Austria Austria — entry & visa requirements

Visa-free for exempt nationalities, visa required for others

Max stay: 90 days in any 180-day period

Short answer

A visa-exempt national can visit Austria for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without working. Others need a Schengen visa C from the Austrian representation competent for their place of residence; decisions normally take 15 calendar days, or up to 45 if further checks are needed. Stays beyond 90 days, up to six months, need a national visa D. Cited fees include €35 under visa facilitation agreements and €45 for a Schengen visa for children aged 6–12.

Max stay

90 days in any 180-day period[1]

Entry system

Visa-free under the EU regulation; EES and ETIAS pages are the official source[4]

Where to apply

Austrian representation competent for your place of residence[5]

Processing time

Normally up to 15 calendar days; up to 45 with further checks[1]

Sparse archive — being expandedDocument and process rules are reasonably covered, but adult visa fees, EES/ETIAS operational detail and any answered FAQ are absent, and the authority block labels Austria 'Visa-exempt · e-Visa available' while the sources also describe Schengen C and national D visas for non-exempt nationals.

Visa-exempt by stay length

Austria follows the EU rule: nationals of states whose visa requirement has been lifted may enter for a maximum of 90 days per 180 days, provided they do not take up gainful employment. our archive list no other stay-length tier for visa-exempt visitors.

If your nationality is covered by the EU visa-lift regulation, you may enter Austria without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, as long as you do not take up gainful employment.[1]

Visa exemption rules

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no visa to enter Austria. For everyone else the archived material describes the exemption only in general terms, referring to states whose visa requirement was lifted by EU regulation, and it does not reproduce the national list itself.

Citizens of EU member states, the European Economic Area and Switzerland do not need a visa to enter Austria.[1]
Visa-free entry for other exempt nationalities is capped at 90 days per 180 days and presupposes that you are not taking up gainful employment.[1]
Exempt third-country nationals who are lawfully resident may lodge certain applications during that legal residence, but the material does not spell out which.[3]

Not included in this section: Working-holiday visa rules and residence-permit application rights were left out because they apply to workers and residents rather than visitors.

Duration of stay

Two visa types cover visits: the Schengen visa C for tourism, business or visiting up to 90 days per 180 days, and the national visa D for stays beyond 90 days, normally up to six months and exceptionally up to 12 months. Our official archive does not state the adult fee for a visa D.

The Schengen visa C is for touristic, business or visiting purposes without gainful employment and allows a maximum stay of 90 days per 180 days.[1]
If you plan to stay longer than 90 days you should apply for a national visa D, which entitles you to stay in Austria for up to six months.[1]
For an intended stay of more than 90 days but no longer than six months, for example a family visit or course attendance, a visa D is available and you must submit documents proving the purpose of the stay.[1]
In exceptional cases a visa D can be issued with validity of up to 12 months, for instance on the basis of an international agreement, if the longer stay is sufficiently documented.[1]

Not included in this section: Working-holiday stay limits and a single nationality's passport specimen were excluded as programme- and nationality-specific.

e-Visa & travel authorisation

The archived material only points to the ministry's official EES and ETIAS page and gives no operational detail on either system. No ETIAS fee, application steps or start date appear in these sources, so travellers should treat this topic as stated only in outline.

Information on the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is published on the ministry's EES and ETIAS page.[4]
EES is described in the archived material as registration upon travel to Europe, with no further detail given.[4]

Required documents

The archived checklist applies to visa applicants and names a passport copy, an ICAO-compliant photo, Schengen-wide travel medical insurance with at least €30,000 cover, proof of ties to the home country, and an invitation or electronic declaration of sponsorship where relevant. Documents normally need a German translation only if the consulate asks; English-language documents do not require one.

Submit a copy of the passport data page, meaning the page bearing your photograph.[1]
Submit a colour passport photo meeting ICAO criteria and measuring 35 x 45 mm.[1]
Take out travel, health and accident insurance valid for the Schengen area with minimum cover of €30,000 including repatriation for medical reasons; family members of EEA and Swiss citizens exercising free movement are exempt.[1]
Show evidence of your economic, family and social roots in your home country, such as property, employment, study confirmation, pension entitlement or family ties.[1]
If you cannot prove sufficient funds of your own, financing can be shown through an electronic declaration of sponsorship identified by its eight-digit number, or a visit can be supported by an informal letter of invitation.[1]

Not included in this section: Car documents, company invitation wording and consulate-specific translation instructions were condensed out because each consulate sets its own document list.

Fees

The archived fee information is fragmentary: €35 under EU visa facilitation agreements and €45 for a Schengen visa for children aged 6 to 12 are stated, plus €97 for a national visa D for children under six. The fee is not refunded if the visa is refused or cancelled, and certain study and non-profit groups are listed as exempt.

