Niederlassungsbewilligung Österreich explained in English (2026)

Which Niederlassungsbewilligung fits you?

The right Niederlassungsbewilligung depends on how you will live in Austria, whether on your own income without work, as a dependent parent of an Austrian, as a researcher, or as an artist or special-case worker (§ 8 (1) NAG). Start with the line that matches your plans.

Settlement permit Austria in 9 official facts

What does “Niederlassungsbewilligung” mean, and which types exist?

Niederlassungsbewilligung means “settlement permit”. It is a temporary residence title for people who intend to settle in Austria, as opposed to an Aufenthaltsbewilligung (residence permit for a fixed purpose such as studying). The Settlement and Residence Act (Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz, NAG) lists six variants, and the suffix after the dash tells you what you may do (§ 8 (1) NAG). If you search for the bare word, note that Switzerland uses the same German word for a different permit; this page is about Austria only. For all other Austrian titles (Red-White-Red Card, student permit, permanent residence), see the Austria residence permit overview.

Who can get the Niederlassungsbewilligung ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit in 2026?

Non-EU citizens who want to live in Austria on their own regular income without working can get it, if they win a quota place, meet the income rule and the other conditions (German A1, housing, all-risk insurance). In English, migration.gv.at calls it the “settlement permit – gainful employment excepted” (migration.gv.at). The law adds a second group. Retired staff of international organisations who held privileges and immunities may switch straight to it (§ 44 (2) NAG). Parents of non-EU residents can use it as well, because parents are not “family members” under the NAG (§ 2 (1) Z 9 names the spouse, registered partner and minor unmarried child). The details are on can I bring my parents to Austria?.

The table lists the conditions for a 2026 application.

Regular costs such as rent, loan instalments, garnishments and maintenance to people outside your household are counted against the income (§ 11 (5) NAG). Up to €386.43 a month of these costs (2026; the value of the freie Station, free board, under § 292 (3) ASVG) is disregarded once, and only the part above it raises the income you need. We did not find a plain official statement on whether a guarantor’s liability declaration can count for this permit, so ask the authority before you rely on one.

How does the Niederlassungsbewilligung ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit quota (Quote) work?

The quota (Quote) is a yearly cap. A federal regulation (Niederlassungsverordnung, NLV) fixes how many of these permits each province may issue, and for the Niederlassungsbewilligung ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit 2025 it set 385 places nationwide (BGBl. II 309/2025). Once a province’s places are taken, further applications wait. By province, NLV 2025 gave Vienna 130, Carinthia 45, Salzburg, Styria and Tyrol 40 each, Lower Austria and Vorarlberg 30 each, Upper Austria 25, Burgenland 5, and these places also cover family members (BGBl. II 309/2025). We did not find a 2026 figure. If no new regulation is issued in time, the most recent regulation continues to apply, with at most one twelfth of its places issued per month (§ 13 (7) NAG, version of BGBl. I 81/2026; City of Vienna statement, December 2025).

The City of Vienna wrote that quota places are “already reserved in the first minutes of the first working day” of the year (same statement). Some embassies run booking windows in advance. For the 2027 quota, for example, the Austrian Embassy in Abuja issues reservation codes from 2 to 8 November 2026 and opens appointment booking from 2 to 9 December 2026. Each applicant, including children, needs a separate code and a separate appointment (bmeia.gv.at, Embassy Abuja). Other embassies publish their own dates; all five we checked are on settlement permit quota 2027 booking.

Family members of a holder of this permit also need a quota place (§ 46 NAG), so a couple applying together uses two places.

How do you apply for a settlement permit in Austria?

