Moving to Austria in 2026: permits, first steps and health insurance

Can I move to Austria? Start with your passport

Yes, you can move to Austria if you fit one of the legal routes, and your passport decides which rules apply. Third-country nationals who stay longer than six months need a residence permit (oesterreich.gv.at); EU, EEA and Swiss citizens register instead (oesterreich.gv.at).

Moving to Austria in 9 official facts

Can I immigrate to Austria, and which route fits?

You can immigrate to Austria if you match one purpose the law provides for. There is no general “immigration visa”. The table sets each route for non-EU citizens next to its key condition and its health insurance, and each route has its own page.

Work routes and their pay rules are compared on Austria work visa. If you hold a visa-free passport, you may file some permit applications in Austria after a lawful entry (§ 21 (2) NAG), but filing does not let you stay beyond the visa-free period (§ 21 (6) NAG). Otherwise, the first application is filed abroad and you wait there for the decision.

Expats in Austria: how many foreigners live in Austria?

For expats in Austria the official count is 1,881,309 non-Austrian citizens, 20.4 % of residents (1 January 2026, Statistik Austria). That is 25,890 more than a year earlier, and 22.9 % of residents were born abroad (Statistik Austria, final results, updated 22 October 2026). These figures include EU citizens. We did not find an official breakdown of expats in Austria by country of origin on that page. Is Austria friendly to foreigners? We found no official index that measures it, so we do not rank it; the figures above count foreign citizens and people born abroad, nothing more. Official information for newcomers exists in English (wien.gv.at), but individual authority pages and procedures may still use German.

What is different about moving to Vienna?

Moving to Vienna, Austria works like moving anywhere in Austria, with one Vienna-specific office. The City’s Immigration and Citizenship department, MA 35, decides residence permits for people living in Vienna (wien.gv.at). For Vienna, Austria, immigration has its own English questionnaire that tells you which permit and documents you need and links to the appointment booking. MA 35 also keeps a list of health insurers for permits. Registration (Meldezettel) is done at the municipal district office (oesterreich.gv.at). Dealing with MA 35 in English is explained on MA 35 Vienna.

On costs, Statistik Austria’s 2024/25 household survey found that Vienna households’ equivalised spending is 2.4 % below the Austrian average, and that single people spend about €2,700 a month on average across Austria; rents for new contracts are higher than the average rent. The full budget for moving to Vienna, Austria, with rents and inflation is on cost of living in Austria.

Moving to Austria from Canada, Australia, South Africa or Ireland

The rules depend on citizenship, not on the country you leave from. Moving to Austria from Ireland is the EU case, so Irish citizens register and need no permit. Moving to Austria from Canada, from Australia or from South Africa is the third-country case, where the same permits, conditions and insurance rule apply as for every non-EU citizen.

Austria visa from Canada: whether you need a visa to enter depends on your passport; the Foreign Ministry publishes the visa rules and fees (bmeia.gv.at). We did not verify the visa-free list for each country for this page, so check it there. For moving to Vienna from Canada or elsewhere, what matters is that holders of a visa-free passport may file some permit applications in Austria after a lawful entry (§ 21 (2) 5 NAG), without a right to stay beyond the visa-free period (§ 21 (6) NAG), but the permit’s own conditions (and for retirees a quota place) still apply. Visa-required nationals file abroad. The document list is on Austria visa documents checklist, and which embassy or consulate takes your file is on Austrian embassy visa application.

Is there an Austria relocation program?

We found no government Austria relocation program that pays or sponsors foreigners to move (searched official Austrian sources, October 2026). The official “programmes” are the permit routes themselves. For skilled workers these are the Red-White-Red Card, the EU Blue Card and the job seeker visa, presented in English on the migration platform (migration.gv.at), and for students the student permit (OeAD). For job hunting, the migration platform points to its Talent Hub platform, company career pages and Austrian job portals (migration.gv.at FAQ). Any moving allowance is a matter between you and your employer.

When do you do each step on the moving to Austria relocation checklist?

A move to Austria on a non-EU permit starts with the application and the health-insurance proof the title asks for, before you leave; address registration follows within three days of moving in. The order below is for non-EU routes (visa-free nationals may file after lawful entry, § 21 (2) Z 5 NAG, but may not stay beyond the visa-free period, § 21 (6)). EU citizens skip steps 1 and 4 and register within four months instead.

1. 1
   Months before you move: pick your permit

   Job offer, job search, study, family or own means. EU citizens skip the permit and only register.

2. 2
   Collect and translate documents

   Passport (issued within 10 years), birth and marriage certificates, degrees, proof of income, accommodation and, for the titles listed in § 21a NAG (e.g. national family titles, the settlement permit except gainful employment), a German A1 certificate unless exempt. Translate what is not in German or English.