Nationals covered by an EU visa facilitation agreement pay the amount set in that agreement, usually €35, unless they are already exempt from fees under it.[1]
A Schengen visa costs €45 for children between 6 and 12 years old, and the archived table lists €97 for a visa D for children under six.[1]
The fee is not refunded even if the visa is rejected or cancelled after issuance, and a decision can be taken only once the fee is paid and all documents required by the consulate are submitted.[1][2]
Pupils, students, postgraduate course participants and accompanying teaching staff on study or training trips, and representatives of non-profit organisations up to age 25 attending seminars, conferences or cultural, sporting or educational events, are listed among those who do not pay a fee.[1]
The ministry warns against paying visa agencies or transferring money to people met online, and states that claims a large sum is needed to obtain a visa are false.[1]

How to apply

Schengen visa applications go to the Austrian representation competent for the applicant's place of residence, and in certain countries an appointment is required. Processing normally takes no more than 15 calendar days, extending to 45 if further checks are needed. A refusal can be challenged at the consulate or before the Federal Administrative Court.

Lodge your Schengen visa application at the Austrian representation competent for your place of residence; in certain countries you must book an appointment first.[5][3]
Expect a decision within 15 calendar days as a rule, or up to 45 calendar days if further checks are necessary.[1]
If your application is refused you can file a legal remedy at the competent consulate or appeal to the Federal Administrative Court, following the information on the refusal form.[1]
Nationals of New Zealand may also submit their application at VFS Auckland, where biometric data can be collected.[6]

Not included in this section: Residence-permit procedures and visa D collection formalities were left out because they concern people planning to live in Austria, not visitors.

At the border

Travellers who remain inside the international transit zone of an Austrian airport during a stopover generally need no visa, but nationals of a listed group of countries need an airport transit visa (category A) unless an exemption applies. Where another Schengen state's embassy represents Austria, that embassy alone handles the case.

If you do not leave the international transit zone of an Austrian airport during a stopover, you generally do not require a visa.[1]
Nationals of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Syria need a category A transit visa even to stay in the international transit zone, unless an exemption covers them.[1]
If a Schengen partner embassy represents Austria, that embassy is exclusively responsible for the procedure and any appeal depends on its national rules.[1]
Further information on visa requirements and exemptions is published on the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior.[1]

Not included in this section: The sponsorship-mechanism details were moved to the documents section to avoid duplication; the country list is reproduced as archived and is not dated in the source.

Legal basis

Most of the archived legal references concern categories that are not visitors, such as researchers and favoured third-country nationals. The point that matters for a visitor is that rights gained in one Schengen state do not automatically carry over to another.

Austrian entry rules rest on the 2005 Aliens' Police Act (Fremdenpolizeigesetz, FPG) together with the relevant EU regulations.[1]
Rights acquired in one Schengen state under national rules cannot automatically be transferred to another; study and work permits are in principle limited to the issuing state.[1]
Researchers travelling to carry out scientific research or to take part in a scientific seminar or conference fall under Directive (EU) 2016/801.[1]

Not included in this section: Trainee, seasonal-worker and gainful-employment notices, the employment service link and all working-holiday programme material were dropped because this page is about visitors, not workers, students or residents.

Official downloads

3 documents · grouped by how they are used3 files as ZIP ≈486 KB

These are the official foreign ministry files archived alongside the visa pages: a Schengen visa application form, an English data protection notice, and a national visa (D) application form.

DOCX

Form C1 - Antragsformular Schengenvisum de-eng

The Schengen visa application form (Form C1) in German and English; you complete it and submit it with your Schengen visa application.

RequiredApplication form128 KBenForm_C1_-_Antragsformular_Schengenvisum_de-eng.docx

[8]
PDF

Data Protection Info en

A two-page English data protection information sheet explaining how your application data is handled; you read it rather than submit it.

BackgroundApplication form2 pp241 KBenData_Protection_Info_en.pdf

[9]
DOC

Form D 1 - Antragsformular nationales Visum

The application form for a national visa D, needed only if you are applying for a stay longer than 90 days.

OptionalApplication form117 KBForm_D_1_-_Antragsformular_nationales_Visum.doc

[10]

Official sources

39 citations · 6 unique pages · 1 official domains

our archive cover visa categories, documents and processing well, but working-holiday and employment material was excluded as off-topic and key visitor details such as the adult visa fee and an ETIAS timeline are missing.

Numbers match the markers in the text above; click a marker to jump here. Groups are collapsed by domain - click a heading to expand. A source cited more than once keeps a single number.

www.bmeia.gv.at6 URLs · cited 39 times

Popularity rank #28 (score 24.12). This page was written by an AI from the official material listed above and adds no facts from outside it; visa rules change, so always confirm on the official portal before you apply.