Austria residence permit for financially independent persons: how to get into the quota in 2022
Wealthy foreigners can obtain an Austria residence permit under special conditions. A residence permit for financially independent persons is issued according to quotas, which are granted only 450 per year.
To get into the quota, it is important to prepare documents in advance without a single mistake and to apply on the first working day of the year in Austria.
Head of the Austrian office
Quotas are distributed between regions depending on socio-economic factors such as population density.
Vienna received the highest quota in 2020: the city administrative court could issue 130 residence permits. But there are also many more people who wish to apply for status in the capital than in less populated areas of the country.
Zlata Erlach,
Head of the Austrian office
We stopped accepting applications for a residence permit in Austria in June 2020. Every year very few quotas are allocated, and the preparation process is painstaking and complicated. This is why we help to formalise the status of no more than 50 families per year
How to get a quota for a residence permit in Austria in 2022
A foreigner will only get a good chance to apply for a residence permit in Austria if he takes the preparation of documents seriously and submits an application quickly. Preparation takes 2 months or more.
Trust the preparation to professionals. Even if a foreigner applies in the first place, this does not guarantee a quota.
In Austria, there is a strict Due Diligence of residence permit applicants for financially independent persons. The due diligence is conducted by the administrative courts in each of the 9 federal states.
If the foreigner does not provide the full documents or if the inspectors have any doubts or questions, the processing of the application may take a long time. In this case, it is highly probable that the applicant will not be able to obtain the quota.
Immigrant Invest has its own compliance department, which conducts a preliminary due diligence. International and economic law lawyers gather the full set of documents in advance. Meticulous preparation reduces the risk of rejection to a minimum.
15 February 2021 - beginning of application acceptance
Immigrant Invest will start accepting residence permit applications in Austria for financially independent persons. The lawyers will prepare all the documents and submit the application on time to the Austrian consulate or the Federal Province administration.
Submit an application on the first working day of 2022. The Austrian government distributes all quotas on the first working day of January. 2022 — 3 January. The Migration Board sets the day and time when online quota registration is opened for foreigners. The sooner a foreigner registers and applies, the better his or her chances of receiving a quota.
Information on the start of registration is published in advance on the website of the Austrian Consulate.
Conditions for obtaining a residence permit in Austria
A residence permit for financially independent persons is suitable for wealthy people who want to move to Austria and do not plan to work and do business in the country.
To obtain a residence permit, a foreigner needs a residence permit:
Have a stable income from sources outside Austria, such as Russia or another country.
Be financially independent. This means that the applicant’s monthly income must be at a certain level. The minimum monthly income per applicant must be around 2,000 € and for an applicant with a spouse around 3,000 €. In addition, household expenses such as property rental, health insurance and car maintenance are taken into account. Taking all expenses into account, the income for a family of four must be from 7000 € per month or from 80 000 € per year.
Buy or rent a house in Austria. The arearnof the property is calculated according to the number of family members. An applicant with a spouse and two children needs a house or flat with an arearnof 80 m² or more.
Health insurance for the whole family with 100% coverage of treatment costs.
Proficiency in German at basic level A1. To prove your knowledge of the language, you need to take an exam and provide a certificate. For example, the Goethe Institut diploma, the TELC GmbH certificate and the ÖIF or ÖSD test certificate will be suitable.
A foreigner also has to live permanently in Austria after obtaining a residence permit. You need to stay in Austria for at least 183 days per year.
Why are there so many people who want to get a residence permit in Austria
Austria attracts wealthy foreigners with economic and political stability, the possibility of visa-free travel and the prospect of acquiring EU citizenship.
Austria’s economy remains stable despite the crisis. In May 2020, the international consulting agency Fitch assigned the country the AA+ credit rating. This means that the economy is not in danger of default, it has high creditworthiness and prospects for growth in the coming years. Only a few countries have a higher AAA in 2020, including the USA, Germany and Switzerland.
In November 2020, the European Commission published a forecast of Austria’s GDP dynamics for the period from 2020 to 2022. At the end of this year, the economy is expected to decline: the country’s tourism industry has suffered from closed borders. Revenues from tourism account for approximately 15% of Austria’s GDP. But the decline will be lower than the average for the eurozone. Austria’s economy will start to grow from 2021. We talked about this in the material "European Commission: the EU economy will start to grow from 2021".
Austria’s GDP in 2020‑2022
Source: European Economic Forecast, 2020
International experts note Austria’s political stability. In November 2020, the organisation Freedom House assessed the level of political rights and civil liberties that citizens and residents receive. Austria scored 93 points out of 100 and was granted the status of "free". We talked about this in the material "Rating of 'free' countries in the world: which countries received the highest expert rating in 2020".
Visa-free travel is available for Austrian residents within the Schengen area. Thus, a holder of a residence permit card can travel freely within the territory of 26 European countries.
You can apply for Austrian citizenship after 6‑10 years. The holder of the residence permit status will first apply for a permanent residence permit. You can do this in 5 years if you live permanently in the country. After that, you can apply for citizenship by naturalisation. The Austrian passport gives you access to all rights and privileges of an EU citizen.
Immigrant Invest provides full support — from the preparation of documents to the application for a residence permit in Austria. If you want to apply for an Austrian residence permit for a financially independent person, please consult our lawyers. Application acceptance begins on 15 February 2021.
