EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: a registration, not a permit
A citizen of an EU or EEA state or of Switzerland needs no Austrian residence permit — only a registration, within 4 months of arrival, of a right EU law already grants for any stay over three months.
The Settlement and Residence Act (Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz, NAG) transposes the Free Movement Directive for EU and EEA citizens (§§ 51–56 NAG) and applies the same rules to Swiss citizens under the EU–Switzerland agreement (§ 57 NAG). A stay of more than three months is lawful under EU law itself if you are employed or self-employed in Austria, have enough means and health insurance not to need social assistance, or are studying and can show the same. The registration certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung) documents that right. The authority issues it once one of the three grounds is shown (§ 53(1) NAG) — no quota, no points test, no German — and withholds it only where the proof is missing, the conditions are not met or public order or security is endangered (§ 55(3) NAG). It has no expiry date, but a deadline and a fee of €44 since 1 January 2026.
| Official name | Anmeldebescheinigung (registration certificate) — documentation of the right of residence under EU law, §§ 51–53 NAG |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Citizens of EU and EEA states and Switzerland staying longer than three months |
| Main requirement | One of three grounds: work or self-employment; means and health insurance; or study with both |
| Right to work | Unrestricted — EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are outside the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals |
| Validity | No expiry date; the right lasts as long as its ground does, and becomes permanent after five years |
The legal basis
Summary of §§ 51, 53 and 53a NAG, with § 54 NAG for third-country family and § 57 NAG for Swiss citizens — not the statutory wording
Under § 51(1) NAG a citizen of an EEA state has a right of residence in Austria for more than three months if he/she
- is a worker or a self-employed person in Austria;
- has sufficient means and comprehensive health insurance for himself/herself and his/her family, so that neither social assistance nor the compensatory supplement to a pension would be needed; or
- is in Austria principally for education or vocational training at a public or legally recognised school or institution, and meets the second condition as well.
Under § 53 NAG a stay of more than three months is reported to the residence authority within 4 months of entry, and the certificate is issued on application against a valid identity card or passport and the proof for the ground. Under § 53a NAG the right becomes permanent after 5 years of lawful and uninterrupted residence, whether or not the ground still exists, and is certified on application. Under §§ 54 and 54a NAG the citizen’s third-country spouse or registered partner, descendants under 21 or maintained by him/her, and dependent ascendants receive a residence card for 5 years, applied for within 4 months of entry, and after five years a permanent residence card for 10 years. § 57 NAG extends this to Swiss citizens.
The conditions above are set out in §§ 51, 53 and 53a NAG, with § 54 NAG for third-country family and § 57 NAG for Swiss citizens: § 51 NAG, § 53 NAG, § 53a NAG, § 54 NAG, § 57 NAG. The consolidated German text is published in the Austrian legal information system (RIS); the English on this page is a summary, and where the two differ the German text governs.
What each requirement means
A ground: work, self-employment, means and insurance, or study
Which of three descriptions fits you on the day you register. An employee shows an employment contract or an employer’s confirmation; a self-employed person a trade-licence extract or a tax number; someone who will not work — a retiree, a person with private means — comprehensive health insurance and means, with no figure in the Act beyond not needing social assistance; a student the admission, the insurance and a declaration of means. A worker who becomes involuntarily unemployed after more than a year’s work keeps the status while registered with the AMS; after a shorter contract it is kept for at least six months (§ 51(2) NAG), and any change is reported to the authority without delay.
4 months, €44, and the address registration that comes first
Everyone who moves into accommodation in Austria, EU citizens included, registers the address within 3 days on the Meldezettel form; it is free, and failing to do it is fined at up to €726 under § 22 Meldegesetz. The certificate is a second procedure at a different office, in person — MA 35 in Vienna. The €44 is paid on filing and refunded on request if no certificate is issued. The address is registered within 3 days, the certificate applied for within 4 months of arrival, and applying for the certificate later is fined at €50 to €250 under § 77 NAG. What an EU citizen has to do, in the FAQ.
