Family reunification: decided by who is already in Austria
The route by which a spouse, registered partner or child joins someone in Austria depends on who that person is: an Austrian citizen, a settled third-country national or an EU citizen exercising free movement.
Family, for the Settlement and Residence Act (Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz, NAG), means the spouse or registered partner — the Act does not distinguish by sex — and unmarried children under 18 on the day of application, adopted and stepchildren included; both spouses must be at least 21 (§ 2(1)(9) NAG). An unmarried partner is not a family member: the partner of an Austrian may be given a “Settlement Permit – Dependant” (Niederlassungsbewilligung – Angehöriger, § 47(3) NAG) on proof of a durable relationship in the country of origin, maintenance and a declaration of liability, with no right to work; the partner of an EU citizen a quota-free settlement permit (§ 56 NAG) on proof of a durable relationship and a declaration of liability.
| Official name | Familienangehöriger (Family Member); Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte plus for family; Aufenthaltskarte (residence card) |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Spouse, registered partner, minor children of Austrians or of settled third-country nationals; the spouse, children and dependent parents of EU citizens |
| Main requirement | The sponsor’s status; then, outside EU free-movement law, the family’s own means, accommodation, insurance and German A1 (not required, among others, where the sponsor holds a card for the very highly qualified, an EU Blue Card or the researcher permit) |
| Right to work | Unrestricted with “Family Member”, the plus card and the residence card; none for a dependant of an Austrian |
| Validity | Follows the sponsor’s Red-White-Red Card, EU Blue Card or researcher permit; two years for the family of a plus-card holder under § 41a(1) or (7a) or of a former Blue Card holder; otherwise 12 months and then 3 years; residence card 5 years |
The legal basis
Summary of §§ 46, 47, 54 and 69 NAG, with the definition in § 2(1)(9) NAG — not the statutory wording
Under §§ 46, 47, 54 and 69 NAG the sponsor’s status determines the family member’s title, subject to the general requirements of § 11 NAG unless waived:
- “Family Member” — § 47(2) NAG — as of right, where the sponsor is an Austrian, or an EEA or Swiss citizen living in Austria without having exercised free movement;
- a Red-White-Red Card plus — § 46(1)(1) NAG — as of right and quota-free, where the sponsor holds a Red-White-Red Card, a plus card under § 41a(1), (4), (7a) or (7b), the settlement permits “Researcher”, for former self-employed key workers or for certain special cases of employment, or “Long-term Resident – EU” after one of those; quota-free but discretionary where the sponsor holds an EU Blue Card or a title that grew out of one (§ 46(3) NAG);
- a quota-bound Red-White-Red Card plus — § 46(1)(2) NAG — or settlement permit — § 46(4) NAG — for the family of other settled third-country nationals, the decision deferred until a place is free (§ 12(7) NAG);
- a residence card — § 54 NAG — for the spouse or registered partner of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen exercising free movement, their descendants under 21 (older if maintained) and their maintained ascendants; applied for within 4 months of entry, valid 5 years;
- a dependent temporary residence permit — § 69 NAG — which may be issued to the family of a student, researcher on mobility or intra-corporate transferee for the life of the sponsor’s permit, with work only on an AMS authorisation for a named employer; not to the family of pupils, seconded or self-employed workers, au pairs, social-service employees, volunteers or cross-border commuters (§ 69(2) NAG).
The conditions above are set out in §§ 46, 47, 54 and 69 NAG, with the definition in § 2(1)(9) NAG: § 47 NAG, § 46 NAG, § 54 NAG, § 69 NAG, § 2 NAG, § 17 AuslBG. 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
The sponsor’s status
A Red-White-Red Card, EU Blue Card or researcher-permit holder gives the spouse and children a Red-White-Red Card plus valid as long as his/her own, with unrestricted access to the labour market — any employer, or self-employment — and no waiting period; for the Red-White-Red Card and the EU Blue Card the employer may file for them together with the worker’s own application (§ 20d(1) AuslBG). A student or intra-corporate transferee gives them a § 69 NAG permit that ends with his/her own permit.
