Retire or live without working: Austria’s quota-bound settlement permit
The settlement permit “Except Gainful Employment” is the route for a retiree or a person of independent means who will live in Austria without working, and it is subject to a yearly quota.
Issued under § 44 of the Settlement and Residence Act (Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz, NAG), it requires income at twice the reference rate — €2,616.78 a month for a single person in 2026 — and German at A1 before entry.
The quota is the second gate: 385 places nationwide under the ordinance for 2025, 130 of them for Vienna, allocated in the order of filing.
| Official name | Niederlassungsbewilligung – ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit (settlement permit “Except Gainful Employment”) |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Retirees and people of independent means who will not work in Austria; a quota place is needed |
| Main requirement | Fixed and regular income at twice the reference rate, and a place in the province’s quota for the year |
| Right to work | None. Any gainful employment is excluded; working later needs a change of purpose to a title that allows work |
| Validity | 12 months, renewed without a quota place; 3 years once Module 1 is fulfilled and two years of settlement have passed |
The legal basis
Summary of § 44(1) NAG, with §§ 12–13 NAG on the quota and § 21a NAG on German before entry — not the statutory wording
Under § 44(1) NAG a third-country national may be issued a settlement permit “Except Gainful Employment” (on migration.gv.at, “gainful employment excepted”) if
- he/she meets the general requirements of the Act — accommodation, all-risk insurance, no burden on public funds, no threat to public order (§ 11(2) NAG) — and shows A1 German with the first application (§ 21a NAG);
- a quota place is available (§§ 12–13 NAG); and
- his/her fixed and regular monthly income reaches twice the reference rates of § 293 ASVG.
It allows fixed-term settlement without any gainful employment (§ 8(1)(5) NAG); working later needs a change of purpose to a title that allows it (§ 26 NAG). “May” is discretion: meeting the conditions creates no entitlement. It is issued for twelve months (§ 20(1) NAG), and for 3 years once Module 1 of the Integration Agreement (Integrationsvereinbarung) is fulfilled after two years of lawful settlement (§ 20(1a) NAG). The 90-day decision limit of 7 August 2026 does not apply to it (§ 19a(3) NAG).
The conditions above are set out in § 44(1) NAG, with §§ 12–13 NAG on the quota and § 21a NAG on German before entry: § 44 NAG, § 12 NAG, § 13 NAG, § 21a NAG, § 18 AuslBG, Niederlassungsverordnung 2025. 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
Income at twice the reference rate
€2,616.78 a month for a single person, €4,128.24 for a couple and €403.76 for each child in 2026, net of rent and other regular outgoings above the first €386.43 a month. Pensions, investment income, business profits from abroad and a spouse’s income in the same household all count. Savings can fill a gap, apportioned over the permit’s twelve months, with their origin shown. A declaration of liability is not available: the means have to be your own.
All-risk health insurance valid in Austria
The authority accepts a private policy matching statutory cover, or self-insurance with the ÖGK (Österreichische Gesundheitskasse), €565.25 a month in 2026, which needs a residence in Austria and at the full rate pays for treatment only after a waiting period — three months under § 124(1) ASVG, which the insurer’s statutes may extend to six, and oesterreich.gv.at gives six — so Vienna accepts it only with private cover bridging that period. Travel insurance does not qualify, and in Vienna a policy shorter than twelve months shortens the permit to match.
German at A1 before entry, at any age
A first application carries a German certificate at level A1, not older than 12 months (§ 21a NAG). The Act exempts children under 14, medical inability and holders of a school-leaving qualification giving university entrance; it exempts nobody for age. One exemption is a trap: a written declaration that the stay will not exceed 24 months within 3 years excuses the certificate but irrevocably waives every renewal after the first.