As a rule, you file the first application in person at the Austrian embassy or consulate responsible for your place of residence, before entry (migration.gv.at; § 21 (1) NAG). Nationals who may enter Austria without a visa can also file in Austria after lawful entry (§ 21 (2) Z 5 NAG), and so can researchers (Z 6) and qualifying special-case workers exempt from the Foreign Employment Act (Z 8); filing in Austria gives no right to stay beyond the visa or visa-free period (§ 21 (6) NAG). The decision is made by the residence authority in the Austrian province where you will live (MA 35 in Vienna, explained on MA 35 Vienna). The steps below apply to every variant (the quota step only to quota permits), apart from the filing-place exceptions named above. The checklist below is for the variant this page explains in most detail, ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit (other variants such as researchers have their own evidence and are exempt from A1 and local-housing proof).

1. 1
   Pick the right variant

   Own income and no work: ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit. Parent maintained by an Austrian child: Angehöriger. Hosting agreement with a research institution: Forscher. Artist or special job: Künstler or Sonderfälle.

2. 2
   Secure a quota appointment (quota permits only)

   Watch your embassy’s page in the autumn before the quota year. Example Abuja: reservation codes 2–8 November 2026 for the 2027 quota, one code per applicant.

3. 3
   Prepare the file

   Passport, photo, proof of income, housing where required, German A1 where required, and proof of all-risk health insurance that pays in Austria. Documents not in German or English need translations.

4. 4
   File in person

   As a rule, first applications go to the competent Austrian embassy or consulate abroad before entry; visa-free nationals, researchers and some special-case workers may file in Austria after lawful entry (§ 21 (2) NAG), which gives no right to stay beyond the visa or visa-free period. Pay the application fee when you file.

5. 5
   Decision, visa D, collection

   The authority must decide within six months. If approved, visa-required applicants get a visa D to enter and collect the card; your insurance must be in force from entry.

• Valid passport and photo (the full list is in the Austria visa documents checklist).
• Proof of fixed, regular income (e.g. pension statements) with a base of €2,616.78 net (single) a month in 2026, plus regular costs above €386.43.
• Rental contract or property deed for your Austrian home.
• German A1 certificate (not older than one year).
• Certificate of all-risk health insurance that pays in Austria, valid from entry.
• The €218 fee (2026), plus €195 (from age 6) for a visa D if you need one to enter (all fees are on Austria visa fees).

What happens at the Niederlassungsbewilligung ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit Verlängerung?

The renewal (Verlängerung) is filed in Austria at the settlement authority of your place of residence, before the card expires and at the earliest three months before (§ 24 NAG); the fee is again €218. You must still meet the double income, housing and all-risk insurance conditions. After two years of lawful residence and Module 1 of the Integration Agreement, the permit can be issued for three years. After five years, permanent residence (Daueraufenthalt – EU) may follow (see Austria permanent residence permit). For insurance, note that the City of Linz states that Care Austria ends automatically when you receive Daueraufenthalt EU (Magistrat Linz, list of 12 December 2025). Under the policy terms (AVB § 6) it also ends when another unlimited permit is granted, so arrange other cover from the day the permanent title is granted. For the Daueraufenthalt EU application itself, the City of Vienna says you must take out another insurance (wien.gv.at); we found no statement of which kind MA 35 accepts, so ask MA 35.

What is different about the Niederlassungsbewilligung Forscher (settlement permit for researchers in Austria)?

The settlement permit for researchers in Austria (Niederlassungsbewilligung – Forscher) has fewer hurdles. It needs no German before entry and no local-housing proof, and the law text names no quota, but you need a hosting agreement with a research institution (§ 43c NAG). It is issued for two years, can be renewed once for one year to look for work or found a company, and can lead to a Red-White-Red Card plus. Researchers may file in Austria after legal entry (migration.gv.at). Their family members are quota-free and need no German before entry (migration.gv.at). The visa D is fee-free for researchers (Gebührengesetz). Researchers whose job is subject to compulsory insurance are insured with the ÖGK through it (a marginal job at or below €551.10 a month in 2026 gives accident insurance only); private cover is then a question for the time before the contract starts.

Residence permit special cases of gainful employment and artists: who are they for?