Permanent residence after five years, whatever happens to the ground
After 5 years of lawful and uninterrupted residence the right becomes permanent under § 53a NAG: it no longer depends on being employed, insured or solvent, and is certified on application for €44 after a check of the duration. Absences of up to 6 months in a year do not interrupt the count, nor does a single absence of up to 12 months for an important reason. Once acquired, the permanent right — the certificate of permanent residence (Bescheinigung des Daueraufenthalts) is its proof — is lost only by more than 2 consecutive years away (§ 10(3) NAG).
Family who are not EU citizens: the residence card, €91, for 5 years
A spouse or registered partner, a child or grandchild under 21 or dependent, and a dependent parent who is a third-country national has a right derived from yours, documented by a residence card (Aufenthaltskarte) applied for within 4 months of entry: €91, €39 under 16, valid for 5 years, with full access to the labour market and no German requirement. After five years it becomes a permanent residence card (Daueraufenthaltskarte) for 10 years. A durable partner or another dependent relative may instead be granted a settlement permit under § 56 NAG against your declaration of liability.
British citizens after Brexit
A British citizen has been a third-country national since 1 January 2021: 90 days in any 180 without a visa and without work; a longer stay of up to six months needs a Visa D (€195 in 2026), and anything over six months a residence title under the NAG — for someone coming to work, the Red-White-Red Card or the EU Blue Card. British citizens who were already living in Austria on 31 December 2020 secured their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement by applying, by 31 December 2021, for the residence title “Article 50 TEU” (Artikel 50 EUV, § 57a NAG): a card for 5 years, 10 once permanent residence is acquired, with no German requirement; a late application is accepted only for reasonable grounds. What applies to a British citizen, in the FAQ.
Is the registration certificate being abolished?
Not as of 12 September 2026. In June 2026 press reports described a federal deregulation plan that would drop the registration obligation for EU citizens. No such change had been enacted, and no government bill on it had reached Parliament, by 12 September 2026; § 53 NAG is in force unchanged: the 4-month deadline and the fine apply to anyone arriving in 2026.
What the application turns on
The ground, and its proof, on the day of the appointment. The authority checks that one of the three descriptions fits and that the document for it is in the file — a signed employment contract, a trade-licence extract, or comprehensive health insurance together with bank or pension statements. Timing is the other half: address registration first, then the appointment, both inside 4 months of arrival.
Who you are, for the registration certificate
- A valid identity card or passport (§ 53(2) NAG) — the statute names either, and the registration certificate is documentation of a right you already hold, not a residence title, so the NAG-DV list for title applications does not apply.
The ground of your right of residence under EU law
- For a worker or self-employed person: a confirmation from the employer, or proof of self-employment — a trade-licence extract, a tax number, a company-register extract (§ 53(2)(1) NAG).
- For a person of independent means: proof of sufficient means — bank or pension statements, investment income — and of comprehensive health insurance (§ 53(2)(2) NAG). The EU-law standard is comprehensive cover, not the NAG’s “all risks, payable in Austria” wording, but in practice the same kind of policy satisfies both.
- For a student: the admission to the school or institution, comprehensive health insurance, and a declaration or other evidence of sufficient means (§ 53(2)(3) NAG).
Who your family are, under EU free-movement law
- The EU citizen’s passport or identity card and his/her registration certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung) or certificate of permanent residence; your own passport.
- Your marriage certificate or registered-partnership certificate, or proof of descent, with an apostille or consular legalisation where issued abroad and a German translation where the authority asks.
- For a child or grandchild over 21, or a parent or grandparent, proof that the EU citizen actually maintains you (§ 52(1)(2)–(3) NAG); for a partner in a durable relationship, proof of the relationship (§ 52(1)(4) NAG).
- There is no minimum age for a spouse and no under-18 limit: descendants qualify up to 21, and beyond that if maintained. The 21-year and under-18 limits of § 2(1)(9) NAG belong to the NAG family titles, not to free movement.
How this route differs from the ones next to it
Permanent residence
“Long-term Resident – EU” is the third-country national’s permanent residence: applied for after 5 years of settlement, with German at B1 and a means test. An EU citizen’s permanent residence arises by law after 5 years and is merely certified. A British citizen who arrived after 2020 is a third-country national and takes the Long-term Resident – EU route.
Family reunification
Family reunification under the NAG is for the family of a third-country national, or of an Austrian who has not exercised free movement: a narrower family, German at A1 before entry and in some cases a quota. The third-country family of an EU citizen uses the residence card instead.