Can I bring my parents to Austria permanently? The 3 routes in 2026

Which route fits your family? Start with your own status

Your own status as the child in Austria decides the route. Your parents’ nationality and age do not. Pick the box that describes you.

Bringing parents to Austria: how do the 3 routes and a visit compare?

The three permanent routes differ most in quota, income test and where to apply; the visit route is not a residence permit at all. Amounts are 2026 figures from the sources in the next table.

All fees with their legal basis are on Austria visa fees. In German, this topic is searched as Eltern nach Österreich holen (“bringing parents to Austria”).

Parents in Austrian immigration law: 10 official facts

Why are parents not covered by family reunification?

Parents are not covered because the Settlement and Residence Act defines “family member” as the spouse or registered partner and minor unmarried children only, the “core family” (§ 2 (1) 9 NAG). That is why a Red-White-Red Card holder can bring a wife and a 10-year-old son quota-free, but not a mother. migration.gv.at lists parents only under the separate “Settlement Permit – Dependant” for relatives of Austrian nationals who receive actual maintenance (migration.gv.at). The spouse and child rules are on family reunification in Austria.

How can an Austrian citizen bring their parents (route 1)?

An Austrian citizen who lives in Austria and has not used EU free movement for more than three months can sponsor parents and parents-in-law for the Niederlassungsbewilligung – Angehöriger (§ 47 NAG). You must actually support them and, regardless of their own means, always sign a liability declaration (Haftungserklärung) certified by an Austrian notary or court and valid for at least five years (§ 2 (1) 15 NAG). The same permit covers your spouse’s parents, because § 47 (3) NAG also names relatives of the sponsor’s spouse. So an Austrian can sponsor a foreign spouse’s parents before that spouse naturalises; the spouse’s own path is on Austrian citizenship after 6 years. As a rule, your parents file in person at the Austrian embassy abroad before entry (§ 21 (1) NAG); they may file in Austria after lawful entry only if their nationality is visa-free (§ 21 (2) Z 5 NAG), with no right to stay beyond the visa-free period (§ 21 (6) NAG). The in-country exception for an Austrian’s family (§ 21 (2) Z 1) covers spouses, registered partners and minor children, not parents. They pay €218, show German at A1 level (exemptions in § 21a (4) NAG include health grounds proven by a medical opinion) and may not work in Austria (oesterreich.gv.at). There is no quota. Parents you do not support fall outside this case (§ 47 (3) Z 1 NAG). They may possibly qualify as other relatives under § 47 (3) Z 3 if you already supported them in their home country, if they already lived in your household there, or if serious health reasons make your personal care essential; ask the authority. Otherwise they need the quota settlement permit on their own income (§ 44 NAG), which means €2,616.78 a month for one person or €4,128.24 for a couple in 2026 (base; more if regular costs such as rent exceed €386.43, § 11 (5) NAG).

Illustrative example: Arjun, a naturalised Austrian in Linz, brings his father, born 1960. In 2026 his father counts as 2026 − 1960 = 66, so Care Austria Standard costs €510 a month, or €6,120 for the first year, which is the whole minimum term only for a cover start on 1 January (AVB § 3). Documents, steps and renewal are on parents of Austrian citizens.

What if you or your spouse are an EU citizen in Austria (route 2)?

If you (or your spouse) are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen living in Austria under EU law, supported non-EU parents and parents-in-law may qualify for an Aufenthaltskarte for five years (§ 52, § 54 NAG). If the EU citizen is a student, ask the authority first, because EU-level guidance treats parents of students as more distant relatives, although § 52 NAG contains no student exception. There is no quota and no own-income test. Your parents enter, then apply in person in Austria within four months and pay a fee of €91 in 2026 (oesterreich.gv.at). Parents the EU citizen does not support fall outside the card. They may possibly qualify as other relatives under § 52 (1) Z 5 NAG if they already received maintenance from or lived in a household with the EU citizen in their home country, or if serious health reasons make personal care essential; that leads to a quota-free settlement permit, for which the EU citizen must in any case sign a liability declaration, not to the card (§ 56 NAG). Ask the authority. Austrians who used an EU-law right of residence for more than 3 months in another EEA country or Switzerland and returned not merely temporarily use this route too (§ 57 NAG).

Health insurance is a legal condition here only if the EU citizen is economically inactive or a student (§ 51 NAG). If the EU citizen works, it is still a practical need, because a parent cannot be co-insured on arrival. Illustrative example: Marta, a Polish nurse in Graz, supports her husband’s mother from Ukraine. The mother enters, files for the card within four months and pays €91 (2026); because Marta works, the NAG sets no insurance condition, but the mother has no ÖGK cover of her own. We show no insurance price for this route until Care Concept confirms the case. The full guide is parents of EU citizens in Austria.

How does the settlement permit work as your parents’ visa if you are a non-EU resident (route 3)?

Parents of a non-EU resident have no family-reunification route. They can move to Austria only on their own settlement permit, the Niederlassungsbewilligung – ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit (§ 44 NAG). That permit, not a special parents visa, is Austria’s long-stay route here. Your card type does not matter, whether you hold a Red-White-Red Card, an EU Blue Card, a student permit or long-term residence. Each parent needs a quota place and German A1 (§ 21a NAG lists exemptions, for example on health grounds with a medical opinion); own fixed and regular income must reach €2,616.78 a month for a single parent or €4,128.24 together for a married couple (2026 base amounts), plus housing and all-risk health insurance. Regular costs such as rent, loan instalments and maintenance reduce the income that counts; up to €386.43 a month of them (2026, the freie Station value under § 292 (3) ASVG) is disregarded once, and only the part above it raises the amount needed (§ 11 (5) NAG); the sponsor income calculator gives an estimate for this permit and for the Angehöriger route (the authority decides). As a rule, the first application is filed at the Austrian embassy abroad before entry (migration.gv.at; § 21 (1) NAG); parents who are visa-free nationals may file in Austria after lawful entry (§ 21 (2) Z 5 NAG), with no right to stay beyond the visa-free period (§ 21 (6) NAG). The in-country exceptions for card holders, students and their core family (§ 21 (2) Z 6, 7 NAG) do not cover parents. The fee is €218 (GebG § 14 TP 8).