Means, accommodation and insurance — not under EU law
The household shows fixed and regular income of €2,064.12 a month net in 2026 plus €201.88 for each child, after rent and other regular outgoings above €386.43 are deducted (§ 11(5) NAG); the sponsor’s salary counts. The family is usually co-insured with the sponsor; the accommodation has to fit the family. Under EU law nothing is tested against the family member, only the EU citizen’s own status.
German A1 before entry, then Module 1
A first application for “Family Member” or the plus card carries an A1 certificate from the ÖSD, the Goethe-Institut, telc or the ÖIF, not older than 12 months (§ 21a NAG). Exempt are children under 14 on the day of application, people who cannot reasonably be expected to provide the certificate on health grounds, and the family of very highly qualified, EU Blue Card and researcher holders (and of plus-card and long-term-resident sponsors whose title grew out of those), the family of a mobile EU Blue Card holder (§ 50a NAG) and of persons granted international protection (§ 46a), and anyone who declares in writing that the stay will not exceed 24 months in three years — not the family of shortage-occupation, other-key-worker, graduate, self-employed or start-up card holders. Each of these family settlement titles then requires Module 1 of the Integration Agreement (Integrationsvereinbarung), German at A2, within 2 years; the residence card requires neither.
A quota place for some sponsors
The family of other long-term residents, plus-card holders and plain settlement-permit holders needs a quota place: 4,850 under the ordinance for 2025; no ordinance for 2026 had been published by 12 September 2026, so those numbers apply at one-twelfth a month (§ 13(7) NAG). The application is held over, not rejected, until a place is free — for at most three years, after which the quota requirement itself lapses and the application is decided without one (§ 12(7) NAG). A child born in Austria is applied for in Austria within six months of birth, quota-free and without a travel document (§ 21(2)(4) and § 12(8) NAG).
Where to file, and how long the authority has
A first application is filed abroad (§ 21(1) NAG). The family of an Austrian may file in Austria after lawful entry and during a lawful stay (§ 21(2)(1) NAG); so may the family of an EU Blue Card or researcher applicant (§ 21(2)(6) NAG) and any family member who enters visa-free (§ 21(2)(5) NAG). The family of a Red-White-Red Card holder has no in-country filing right of its own: the employer may file for them in Austria together with the worker’s own application (§ 20d(1) AuslBG), or they file abroad. None of these filings extends a visa-free stay (§ 21(6) NAG). The decision takes up to six months, not the 90 days that apply to titles without a deadline of their own since 7 August 2026 (§ 19a(3) NAG) — except 8 weeks for the family of an EU Blue Card or researcher holder and of a plus-card or long-term-resident sponsor who formerly held a Blue Card (§ 46(6) NAG), and 8 weeks for the family of an intra-corporate transferee, mobile transferee or researcher on mobility (§ 69(3) NAG). How the application is filed.
The 2025 suspension, and what it did not touch
In 2025 Austria suspended family reunification for one group only. The ordinance BGBl. II Nr. 127/2025, in force from 3 July 2025 to 2 July 2026, operated through § 36a of the Asylum Act (Asylgesetz 2005) alone, freezing decisions on entry applications under § 35 of that Act, the asylum-law route for the family of refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. Until 7 August 2026 the Settlement and Residence Act left the family of persons with international protection to the Asylum Act (§ 1(2) NAG, which applies except where the NAG itself provides otherwise); the family of a card holder, an Austrian or an EU citizen was not affected. Since 7 August 2026 that reunification is a Red-White-Red Card plus under § 46a NAG, with a quota of its own — none published by 12 September 2026 — decided by the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (Bundesamt für Fremdenwesen und Asyl, BFA).
