Business Immigration Office - services and contact

At the Business Immigration Office, the following offices and agencies take care of prompt and efficient processing of residence permits:

They also provide a first overview of services offered by the City of Vienna as well as advice about residence permits to skilled international employees, companies, organisations, research and educational institutions.

Municipal Department 35 - Immigration and Citizenship (MA 35)

Find English application forms and detailed explanations on the websites of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior: Settlement in Austria

Online questionnaire for residence permits

Which documentation or residence permit you need depends on your citizenship, how long you would like to reside in Austria and whether you would like to work, study or join your family here.

Answer the questionnaire and find out which documentation or residence permit you need.

Or if you are an employer, the questionnaire will guide you through the residence permits you can apply for on behalf of your future employees.

At the end of the questionnaire, you will be forwarded to a website of the Municipal Department 35 - Immigration and Citizenship (MA 35). There you can book an appointment to file your application. You will also find information about requirements, required documents and which office to contact.

Start questionnaire

Where to apply for residence permits

If you want to stay in Austria for less than six months, you need a visa. Please contact the Austrian embassy or the Austrian consulate general in your country of residence.

If you want to stay in Austria for more than six months, apply from abroad. Please contact the Austrian embassy or the Austrian consulate general in your country of residence.

Only if you are allowed to enter Austria without a visa can you file your application in Austria during your admissible visa-free stay. You may enter Austria without a visa if your country is not a country for which a visa is required (German), or if you have a residence permit of another EU member state.

If you plan to reside in Vienna and are allowed to enter Austria without a visa or if you are already a resident of Vienna, your competent office is Municipal Department 35 - Immigration and Citizenship (MA 35) (German).

If you are a citizen of an EEA country or Switzerland, you have to apply for a Registration Certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung) yourself. The EEA countries are all the EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. For more information, please visit the website of Municipal Department 35 - Immigration and Citizenship (MA 35) at Registration Certificate for EEA and Swiss citizens (German).

Residence permits handled by the Business Immigration Office

If you are a third-country national, you can submit the following applications at the Business Immigration Office:

  • First-time applications (Erstanträge)
  • Some applications for extension (Verlängerungsanträge)
  • Applications to change the purpose of your stay (Zweckänderungsanträge)
  • Applications for family reunification (Familienzusammenführung)

Please note that you might need an appointment to submit your application. For exact details, please consult the relevant website for your residence permit.

The Business Immigration Office handles first-time applications for the following residence permits:

Permits to acquire property in Vienna

The Business Immigration Office also handles the applications by foreign nationals for permits to acquire property in Vienna. For more information, please visit the website of Municipal Department 35 - Immigration and Citizenship (MA 35) at Applications for permits pursuant to the Vienna Act on Land Acquisition by Foreign Nationals (Wiener Ausländergrunderwerbsgesetz) (German).

Contact

Vienna Business Agency

Confidential and free advice for international skilled workers, companies, organisations as well as research and educational institutions about questions regarding residence and employment law of foreign nationals

The service is voluntary and can be provided in several languages.

To arrange a personal consultation, please contact the Vienna Business Agency's team of experts at the Business Immigration Office. If you come to the Business Immigration Office without an appointment, you risk that no member of staff will be available to provide advice.

Contact

Statements and labour market examination by the Public Employment Service AMS

If required, the Public Employment Service (Arbeitsmarktservice, AMS) issues opinions and statements and carries out a labour market examination in the following cases:

  • Red-White-Red Card (Rot-Weiß-Rot-Karte)
  • EU Blue Card ("Blaue Karte EU")
  • Settlement Permit – Artist (Niederlassungsbewilligung Künstler)
  • Stay Permit – ICT and Mobile ICT (Aufenthaltsbewilligung ICT und Mobile ICT)
  • Stay Permit - Seconded employee (Aufenthaltsbewilligung Betriebsentsandter)
  • Stay Permit - Self-employed Person (Aufenthaltsbewilligung Selbständige)

The staff of the Public Employment Service is not located at the Business Immigration Office. All communication will therefore be by email.

Further information: Employment of foreign nationals (Beschäftigung ausländischer Arbeitskräfte) (German)

Contact

For questions regarding legal issues, please contact: abv.wien@ams.at

Contact for this page:
City of Vienna | Immigration and Citizenship
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