The quota is the hard part. For 2025 the federal regulation allowed 385 such permits nationwide (NLV 2025); we found no 2026 figure yet, and the City of Vienna reports that its places are reserved in the first minutes of the first working day (wien.gv.at); how the embassies hand out 2027 quota appointments is on settlement permit quota booking. § 44 asks for your parents’ own income; how far your support can count is not stated on the official pages we checked. See the Austria retirement visa guide and the Niederlassungsbewilligung types; living in Austria on a pension is covered on retire in Austria.

Illustrative example: Nimal holds a Red-White-Red Card in Vienna. His parents, both born 1964, count as 2026 − 1964 = 62. As a married couple they need at least €4,128.24 a month together from pensions or other own income (base; the part of their regular costs such as rent above €386.43 a month raises it, § 11 (5) NAG), a quota place, an A1 German certificate each, housing, and cover for two: 2 × €222 = €444 a month with Care Austria Standard (minimum term 1 year each); from 2028 the price is €268 each; they move to the 65–74 band on 1 January 2029.

Austria visa for parents who only visit: what do they need?

Visiting parents from visa-required countries need a Schengen visa C. It allows up to 90 days in any 180 days, needs travel medical insurance of at least €30,000 and costs €90 (bmeia.gv.at). Longer stays of 91 days to 6 months need a visa D, fee €195 (2026), which cannot be extended in Austria. A visit visa is not a way to settle: as a rule, the Angehöriger and settlement permits are filed at the embassy before entry (§ 21 (1) NAG). For these two permits, filing in Austria after a visa entry is not open to parents; only visa-free nationals may file in Austria after lawful entry, with no right to stay beyond the visa-free period (§ 21 (2) Z 5, (6) NAG). Travel insurance is a different product from permit cover and is not sold through this site.

Which health insurance do parents need on each route?

On every permanent route your parents need their own cover at first, because a parent can be co-insured on your ÖGK only after living 10 months in your household and meeting further conditions (ÖGK; § 123 ASVG). ÖGK self-insurance costs €565.25 a month in 2026, requires a valid permit and residence first and has a 6-month waiting period unless waived (ÖGK), so it cannot be shown for a first application filed abroad. For the national residence titles (the Angehöriger and § 44 settlement permits), the Interior Ministry lists health insurance as a general condition and says travel insurance “is in any case not sufficient” (BMI). The Aufenthaltskarte is not such a title; its insurance condition comes from § 51 NAG. Comprehensive health insurance is required only if the EU citizen is economically inactive or a student, while § 51 sets no insurance condition for the family of an EU worker or self-employed person, so there cover is a practical need. Where comprehensive cover is required, ask the authority which evidence it accepts.

Care Concept AG is on Vienna's MA 35 list: unlimited Care Austria tariffs need no extra declaration, 364-day ones do (checked 30 October 2026). Care Concept AG sells Care Austria; HanseMerkur Versicherungsgruppe (Advigon Versicherung AG) is the insurer. The age band changes on 1 January of the year your parent turns 50 or 65; from 2028 the unlimited Standard prices step to €268 and €617 per the policy terms. The policy terms set special rules for pre-existing conditions (AVB), so ask before you apply. For more, see health insurance in Austria, ÖGK co-insurance, ÖGK self-insurance, insurance for a residence permit.

What should you prepare before choosing a route?

Prepare proof of your own status first, because it decides the route and every later document.

• Your passport or residence card, and, for route 2, proof that you live in Austria under EU law (work, study or own means)
• Proof whether you used an EU-law right of residence for more than 3 months in another EEA country or Switzerland and returned not merely temporarily (Austrians)
• Birth certificates linking you (or your spouse) to the parent, with apostille or legalisation where needed
• Proof that you actually support your parents, such as regular transfers (routes 1 and 2)
• Your parents’ own income proof (route 3) and German certificate (routes 1 and 3)
• Health insurance that starts on the planned entry date and its minimum term

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• § 2, § 44, § 47, § 51, § 52, § 54 and § 57 NAG; § 123 ASVG; GebG § 14 (RIS, checked 30 October 2026)
• oesterreich.gv.at: Niederlassungsbewilligung – Angehöriger and Aufenthaltskarte (both last updated 10 August 2026)
• migration.gv.at: family reunification and other forms of settlement (checked 30 October 2026)
• Settlement regulation 2025 (BGBl. II 309/2025); BMI: reference rates and insurance
• ÖGK: co-insurance, ÖGK: self-insurance; bmeia.gv.at: visa; Your Europe: parents
• Care Austria policy terms (AVB) and tariff page (insurer documents, read 30 October 2026)

Our editorial standards explain how we work; see also about this site and contact. Before your parents apply, the guides to Austria residence permits and Austria health insurance cost fill in the detail. This page is general information, not legal or immigration advice; the embassy and the residence authority decide. Referral links may earn us a commission from Care Concept AG at no extra cost to you (affiliate disclosure).