The Schengen visa C is intended for touristic, business or visiting purposes (without gainful employment) for a maximum stay of 90 days per 180 days.
If a stay of more than 90 days is planned, you should apply for a visa D, which entitles the holder to stay in Austria up to six months.
Each application for a visa is subject to a case-by-case examination by the competent Consulate.
Holders of a Schengen visa are in principle entitled to enter and stay in the Schengen States presumed that the requirements of Art. 6 Schengen Borders Code are fulfilled and the visa is not subject to territorial restrictions.
The Schengen States are:
Travellers can obtain the visa application form free of charge at the respective Consulate, or find the link to download the application form under section “Forms” (see "How do I make an application" in the left Navigation).
There are special provisions for family members of EEA citizens and Swiss citizens entitled to freedom of movement. Please find the respective information under the following link.
In principle, foreigners who do not leave the international transit zone of an airport during a stopover, a flight segment or international flights do not require a visa.
However, nationals of the countries listed in the following require a visa (category “A”) also to stay in the international transit zone of an Austrian airport unless they are covered by an exemption:
Further information on visa requirements and exemptions can be found on the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
Visa D are subject to Austrian national legislation entitling holders to stays of 91 days to 6 months in Austria and can be issued for one or more entries.
Please note that an extension of a D visa in Austria is not possible. In the case of an intended stay in Austria for more than 6 months, a residence permit must be applied for.
The issuance of a visa D depends on the information provided by the applicant and thus on whether the intended stay in Austria for more than 90 days seems to be sufficiently documented. In exceptional cases, it is also possible to issue a visa D with a validity up to 12 months (for example on the basis of an international agreement).
A visa D issued by Austria or another Schengen State entitles the holder,to move freely in the territory of the other Schengen States for up to 90 days per 180 days, given that the holder does not plan to take up employment, is in possession of a valid travel document fulfils the relevant conditions of the Schengen Borders Code (Article 6 (1) (a), (c) and (e) of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders) and is not on the national list of alerts of the Member State concerned.
Please note that rights acquired in one Schengen State on the basis of national regulations cannot automatically be transferred to another Schengen State. For example, study permits and work permits are in principle limited to the issuing Schengen State only.
For an intended stay in Austria longer than 90 days, but not exceeding 6 months, e.g. for family visits or course participation, it is possible to apply for a visa D. Corresponding documents to demonstrate the purpose of the stay must be submitted.
Persons granted a residence permit have to collect the residence card from the competent authority in Austria. If a visa is required, it is necessary to apply for a visa D for entry to collect the residence permit within three months of notification by the competent Consulate.
Highly qualified third-country nationals who wish to come to Austria to look for employment and subsequently possibly apply for a Red-White-Red Card for highly qualified persons can apply for a D visa to search for a job (“job seeker visa”). The visa D is issued for six months. Please note that holding this type of visa, employment is not permitted.
For further information on the job seeker visa and the Red-White-Red Card, please visit the Federal Government’s official information website on migration to Austria.
Please find more information about the Working Holiday Programmes under the following link.
In order to take up temporary work for
the issuance of a visa for gainful employment is required (§ 24 of the Aliens’ Police Act (Fremdenpolizeigesetz or FPG)).
A precondition for the issue of a visa for gainful employment is the fulfilment of the general visa requirements. In addition, in case of intended dependent employment, the required documents stipulated in the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals, and in case of intended self-employment, the relevant documents have be submitted.
In case of any questions about the Austrian labour market in general or about necessary labour market permits, please contact Public Employment Service Austria (AMS) directly:
The visa requirements for Schengen visa are laid down in the EU Visa Code, the provisions for visa D are laid down in the Aliens’ Police Act (FPG). The competent Consulate examines the visa applications if the conditions for issuing a visa are fulfilled. The competent Consulate decides on each application individually, taking into account all the circumstances of the individual case.
There is no legal entitlement to a visa.
A visa application is admissible if:
Once admissibility has been established, the Consulate examines the visa application and the following conditions for issuing a visa must be positively established for each individual visa applicant:
If it is not possible to prove financing by funds from one’s own assets, financial resources can be proven by an electronic declaration of sponsorship submitted by a person residing in Austria. Please visit the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior for further information on the possibility of submitting a declaration of sponsorship.