The “special cases” permit (Sonderfälle unselbständiger Erwerbstätigkeit) covers jobs that are exempt from the Foreign Employment Act or listed by regulation. migration.gv.at names foreign media correspondents, university professors and teachers at international schools as examples, and it needs an employment contract. The artist permit (Künstler) is for work that consists mainly of artistic design, employed or self-employed; it needs an employment contract or a self-employment contract lasting more than six months, and some artists are exempt from German (migration.gv.at). Special-case holders may change employer after a 45-day waiting period. Employment subject to compulsory health insurance gives ÖGK cover from the first working day; a marginal job at or below €551.10 a month in 2026 gives accident insurance only.

Which health insurance do you need for a Niederlassungsbewilligung?

A Niederlassungsbewilligung needs health insurance “covering all risks” that also pays in Austria (§ 11 (2) 3 NAG). Private insurance is sufficient if its scope matches statutory compulsory insurance (oesterreich.gv.at), and travel insurance is not. How long you need private cover depends on the variant, as the table shows.

As a public alternative, ÖGK self-insurance costs €565.25 a month at any age, but it needs residence in Austria and, for non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals, a valid permit. Benefits start after a 6-month waiting period unless it is waived (at least 26 weeks of statutory health insurance, in Austria, the EU/EEA or a treaty state whose agreement adds up insurance periods, in the last 12 months, or 6 weeks in a row immediately before), and Vienna’s MA 35 requires any waiting period to be bridged with private insurance. So it cannot be used for the first application (ÖGK self-insurance). On the private side, Care Austria Standard (insurer HanseMerkur Versicherungsgruppe (Advigon Versicherung AG)) costs €222 a month at 50–64 and €510 at 65–74 in 2026, with a minimum term of 1 year (AVB § 3), rising to €268 and €617 from 1 January 2028 per the policy terms (AVB § 5). 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). The full rule set is on health insurance for a residence permit, and prices by age are on Austria health insurance cost. Ask Care Concept AG in writing about pre-existing conditions before you apply.

What a retired couple moving from Texas to Graz needs

Illustrative example: Linda, born 1960, and Mark, born 1963, want to retire to Graz on two US pensions totalling about $5,500 a month. In 2026 they need at least €4,128.24 a month as a couple, and the part of their rent above €386.43 a month is counted against their income, so their Graz rent matters for the amount they must show. Both take an A1 German course. Styria had 40 places in the 2025 quota, so they watch the embassy’s booking window in autumn and each get their own appointment. Each pays the €218 fee, so €436 together.

For insurance, the first price follows the calendar year in which cover starts, and age is that year minus the year of birth; with cover from 2026, Linda counts as 66 and Mark as 63, and Mark moves to the 65–74 band from 1 January of the year he turns 65. Care Austria Standard unlimited would cost €510 for Linda and €222 for Mark. That is €732 a month, or €8,784 in the first year, with a 1-year minimum term (AVB § 3). ÖGK self-insurance costs €565.25 a month for one applicant in 2026. A spouse can be co-insured for an extra contribution of 3.4 % of the insured person’s contribution base (§ 51d ASVG), unless an exemption applies. Ask the ÖGK for the binding amount for the couple. They ask Care Concept AG in writing about Mark’s blood-pressure medication before applying.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• § 8 NAG, § 11, § 24, § 43c, § 44, § 46 and § 47 NAG (RIS, version of 30 October 2026)
• migration.gv.at: other forms of settlement, on income 2026, A1, validity, researchers, artists and special cases
• migration.gv.at: family reunification, for the family of researchers
• Niederlassungsverordnung 2025, BGBl. II 309/2025 (PDF) and City of Vienna statement of 10 December 2025 (PDF) on the quota
• Embassy Abuja: appointments for the 2027 settlement permit (example booking window)
• Gebührengesetz 1957, § 14 TP 8 for the fees, plus oesterreich.gv.at: insurance for permits and Magistrat Linz insurer list
• Care Austria policy terms (AVB) and tariff page (insurer documents, read 30 October 2026)

Our editorial standards describe how we work; read more about this site or contact the team. For retirees, see also Austria retirement visa, retire in Austria and permit renewal. 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).