Permanent residence: “Long-term Resident – EU” after five years
“Long-term Resident – EU” is Austria’s permanent residence for third-country nationals: an unlimited right of settlement, applied for after 5 years of uninterrupted settlement, with German at B1 and unrestricted access to the labour market.
The Settlement and Residence Act (Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz, NAG) calls it Daueraufenthalt – EU (§ 45 NAG), and every settlement title on this site leads to it, from the Red-White-Red Card to the settlement permit without work. The right has no end date; the card is issued for 5 years and renewed even after it has expired, for €275 in 2026.
| Official name | Aufenthaltstitel „Daueraufenthalt – EU“ (Long-term Resident – EU) |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Third-country nationals settled in Austria for five uninterrupted years on a settlement title |
| Main requirement | Five years of settlement, Module 2 of the Integration Agreement (B1) and the general requirements still met |
| Right to work | Unrestricted access to the labour market — any employer, anywhere in Austria (§ 17 AuslBG) |
| Validity | Unlimited; the card is issued for 5 years and renewed on application, even after it has expired |
The legal basis
Summary of § 45 NAG, with § 20(3) NAG, § 10 IntG and § 17 AuslBG — not the statutory wording
Under § 45(1) NAG a third-country national actually settled in Austria without interruption for the last 5 years may be issued the title “Long-term Resident – EU” if he/she
- meets the general requirements — public order, accommodation, all-risk health insurance, income at the reference rate (§ 11(2) and (5) NAG); and
- has fulfilled Module 2 of the Integration Agreement — German at B1 with the values content — by the day the application is filed (§ 10(1) of the Integration Act, Integrationsgesetz, IntG).
Immediately preceding time on a temporary residence permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung) counts half (§ 45(2) NAG); absences of more than 10 months in total or 6 at a stretch break the five years (§ 45(4) NAG). The holder is settled without time limit (§ 20(3) NAG) and may take any employment anywhere in Austria (§ 17 of the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals, Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz, AuslBG).
The conditions above are set out in § 45 NAG, with § 20(3) NAG, § 10 IntG and § 17 AuslBG: § 45 NAG, § 20 NAG, § 10 IntG, § 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
Five years of settlement, counted by title
Only settlement counts, and only the last five years of it: a Red-White-Red Card or Red-White-Red Card plus, an EU Blue Card, a settlement permit or the “Family Member” title. A temporary residence permit — as a student or an intra-corporate transferee — counts half, and only if it ran immediately before the settlement title. Vienna’s own example: eight years as a student and one on a Red-White-Red Card is enough to apply.
At most 10 months abroad, never 6 at a stretch
More than 10 months outside Austria within the five years, or more than 6 months continuously, restarts the period from your last lawful entry (§ 45(4) NAG). Short visits abroad do not interrupt the period (§ 2(7) NAG), nor does time abroad for your work (§ 45(7) NAG). An absence of up to 24 months for an especially weighty reason — a serious illness, a social obligation, a service comparable to military service — does not interrupt the count if you demonstrably notified the authority (§ 45(6) NAG). EU Blue Card holders have wider limits: 18 months in total or 12 at a stretch, counted outside the EEA (§ 45(5) NAG).
Module 2 — German at B1 — before filing
Module 2 is German at B1 plus values content, examined by the ÖIF in one pass-or-fail examination (§§ 10 and 12 IntG), and it has to be fulfilled on the day of filing. Austrian schooling with a positive mark in German, an Austrian apprenticeship or skilled-worker examination, or 2 years of a German-language degree programme with 32 ECTS or the degree itself, counts instead (§ 10(2) IntG); the only exemptions are minors below school age and permanently poor health.
Means, insurance and accommodation, for a stay without end
Income of €1,308.39 a month for a single person, €2,064.12 for a couple and €201.88 per child in 2026, after regular outgoings above the first €386.43 are deducted (§ 11(5) NAG); all-risk health insurance that pays out in Austria; and a legal claim to locally customary accommodation, which this title does not waive as the Red-White-Red Card and the EU Blue Card do (§ 11(2) NAG). For an unlimited stay the Interior Ministry’s 2026 brochure on the means calculation, following the Administrative Court (VwGH 15 December 2015, Ra 2015/22/0024), treats a modest savings balance alone — its example is about €7,000 — as not enough to show a lasting livelihood, savings sufficing only in special cases and only from a certain level; what carries the file is regular income, such as recurring earnings shown by payslips or a pension.
The application: €275, while your title is valid
Filed in person with the residence authority for your address — MA 35 in Vienna — while your current title is valid. The 90-day deadline of § 19a NAG, in force since 7 August 2026, does not apply to this title; the authority has the general 6 months (§ 73 AVG). The fee is €275 since 1 January 2026, and again for each five-year card. When the card expires the right does not: it is renewed on application even after expiry, unless a measure under the Aliens Police Act (Fremdenpolizeigesetz) is enforceable against you (§ 20(3) NAG). How an application is filed.
Losing the title, and moving within the EU
The title lapses after more than 12 consecutive months outside the European Economic Area (§ 20(4) NAG); a former EU Blue Card holder and his/her family have 24 (§ 20(4a) NAG); for especially weighty reasons the holder may stay away for up to 24 months, but only if the authority was told beforehand (§ 20(4) NAG). The lapse operates by law even while the card reads valid, and the proof of where you were is yours to give; Switzerland is not in the EEA for this rule. The title also becomes void when another member state grants you its own “Long-term Resident – EU” title, or once you have been settled for 6 years elsewhere in the EEA (§ 10(3) NAG).
The “EU” in the name is Directive 2003/109/EC: a long-term resident of one member state may move to another on that state’s conditions — in Austria, under § 49 NAG, within 3 months of entry.
From permanent residence to citizenship
Citizenship is a separate subject under the Citizenship Act (Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz 1985, StbG). The general rule is 10 years of lawful and uninterrupted residence, at least 5 of them on a settlement title (§ 10(1) StbG); the “Long-term Resident – EU” title is not itself a condition. After 6 years there is an entitlement for EU and EEA citizens, people born in Austria, the spouse of an Austrian after 5 years of marriage in a common household and people with German at B2, or at B1 with proven integration (§ 11a StbG). As a rule everyone needs German at B1, the citizenship test, a secured livelihood over the preceding years and a clean record, and gives up his/her previous nationality, with only narrow exceptions (§ 10(3), (4) and (6) StbG). A reform announced by the coalition in December 2025 — B2 as the general level — had not been enacted by 12 September 2026, and no government bill on it had reached Parliament; § 10a StbG still requires B1. When you can apply for citizenship, in the FAQ.
What the application turns on
Arithmetic, and a certificate. The count first: a temporary permit that did not run immediately before the settlement title, or absences adding up to more than 10 months unnoticed. Second is Module 2: the B1 certificate has to exist on the day of filing. Third is the means test for an unlimited stay, which payslips satisfy and a bank balance generally does not.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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
Red-White-Red Card plus
The Red-White-Red Card plus is the title a card holder moves to after two years on a Red-White-Red Card or EU Blue Card: it opens the whole labour market, but it is fixed-term. Permanent residence is what it turns into.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen never applies for this title. His/her permanent residence arises by law after 5 years of lawful residence, without a German test or a means test, and is certified on application for €44 in 2026.