How to Get a Residence Permit in Austria as a Financially Independent Person

A residence permit in Austria is suitable for clients who want to live in a calm and economically developed country. At the same time, it is not necessary to obtain citizenship as the permanent resident status of the country already gives many rights and opportunities:

1. Enter the Schengen countries without a visa and stay there for up to 90 days in half a year.

2. Keep your savings in a reliable bank: Austria is in the top 10 countries according to the international rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Fitch.

3. Living in a country that cares about the environment: Austria ranks sixth in the Environmental Performance Index. The country monitors hazardous waste emissions, water quality and invests in infrastructure for sustainable waste disposal.

4. Live in a prosperous country: Austria ranks 15th in the world in the social progress index. This means that medicine is developed, everyone has the opportunity to get a higher education, and the state respects the rights and freedoms of citizens.

5. Obtain citizenship in five years. The only thing, in this case, you will have to renounce the first citizenship, therefore, many continue to live in the country with the status of permanent residence.

In order to obtain a residence permit in Austria, the applicant must meet several conditions; relating to his financial well-being, living conditions, knowledge of German and health insurance.

Income level. The financial independence of the applicant is a mandatory requirement by law. It can be proven with a bank statement at the rate of €2,060.98 per month for a single applicant or €3,251.42 per month for a married couple, as well as €318 per month for each child. Renting an apartment, medical insurance or car costs are not included in this amount.

Residing in the country. In Austria, you need to live at least 183 days a year, this is a prerequisite for the program. The rest of the time you can travel around Europe and live in the Schengen countries for up to 90 days in half a year.

Housing. Before receiving a residence permit card, a foreigner can rent real estate in Austria, and then buy. The arearnof ​​housing should correspond to the number of family members. For example, the desired arearnfor a family of four is at least 80 m².

Medical insurance. Insurance is issued for all family members at once for at least three years. For example, a forty-year-old man without chronic diseases, VHI will cost around €400 per month or €4,800 per year.

Language proficiency. It is enough to know German at the basic A1 level and confirm it with a certificate from the Goethe-Institut, the Austrian Integration Fund or TELC GmbH.

A residence permit Austria for financially independent people is received according to a quota — about 450 places are allocated annually for all nine states of Austria. To obtain a residence permit, you need to register on the website of the consulate and get the submission date of documents. The earlier the date of document submission, the more chances there are to get into the quota. By this time, all documents must be collected, translated and certified.

Zlata Erlach,

Head of the Austrian office

We help clients with everything related to an Austrian residence permit. We answer questions, prepare and translate a package of documents, book a date on the consulate’s website, accompany you during the application process, help you find real estate and arrange insurance.

We also understand that it is difficult at first to navigate your way in a new country. Therefore, after the move, we support the client for a year. We are contacted for housing, school, electricity, medicine, dog transportation, driver’s license, furniture, and even grocery shopping.

1. Preliminary Due Diligence check — 1 day
Immigrant Invest lawyers conduct a confidential Due Diligence check. It helps to identify the likelihood of failure and find a solution. If there are risks due to which the client’s application may be rejected, the investor is offered other programs.

2. Conclusion of an agreement with Immigrant Invest — 1 day
To sign documents, it is not necessary to come, you can send scans.

3. Collection and preparation of documents — 10 weeks
You need to prepare a birth certificate, diplomas of higher education and a bank statement, which confirms the money in the account. Our experts will help you to apostille them and get a certified legal translation.

4. Selection of real estate and conclusion of a lease agreement — from 2 to 4 weeks
We will find out the preferences of housing from the client: city, area, house or apartment and the number of rooms. Then we send the options to the mail with photos, prices and detailed information. If you wish, you can go to Austria and personally view the object. If you like everything, we help you to conclude a lease agreement lasting for at least a year.

5. Registration of insurance — from 1 to 2 weeks
To obtain insurance, you need to fill out a questionnaire with questions about the state of health. Then conclude a health insurance contract for at least three years.

6. Registration at the consulate and filing an application — from 4 to 6 weeks
Documents for a residence permit can be submitted only by appointment and with the personal presence of the applicant and his family members. A lawyer from Immigrant Invest will be with the client helping throughout the procedure.

7. Obtaining a place on a quota — from 4 to 8 weeks
During this period, additional documents may be requested from the applicant. The result will be reported personally or to an authorized person.

8. Obtaining a D visa — from 2 to 3 days
The applicant is sent an official invitation for a short-stay D visa at the consulate of his country. After that, you need to go to Austria in order to receive a residence permit card within three months.

9. Registration at the place of residency in Austria
You can obtain a residence permit using a lease agreement. To do this, you will need the passports of all family members, a copy of the lease agreement and an application for registration with the signature of the homeowner.

10. Obtaining a residence permit card
The applicant and his family personally receive residence permit cards at the Municipal Department of Immigration and Citizenship of Austria. The residence permit card is valid for a year, then it must be renewed after a year, and then after three.

Before obtaining permanent residence status, you need to renew the residence permit card twice: first after a year, and then after three years. The residence permit is renewed no earlier than three months and no later than a week before the card expires. Both times, experts from Immigrant Invest help the client with card renewal.

For everything to be successful, the applicant needs to live in the country for 183 days a year, submit an application on time and submit biometric data. After five years of continuous residence in Austria, you can apply for permanent residence status and we also help with this.