Vienna City Guide

Page 8

Vienna City Guide

Immigration and Settling-In

Visa Application

All Non-EU citizens (except citizens from e.g. USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel,

Japan, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, South Korea) who want to live and work in Austria

have to apply for a visa at least three months prior to their arrival in Austria at the nearest

Austrian consulate general or embassy at their current residence. Each accompanying

family member must obtain a visa. In case the Non-EU citizen receives a local Austrian work

contract, the application needs to be filed with the local Austrian authorities by the employer.

Once the residence and work permit has been approved in Austria, the authorities will

inform the Austrian embassy/consulate in the home country of the applicant. The applicant

will receive a visa to enter Austria and may then pick up his residence and work permit in

Austria.

The visa application must state clearly that the applicant intends to work in Austria (this does

not apply for accompanying family members). In case of failure to mention this fact, a

business or tourist visa might be issued and the applicant will not be permitted to take up

employment in Austria.

In order to apply for a visa, the applicant usually needs the following documents:

A valid passport (valid at least for 6 more months)

Up to four recent biometric passport photos

Possibly the work/assignment contract (translated into German)

University degree/diploma (translated into German; English is usually accepted)

Birth certificate (translated into German; English is usually accepted)

Marriage certificate (translated into German; English is usually accepted)

Certificate of good conduct (translated into German; English is usually accepted)

In addition, applicants have to submit a letter issued by his/her company which states name,

date of birth, nationality, medical insurance, length of work contract, position, salary and a

detailed job description. The application form for visas can be downloaded from the Austrian

embassy’s website.

Requirements may change, therefore it is strongly recommended to contact the

embassy/consulate beforehand and to clarify the individual application. It facilitates the

embassy’s work when all documents are handed in at the same time.

Usually a visa application procedure takes approximately three to four months. The

authorities are very strict and sometimes involve further authorities or ask for further

documents, depending on nationality and personal qualifications. In this case the above

mentioned procedure can be delayed by several weeks.

Non-EU citizens who may enter Austria without a visa (see above) may apply for a

residence and work permit upon entering Austria at the respective Austrian authorities. The

application process may be started before entering Austria if a representative, e.g. the

relocation agency, submits the application on behalf of the hiring company/employee.