A quota place for the year
The permit may be issued only while the province has a place left for the calendar year. Applications are ranked by the date and time of filing (§ 12(2) NAG); one filed or decided when no place is left is rejected without further proceedings (§ 12(4) NAG). Renewals need no place, nor does a child born in Austria whose application is filed within six months of the birth (§ 12(8) NAG); a spouse or child joining from abroad does, from the same pool of places (§ 46(5) NAG).
How the quota works
The ordinance in force under § 13 NAG — the Niederlassungsverordnung — is the Niederlassungsverordnung 2025 (BGBl. II Nr. 309/2025, issued 18 December 2025): 385 places by province.
| Province | Places (ordinance for 2025) |
|---|---|
| Vienna | 130 |
| Carinthia | 45 |
| Salzburg | 40 |
| Styria | 40 |
| Tyrol | 40 |
| Lower Austria | 30 |
| Vorarlberg | 30 |
| Upper Austria | 25 |
| Burgenland | 5 |
| Austria | 385 |
No ordinance for 2026 had been published by 12 September 2026, so the last one continues to apply, at no more than one-twelfth of its numbers in any month (§ 13(7) NAG); how the authorities apply that cap to the January filings in 2026 has not been published. Vienna takes a quota application only by appointment and publishes the booking details from October.
A first application is filed in person at the Austrian representation abroad; a national of a visa-free state may instead file in Austria during the 90-day visa-free stay — in Vienna by appointment at MA 35 — but gains no right to remain beyond it and has to leave and await the decision abroad if it is not made in time (§ 21(2)(5) and (6) NAG). The authority — MA 35 in Vienna, the Office of the Styrian Provincial Government in Graz, the Office of the Lower Austrian Provincial Government for quota cases in Lower Austria, and otherwise the district administration or the municipal authority of a statutory city — has six months to decide (§ 73 AVG); the fee is €218 in 2026. How the application is filed, step by step.
Does Austria have a retirement visa?
No. No residence title in § 8 NAG is a retirement title; this permit is the route a retiree uses, and it is renewed without a quota place. The Integration Agreement then runs as for any settler: Module 1, German at A2, is due within 2 years of the first permit and unlocks the 3-year card described above; after 5 years and Module 2 at B1 the title “Long-term Resident – EU” is open, where the authority looks for a lasting livelihood — the Interior Ministry’s brochure, following the Administrative Court, treats a modest savings balance alone as not enough, savings sufficing only in special cases and from a certain level — a point for a retiree living off capital rather than a pension.
Can I work remotely on this permit?
No official source addresses it. § 8(1)(5) NAG excludes gainful employment without any territorial qualifier, and Vienna tells holders they may not work in Austria. The Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals (Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz, AuslBG) requires a permit for a foreign national employed in Austria by an employer with no Austrian establishment (§ 18 AuslBG): the work is where you do it. Our reading — not a published position — is that work from Austria for a foreign employer is gainful employment and this permit excludes it; someone who intends to work needs a residence title that carries that right — a Red-White-Red Card in one of its categories.
What the application turns on
Timing, then arithmetic. A complete file filed after the province’s places are gone is rejected unread, so the file is ready before January and — where in-country filing is open to you, or through the representation abroad — the filing is made in the first days of the year. The authority then deducts rent above the allowance and compares what is left with twice the rate, so a pension that clears the figure on paper can fail once the rent is taken off.
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 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.
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.
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
Family reunification
A retiree joining an adult child who is Austrian does not need this route or its quota: the settlement permit “Dependant” (§ 47(3) NAG) is for a dependent parent of an Austrian, is quota-free at first issue and requires, on top of the parent’s own means, the child’s notarised declaration of liability — with the same ban on work.
Self-employed and start-ups
Profits from a business abroad count as income here; running one from Austria is work and needs a permit that allows it. The Red-White-Red Card for self-employed key workers or start-up founders carries that right and has no quota; after two years of that activity a self-employed key worker may be granted a plain settlement permit (§ 43(1) NAG), and a start-up founder the Red-White-Red Card plus only under § 41a(7a) NAG.