Plan your move

The relocation timeline

A move to Austria rewards sequence. Some of the most valuable steps — immigration quota, tax restructuring, the entry valuation — only work if they are taken before you arrive.

Plan your move

In short

  • Start 6–12 months ahead: choose the immigration route and begin the international tax review — the quota for the independent-means permit opens in early January.
  • The single most important date in the whole move is the day Austrian tax residence begins.
  • Before arrival, document the fair market value of financial instruments and crypto assets — the entry step-up means Austria will not tax gains accrued before the move, but only documented values prove them.
  • After arrival, register with the municipal authority within 3 days, then tax office, bank, insurance, wills, car and mail.

Why the sequence matters

Most of what a relocation to Austria costs — or saves — is decided by the order of the steps, not the steps themselves. A distribution from a trust received before Austrian residence begins is treated very differently from the same distribution received a month after; a foreign company restructured while you are still non-resident raises none of the questions it raises afterwards; and the step-up that shelters your pre-arrival gains is only as good as the valuation evidence you kept. Advice taken before the move can shape the outcome; advice taken after it can mostly explain the outcome.

The same logic runs on the immigration side. The most-used route for financially independent applicants is quota-limited, with the quota opening in early January, so a family that decides in March may effectively be planning for the following year. The full planning picture on the tax side is set out under pre-immigration tax planning; the routes themselves are compared on who can relocate to Austria.

The four phases

  1. Six to twelve months before

    Choose the immigration route and note its calendar: the independent-means permit is applied for in early January when the annual quota opens, while worker routes run year-round. In parallel, begin the international tax review — the Austrian treatment of your foreign companies, trusts, foundations and investment portfolio, and the exit taxes of the country you are leaving. Where restructuring is needed, this is the phase in which it is still straightforward: a foreign structure reviewed under Austrian company-taxation rules or the rules on foreign trusts and foundations can usually be adjusted cleanly before residence, and only awkwardly after it.

  2. Three to six months before

    File the residence-permit application — for most third-country routes, at the Austrian consulate in your country of origin — and gather the civil documents it needs. Decide what should be realised, distributed or unwound while you are still non-resident: gains outside the step-up's reach, trust or foundation distributions, maturing incentive awards. Line up the practical side at the same time: the housing search (renting first is common — see renting and tenancy, or the purchase process if buying), school applications, and health insurance that covers you in Austria from day one.

  3. Before arrival

    Fix the date on which your Austrian residence — and with it, ordinarily, your tax residence — will begin, and treat it as immovable. As of that date, financial instruments, derivatives and crypto assets are stepped up to fair market value for Austrian tax purposes, so obtain custody statements, exchange records and, where needed, formal valuations dated to the move. Keep evidence of the move itself: the end of the foreign lease, the shipping inventory, the flight. If a preferential regime for scientists, researchers, artists or sportspersons could apply to you, prepare the application in this phase: it must reach the tax administration no later than six months after the move, and that deadline cannot be extended. How the residence rules work — and how little the registration formality has to do with them — is explained under tax residence.

  4. After arrival

    Register with the municipal authority (Meldezettel) within three days of taking up residence. Then work down the list: notify the tax office that you have become resident (within one month), open Austrian bank accounts with the source-of-funds file described under banking and finance, complete the insurance registrations, and re-register the car within a month of bringing it in — exchanging the driving licence too, if it was issued outside the EEA. Review your wills promptly — a new Austrian habitual residence changes the default law governing your estate under the EU Succession Regulation, as set out on succession law and wills — and set up mail redirection from the old address. The wider first-weeks checklist lives in the living in Austria section.

The deadlines that matter

Few Austrian deadlines are dramatic, but several are short. The recurring ones:

ObligationDeadlineWhere it is explained
Registration with the municipal authority Within 3 days of taking up residence Living in Austria
Independent-means permit application Early January, when the annual quota opens Financially independent persons
Application for the preferential tax regime Within 6 months of the move; the deadline cannot be extended Preferential tax regime
Gift notification to the tax office Within 3 months of the gift (thresholds apply) Inheritance and gift tax
Income tax return 30 April (paper) or 30 June (electronic) of the following year; longer via a tax adviser Income tax rates and filing
Customs relief for household goods (non-EU moves) Import within 12 months of relocating; no disposal for 12 months Moving, customs and vehicles
Car re-registration and driving licence Car: within 1 month of bringing it in. Licence: within 6 months, if issued outside the EEA Moving, customs and vehicles

Documents to gather before you leave

Almost every post-arrival task draws on the same small archive, and every item in it is easier to obtain before the move than after. Worth assembling early:

  • Custody and portfolio statements dated to the moving date, plus valuations for anything unlisted — the evidence behind the entry step-up.
  • Sale agreements, completion statements and tax returns from recent years — Austrian banks will ask for them as source-of-funds evidence when accounts are opened.
  • Civil documents — passports, birth and marriage certificates, with apostilles and certified translations where needed — for the permit, the registration and the schools.
  • Corporate and trust papers: articles, registers, trust deeds and letters of wishes, for the pre-move review.
  • School records and references, health and vaccination records, and the vehicle's registration documents.

Families relocating from outside the EU should also keep purchase records for significant household goods: the customs relief for personal property depends on prior ownership and use, as explained under moving, customs and vehicles.

Questions on this page

When should I start planning a move to Austria?

Six to twelve months before the intended move. Quota-limited permits are applied for in early January, and restructuring companies, trusts or investment portfolios takes months to do well.

Why does the exact moving date matter so much?

The day Austrian tax residence begins fixes the values at which financial assets are stepped up, decides which income and distributions fall on the favourable pre-arrival side of the line, and starts the immigration and registration clocks.

What should I do before my Austrian tax residence begins?

Review foreign companies, trusts and foundations, consider realising gains or receiving distributions while still non-resident, check exit taxes in the departure country, and document the market value of your portfolio at the moving date.

What happens if I register late after arriving?

Registration with the municipal authority is due within three days of taking up residence; missing it is an administrative offence and can attract a fine. It is a five-minute formality — do it first.

Can the timeline be shorter than six months?

For EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, yes — the immigration side is a registration, so the tax review sets the pace. For quota-limited permits such as independent means, the calendar rarely compresses.

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.