What the application turns on
The sponsor’s status first, then the income calculation: the authority deducts rent above the allowance before comparing the household’s income with the couple rate plus the child amounts; a salary that supports a family can fall short on paper. Next the A1 certificate, less than 12 months old. And since 7 August 2026 the relationship itself: an application is refused where no actual family relationship exists or no longer exists (§ 30(4) NAG).
Who you are
- A valid passport (§ 7(1)(1) NAG-DV). It is shown in the original before any title is issued, whoever files the application and however it is filed.
- A colour passport-format photograph, 45 × 35 mm, meeting the EU residence-permit photo standard (§ 2a NAG-DV, referring to Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002), not older than six months at the time of the decision.
- Where the application turns on them: your birth certificate, marriage or registered-partnership certificate, divorce decree, adoption order, or the certificate of a child’s birth (§ 7(1)(3) NAG-DV). A certificate issued abroad needs an apostille or consular legalisation, and a German translation, where the authority asks for them (§ 6(3)–(4) NAG-DV) — for civil-status certificates it usually does, though documents in English are often accepted without translation.
Who your family are
- Your marriage certificate or registered-partnership certificate, and the birth certificates of the children who are applying, with an apostille or consular legalisation, and a German translation, where the authority asks for them (§ 7(1)(3), § 6(3)–(4) NAG-DV) — for civil-status certificates it usually does.
- Your partner’s passport and, for a third-country sponsor, his/her residence title; for an Austrian sponsor, the proof of citizenship; for an EU citizen, the registration certificate. For the NAG family titles — “Family Member”, the Red-White-Red Card plus and the § 69 permit — both spouses have to be at least 21 on the day of application, and a child under 18 (§ 2(1)(9) NAG); the family of an EU citizen follows the wider free-movement definition instead.
- For the settlement permit “Dependant” (§ 47(3) NAG) — parents, a durable partner, other dependent relatives of an Austrian — the sponsor’s declaration of liability in every case, even where the dependant has means of his/her own, certified by an Austrian notary or court and valid for at least five years. For “Family Member” and the Red-White-Red Card plus no declaration of liability is admissible: the family shows its own or household income.
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.
That you can support yourself
- Payslips, a salary confirmation, an employment contract or a binding pre-contract; pension statements; confirmations of other regular benefits (§ 7(1)(6) NAG-DV).
- The test is net of regular outgoings: rent, loan instalments, maintenance paid to people outside the household and garnishments are deducted, except for the first €386.43 a month (the free-station allowance for 2026). What is left has to reach €1,308.39 for a single person, €2,064.12 for a couple and €201.88 for each child — or twice those amounts for the settlement permit without work. A student or pupil under 24 who comes alone is assessed at €722.58 a month, and at €1,308.39 from the 24th birthday.
- Savings can stand in for income on a fixed-term title, apportioned over the twelve months of its validity, if their origin is shown and they are accessible from Austria. Bank statements over several months, not a single balance.
- Where the Act allows it — for a student, a pupil, an artist or a volunteer, and always for a dependant of an Austrian and for the other relatives or durable partner of an EU citizen under § 56 NAG — a declaration of liability (Haftungserklärung) by a third party, certified by an Austrian notary or court and valid for at least five years (§ 2(1)(15), § 11(6) NAG). It is not admissible for the settlement permit without work, the two cards or their families.
- Not required for the Red-White-Red Card or the EU Blue Card: the salary in the employer’s declaration is the means.
That you have somewhere to live
- A lease or sublease, a binding pre-contract for one, or proof of ownership (§ 7(1)(4) NAG-DV). “Locally customary” means adequate for a family of your size in that place — not a hotel booking, and not a friend’s sofa.
- Where you will live with someone else, that person’s lease or proof of ownership together with a right-of-residence agreement (Wohnrechtsvereinbarung) or another document giving you a legal claim to the accommodation (§ 7(2) NAG-DV) — accommodation provided free of charge and revocable at any time does not count (oesterreich.gv.at); for spouses and registered partners it is enough that one of them is named in the lease or the land register.