Persons whose entry into Austria and the Schengen area would endanger security or public order or who do not fulfil one or more of the above-mentioned requirements, a visa will not be granted.
Applicants, whose visa application were refused, can file a legal remedy at the competent Consulate (“Vorstellung”) respectively submit an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court. Please read the information on the appeal procedure on the refusal form. For further information visit the website of the Federal Administrative Court.
As a general rule, the Consulate of the Schengen State in which the sole or main destination is located is competent for examining and deciding on an application for a Schengen visa. In case no main destination can be identified as visits to different Schengen States are planned, the Consulate of the Schengen State through whose external borders the applicant intends to enter the territory of the Schengen State is the competent Consulate for issuing a Schengen visa.
Visa for travels to Austria have to be applied for at the competent Austrian Consulate, which is placed in the country where the applicant legally resides.
In some countries, the Austrian Consulates also offer the possibility of submitting visa applications to an external service provider. For a service fee, the service provider receives applications and forwards them to the competent Austrian Consulate for examining and decision. An external service provider plays no role in the decision-making process itself!
If there is no Austrian Consulate in the applicant’s home country, a Schengen visa can also be applied for at a Schengen embassy representing Austria if one exists.
Please note that the representing Schengen embassies may not accept the “electronic declaration of sponsorship” submitted in Austria. The form in which a declaration of sponsorship is accepted by the representing Schengen embassies can be obtained from the competent Austrian Consulate or the representing Schengen embassy. Please note that if you apply to a Schengen embassy representing Austria, this embassy is exclusively responsible for the proceedings. An appeal against the decision also depends on the legal regulations of the respective representing Schengen State.
Visas D and visa for employment can only be applied for at the competent Austrian Consulate.
Specific information on making an appointment, you can find under "How to make an Application".
In general, supporting documents have to include a German translation at the request of the Consulate. When submitting English language documents, a translation into German is not required. Please contact the responsible Consulate directly to clarify the need for an appropriate translation of the documents into German.
In principle, the following supporting documents and information are necessary:
Business trips:
Airport transit:
Specific information on supporting documents, you can find under "How to make an Application".
We apologize that the processing times for visa applications may be taking longer than usual. To help ensure that your visa is issued on time, we would request that you submit your application as early as you can, it is possible to apply up to 6 months before your planned departure date.
We will continue to do our best to keep the processing time of your application as short as possible and thank you for your understanding and patience.
A decision on the visa application can be taken only after payment of the visa fee and submission of all documents required by the Consulate.
Please note that for some nationalities prior consultation with other Schengen States is mandatory for processing the visa application. This consultation process can take up to seven calendar days. Consultations are currently required with nationals of the following states.
As a rule, the processing time of an admissible Schengen visa application should not exceed 15 calendar days. If further checks are necessary, the processing time may increase to 45 calendar days.
Examining and deciding on applications for visa D must not take longer than a maximum of 6 months.
Please note that due to the high volume of work and for reasons of data protection and file traceability, inquiries have to be submitted to the Consulate in writing. Your inquiry will be immediately forwarded to the responsible person and processed as soon as possible. Only the applicant or a person authorised by him/her is a party to the procedure and thus entitled to information. For data protection reasons, telephone information cannot go beyond general information.
| Schengen-Visa | € 90 |
| Schengen visa for young people (between 6 and 12 years) | € 45 |
For a Schengen visa, nationals subject to an EU visa facilitation agreement must pay the amount set out in the agreement (usually € 35) if they are not already exempt from fees under the agreement.
Fees are not required for the following:
Family members under § 35 (5) of the 2005 Asylum
Act (Asylgesetz) who are over six years of age of an
alien who has been granted the status of a person
entitled to asylum or subsidiary protection and
who apply for an entry permit for the purpose
of filing an application for international
protection in accordance with § 34 (1)
in conjunction with§ 2 (1) (13) of the 2005
Asylum Act
Fees are not required for the following:
Specific information on the fees in local currency as well as the payment modalities, you can find under "How to make an Application".
General information:
The use of so-called visa agencies, which demand large sums of money to obtain visas, is explicitly warned against because their services are often linked to dubious practices.
Since there are often cases of fraud in connection with Internet acquaintances, transferring money to unknown persons is explicitly warned against. Any claims that a large amount of money is required in order to obtain a visa are false.
In case of doubt, please contact the Consulate.