Austria residence permit for the financially independent

No. The 'Niederlassungsbewilligung – ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit' allows you to live in Austria without any gainful activity. The Lower Austria authorities state explicitly that remote work for a foreign company is not allowed either. Receiving a pension, dividends and capital income is fine; if you run a business every day, we work through your situation before filing.

Twice the Section 293 ASVG standard rate: EUR 2,616.78 a month per applicant, EUR 4,128.24 for a married couple or registered partners, plus EUR 403.76 for each child. The income must be regular and your own. Rent, loans and maintenance reduce the income that counts. The rates are revised each year, so we calculate them for the filing date.

Yes, savings are expressly listed among the sources of means. Lower Austria asks you to show how you were able to accumulate them, for example through earlier work abroad, and for funds in a foreign currency a bank confirmation of the conversion into euros. The law does not fix how much savings is enough, so we do not promise a 'permit for a deposit' and calculate a margin for your case. Funds moved from India are planned within the LRS limit of USD 250,000 per person per financial year.

The number of these permits per year is capped by a government regulation (Niederlassungsverordnung) for each province. No regulation has been issued for 2026, so under Section 13(7) NAG the NLV 2025 applies: 385 places nationwide (Vienna 130, Carinthia 45, Salzburg, Styria and Tyrol 40 each, Lower Austria and Vorarlberg 30 each, Upper Austria 25, Burgenland 5), and no more than 1/12 of that number may be granted per month. In Lower Austria places go in order of receipt at the start of the year, with no waiting list. The dossier should be ready before January.

Yes. The first application requires an A1 certificate from ÖSD, the Goethe-Institut, telc or ÖIF, no older than 1 year. Exceptions are children under 14, people whose health prevents it (with a report from a doctor appointed by the embassy) and those who declare in writing that they will stay no longer than 24 months within 3 years. After that: Module 1 of the Integration Agreement (A2) within 2 years and Module 2 (B1) for permanent status. Goethe-Institut (Max Mueller Bhavan) centres in India offer A1 exams.

The first application is filed at the Austrian embassy or consulate responsible for your place of residence, and the decision is awaited abroad. Indian citizens need a visa for Austria, so they file from abroad: residents of India at the Austrian Embassy in New Delhi, UAE residents at the embassy in Abu Dhabi. Nationals of visa-exempt countries may file in Austria, but only while their visa-free stay lasts.

The authority must decide without undue delay and no later than 6 months after receiving the application. Add the time needed for documents and the A1 certificate. We do not promise a decision 'within a month'.

The first permit is for 1 year. Renewal is filed before expiry, and the conditions must still be met: income, housing, insurance. If you have passed Module 1 of the Integration Agreement (A2) and lived in Austria for 2 continuous years, the permit is issued for 3 years. Module 1 must be completed within 2 years; a 12-month extension can be granted on application.

After 5 years of continuous right of residence and Module 2 (B1 German): 'Daueraufenthalt – EU' for 5 years with free access to the labour market; the application fee is EUR 275. Citizenship comes after 10 years of lawful continuous residence, at least 5 of them settled, and requires giving up the previous nationality. India does not allow dual citizenship either, so for most Indian families the permit and later PR are the goal, not the Austrian passport.

Any accommodation to which you hold a legal title and which is suitable for your family by local standards: a lease, sublease, preliminary contract or ownership. Buying property is not required. Rent is deducted from income, so we choose the flat and calculate the threshold together.

Passport, photo, birth certificate, police certificate (recommended no older than 3 months) from the country of nationality and from any country where you lived for more than 6 months, A1 certificate, housing contract, insurance, proof of income and regular expenses, and where relevant marriage and divorce certificates. Indian documents are apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs; UAE documents are legalised through the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The authority may ask for German or English translations and certified copies.

Tax residence depends not on the type of permit but on living in Austria and having a home there, and then worldwide income has to be declared. Pensions, dividends and capital income are taxed differently and depend on the double taxation treaty between India and Austria. We run the tax calculation before filing, not after the move.

Not as family members. The NAG limits the family to a spouse or registered partner aged 21 or over and unmarried minor children. Parents and adult children can apply for the same permit as applicants in their own right: with their own quota place and their own income from EUR 2,616.78 a month, housing, insurance and an A1 certificate.

For a married couple the 2026 rate is EUR 4,128.24 a month, plus EUR 403.76 for each child. A couple with two children needs EUR 4,935.76 a month. Regular expenses such as rent, loans and maintenance are deducted from income, so a renting family needs more than the table rate.

Yes. If the application is refused through the fault of our team or an error in building the case, we refund the company's service fee less a minimal retention for costs actually incurred. Refund terms, the payment schedule and the rules on retaining service costs are fixed in the contract before work begins. Before we start, we check your documents and risk history free of charge and tell you about any risks in advance.