General information on the first application for residence permits for Austria

• Applying from abroad
• Applying in Austria
• General conditions for the issue of residence permits
• Further links
• Legal basis

Applying from abroad

As a rule, applications for a residence permit must be submitted from abroad to the Austrian representative authorietes (→ BMEIA) (embassy, consulate) before entry into Austria. The competence of the representative authority depends on the applicant’s place of residence. Applications must be submitted in person.

The Austrian representative authority checks that the application is complete and correct and forwards it to the competent settlement authority in Austria. The latter verifies whether the conditions for issuing the residence permit are met.

If the conditions for issue are met, the Austrian representative authority will be notified. Where applicable (i.e. for applicants subject to a visa requirement), an order to issue a visa is given. The Austrian representative authority abroad informs the applicant accordingly. He/she may then enter Austria with the valid visa or, where there is no visa requirement, without a visa and collect the residence permit in person from the competent settlement authority.

Applying in Austria

The following categories of persons may submit their first application for a residence permit in Austria:

• Family members of Austrians, EU citizens, other EEA citizens (from Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway) or Swiss citizens who are permanently resident in Austria and who have not exercised their right of residence under EU law or the right of residence of more than three months conferred on them under the EC-Switzerland Agreement on Free Movement of Persons and who have entered and been residing in Austria lawfully

"Family members" (family nucleus) include the following persons:

• Spouses aged 21 or over at the time of submission of the application
• Registered partners aged 21 or over at the time of submission of the application
• Unmarried minor children (including adopted children and stepchildren)

The following other categories of persons may submit their first application in Austria, although
applications in these cases also do not confer entitlement to exceed the duration of the authorised stay, whether subject to or exempt from a visa:

• Foreigners who apply for a "Red-White-Red - Card" pursuant to § 41 NAG after lawful entry and during their lawful residence
• In the case of family reunification, children within six months of birth, provided that the person reuniting the family, who is charged with care and upbringing, is lawfully resident
• Foreign nationals (i.e. persons without Austrian citizenship) who apply for residence permit – researcher or an residence permit "EU Blue Card" and their family members, as well as foreign nationals who apply for a "student" residence permit, a "volunteer" residence permit or "settlement permit" under section 56(1) of the NAG, in each case after lawful entry and residence
• Third-country nationals applying for a "red-white-red card" residence permit as highly qualified persons during their lawful stay in Austria with a residence visa valid for six months for the purpose of seeking employment in Austria
• Foreign nationals who are, in principle, entitled to enter the country without a visa (→ BMI)^{German text}
• Third-country nationals who hold an Austrian "Reife" (secondary education) certificate, a "Reife" examination certificate or a diploma examination certificate issued by a school in Austria or abroad
• Third-country nationals who hold a valid "ICT" (intra-corporate transferee) residence permit from another Member State or who hold a valid ‘researcher’ residence permit from another Member mState and are applying for a "researcher – mobility" residence permit
• Third-country nationals who are excluded from the scope of the AuslBG pursuant to section 1(2)(i) or (j) of the AuslBG or section 1(5), (7) or (9) of the AuslBVO (Regulation on the employment of foreign nationals), or who fall within the scope of section 1(4) of the PersGV 2018 (Regulation on eligible groups of persons 2018), BGBl. II No 63/2019, and who are applying for "settlement permit – special cases of gainful employment", a "special cases of gainful employment" residence permit or a "students" residence permit

In addition, the following are entitled to apply in Austria:

• Foreign nationals no later than six months after the end of their lawful settlement in Austria, if they have not required authorisation or documentation under the Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz (Establishment and Residence Act, NAG) for that settlement
• Foreign nationals not later than six months after the loss of Austrian citizenship or of Swiss nationality or that of an EEA State 

In addition: If it is demonstrably not possible or reasonable to leave for the purpose of making a required application abroad and there is no compelling obstacle to granting it, the settlement authority may, on submission of a reasoned request, authorise a domestic application in the following cases:

• In the case of unaccompanied minors, in order to safeguard the best interests of the child
• For the purpose of preserving private and family life within the meaning of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
• If the applicant invokes a COVID-19-related impossibility or unreasonableness of departure, he or she must establish the impossibility or unreasonableness of departure credibly

General conditions for the issue of residence permits

Detailed information on the general conditions for the issue of residence permits can also be found at oesterreich.gv.at.

Further links

List of visa requirements(→ BMI)

Legal basis

• Section 21 of the Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz (NAG)
• Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz-Durchführungsverordnung (NAG-DV)
• Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz (AuslBG)
• Ausländerbeschäftigungsverordnung (AuslBVO)
• Personengruppenverordnung 2018 (PersGV 2018)
• Fremdenpolizeigesetz 2005 (FPG)