- Not required for the Red-White-Red Card, the EU Blue Card, the settlement permit “Researcher”, or the residence permits for students, researchers on mobility and intra-corporate transferees — the Act waives it for those titles.
That you are insured against all risks in Austria
- For an employee: the employment contract usually does it — compulsory insurance with the ÖGK starts with the job, and the ordinance asks for a policy only where no compulsory insurance will exist (§ 7(1)(5) NAG-DV). The official migration portal (migration.gv.at) nonetheless lists evidence of health insurance among the documents for every application, so a confirmation from the employer or the insurer is worth including.
- For everyone else: a private policy that matches statutory cover — all risks, no waiting period for treatment, valid in Austria. Travel insurance does not qualify. Vienna publishes a list of accepted insurers and a clause the policy has to carry.
- Voluntary self-insurance with the ÖGK is an alternative for someone already registered at an address in Austria: €565.25 a month in 2026 at the full rate (reducible on application), and €78.84 a month for students. At the full rate it pays for treatment as a rule only after a waiting period — three months under § 124(1) ASVG, extendable to six by the insurer’s statutes; oesterreich.gv.at gives six months — and the authority accepts it only once it pays: until then a private policy has to bridge the gap.
That you speak German at the level the title requires
- For a first application for the settlement permit without work, the “Family Member” title, the Red-White-Red Card plus for family, and the other settlement permits: a certificate at level A1 from the ÖSD, the Goethe-Institut, telc or the ÖIF, not older than 12 months when presented (§ 21a NAG; § 9b NAG-DV).
- Not required for the Red-White-Red Card, the EU Blue Card, the settlement permit “Researcher”, any temporary residence permit, children under 14, people who cannot reasonably be expected to provide the certificate on grounds of physical or mental health, or the family of very highly qualified workers, EU Blue Card and mobile Blue Card holders, researchers and holders of a plus card or long-term residence derived from those titles, or of persons granted international protection. The proof is deemed given where the conditions of Module 1 or 2 already exist — in particular a school-leaving qualification that gives general university entrance (§ 21a(3) NAG with § 9(4) Integrationsgesetz).
- For a renewal after two years, and for the three-year card: proof of Module 1 — the ÖIF integration examination at A2, or a school-leaving qualification giving university entrance, or the Red-White-Red Card itself, which counts as fulfilment (§ 9(4) Integrationsgesetz). For long-term residence: Module 2 at B1.
Whether anything in your record stands in the way
- The general list of documents in § 7 NAG-DV does not include a certificate of good conduct. The authority assesses the public-order ground on what it holds and can ask for what it needs, and in practice the representations abroad and many authorities — Vienna for every first application — ask for a police clearance certificate from your country of nationality, and from any country you lived in for more than six months before coming to Austria, not older than three months; whether it has to be legalised is for the authority to say. Obtaining one before you file, and keeping it current, avoids a delay at the point where the file is otherwise complete.
- A conviction is not in itself a bar — with the exceptions in § 11(1) NAG: a conviction in the last twelve months for unlawful entry or evading border control, an entry ban or residence ban, and a recent return decision are absolute bars. Otherwise what the authority weighs is whether your stay would endanger public order or security (§ 11(4) NAG). That is a question for a lawyer before it is a question for a form.
How this route differs from the ones next to it
The Red-White-Red Card plus
The family of a card holder receives the plus card; its rules — any employer, the 3-year card after Module 1, “Long-term Resident – EU” after 5 years — are on its own page. If the marriage ends, a family member holding it keeps an independent right of settlement and receives a title for the same purpose if he/she meets the general requirements — means, insurance, accommodation — alone; after the sponsor’s death, a divorce for the sponsor’s predominant fault or in other specially weighty cases, even without them (§ 27 NAG).
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
The residence card depends on the EU citizen’s own right of residence — work, self-sufficiency or study in Austria — and on his/her registration. That registration, and the family’s right if the EU citizen dies or the marriage ends, are on the page for EU citizens.