3. 3
   Arrange all-risk health insurance

   A national residence title needs all-risk cover that pays in Austria (§ 11 (2) Z 3 NAG); travel insurance is not enough (exceptions: the Red-White-Red Card application, with travel cover well above the Schengen visa minimum incl. rescue and return costs; for a first student permit, OeAD allows a written statement on later ÖGK student insurance, with travel insurance only until then). A job subject to compulsory health insurance gives ÖGK cover from the first working day; a marginal job under the 2026 marginal-earnings limit does not.

4. 4
   File in person and wait

   At the embassy or consulate, or in Austria where § 21 NAG allows it. Decision at the latest within 6 months by law.

5. 5
   Enter and register within 3 days

   Register your address (Meldezettel) at the registration authority — in Vienna the municipal district office — within three days of moving in.

6. 6
   Collect the card and settle in

   Pick up the card in person, open a bank account, and switch to ÖGK cover when your job subject to compulsory insurance (not a marginal job under the 2026 marginal-earnings limit) or co-insurance starts (after any minimum term of private cover).

Bring originals of your birth, marriage or adoption certificates, degrees and employment certificates, with translations where needed; your passport must be valid three months beyond your planned departure and issued within the last ten years (oesterreich.gv.at). The printable file list is on Austria visa documents checklist. Moving with children is covered on schools in Austria for expat children. If you drive, see using a foreign driving licence in Austria.

Which health insurance do you need when moving to Austria?

For a national residence title you need health insurance that covers all risks and pays in Austria (§ 11 (2) 3 NAG). Travel health insurance is “in any case not sufficient” (BMI, our translation), with an exception at application for the Red-White-Red Card, for travel cover well above €30,000 incl. rescue and return costs (migration.gv.at). For a first student permit, OeAD allows a written statement on later ÖGK student insurance, with travel insurance only until then (OeAD; ask your residence authority). Once you work in Austria in a job subject to compulsory insurance, you are insured with the ÖGK automatically from the first working day; a marginal job up to €551.10 a month (2026) gives accident insurance only. ÖGK self-insurance costs €565.25 a month (oegk.at, 2026), has a 6-month waiting period unless waived and, for non-EU citizens, needs residence in Austria and a valid permit, so it does not solve the first permit (ÖGK self-insurance). Family members can be co-insured once they live in Austria if the ÖGK conditions are met (ÖGK co-insurance). How the public system works for newcomers is explained on health care in Austria, and all options are compared on health insurance in Austria.

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) (wien.gv.at). Whether another authority accepts a given policy is not confirmed to us, so ask yours. The insurer behind Care Austria is HanseMerkur Versicherungsgruppe (Advigon Versicherung AG); the seller is Care Concept AG. Unlimited contracts can be cancelled ordinarily only after one year, then only to 31 December with one month’s notice (AVB § 3). The rule in full is on health insurance for a residence permit, with prices by age on Austria health insurance cost.

How a couple from South Africa retire to Graz

Illustrative example: Pieter, 61, and Anke, 58, from Cape Town, want to retire in Austria on his pension and their savings. They are third-country nationals, so they need the settlement permit – except gainful employment, which asks for a quota place, net income of at least €4,128.24 a month as a couple (2026; base; more if regular costs such as rent exceed €386.43 a month, § 11 (5) NAG), accommodation, German at A1 level (unless an exemption in § 21a NAG applies) and all-risk health insurance for both, and they may not work (migration.gv.at). A travel policy is not enough, and neither of them will work, so there is no ÖGK cover through a job.

Both are in the 50–64 band (age = the calendar year minus the birth year), where Care Austria Standard costs €222 each a month in 2026, so the couple budgets €444 a month and, with the one-year minimum term (AVB § 3), at least €5,328 for the first year. From 1 January 2028 the price per person rises to €268 per the policy terms, and from 1 January of the year he turns 65 Pieter moves into the 65–74 band (€510 at 2026 prices, €617 from 1 January 2028 per the policy terms). Each of them also pays the €218 permit fee (2026). They continue with Austria retirement visa and retire in Austria.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Statistik Austria: population by citizenship and country of birth (1 January 2026, final results)
• oesterreich.gv.at: residence of third-country nationals, EU citizens, registration of residence, documents checklist for moving
• § 11 NAG and § 21 NAG (RIS); Interior Ministry: general requirements and health insurance (German)
• migration.gv.at: permanent immigration, other forms of settlement and FAQ; OeAD: student permit
• City of Vienna: immigration and residence and residence permits; ÖGK: insurance for employees; Foreign Ministry: visa
• European Union: Austria country profile (european-union.europa.eu), for the EU and Schengen membership dates
• Care Austria policy terms (AVB) and tariff page (insurer documents, read 30 October 2026)

Our working method is in the editorial standards. See also about this site, or contact the team. This page is general information, not legal or immigration advice; the residence authority decides. Referral links may earn us a commission from Care Concept AG at no extra cost to you (affiliate disclosure).