into settlement. A period on a mere residence permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung), such as a student permit, that immediately precedes the switch to a settlement title counts 50 per cent towards the five years; earlier, non-contiguous periods do not count at all. Years on settlement titles such as the Red-White-Red Card count in full.
How long can I stay abroad without losing permanent residence?
Once granted, the status lapses after 12 consecutive months outside the EEA — 24 months where the permit was granted to an EU Blue Card holder or his or her family members. For serious reasons such as grave illness, a social obligation or compulsory-service duties, up to 24 months abroad is permitted if the authority is notified in advance.
Is permanent residence the same as tax residence?
No. The two systems are independent. Tax residence follows a domicile or habitual abode in Austria and can exist without any permanent immigration status — and vice versa.
Does the Daueraufenthalt – EU card expire?
The card document is renewed every five years, but the underlying status is open-ended for as long as you remain based in Austria and do not exceed the absence limits.
Can I move to another EU country with the permit?
The status eases onward mobility under the EU long-term residents framework, but it is not a free-movement right: you still need a residence title from the destination member state under its own rules.
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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