Advanced search

UK in Austria

• Passports
• Travel advice for Austria
• Eligibility to British Nationality
• Living in Austria
• Registering with us
• Living & working in Austria
• UK community in Austria
• English language culture in Austria
• Useful websites
• What happens when you retire
• How to register a marriage
• How to enter a registered partnership
• Registering a birth
• How to register a death
• Notarial services
• How to legalise a document
• Police Criminal Records Checks
• Overseas voter registration
• Consular fees
• New £50 note
• When things go wrong
• How to stay safe abroad
• Giving us feedback on our services

Living & working in Austria

The information on this page is intended as general guidance, to help you settle into life in Austria. We have made every effort to ensure that it is correct and up to date, but please note that the British Embassy cannot be held liable for any changes or errors. We therefore advise you to confirm your specific questions with the relevant authorities before leaving the UK, and/or with the Austrian authorities on arrival.

Here you will find information on the subjects listed below. For information on healthcare and pensions, please see the pages "What happens when you retire" and "If you need a doctor".

• General guidance
• Accommodation
• Driving in Austria
• Education and English-language schooling
• Entry and residence procedures
• Finding work
• Teaching English
• Working at international organisations
• Importing household goods and personal vehicles
• Social and cultural life
• Personal taxation

General guidance

The following sources provide information on a wide range of subject relating to living and working in Austria: 

• Foreign Office travel advice for Austria, for UK nationals visiting Austria.
• The Austrian government agency ‘help’ site provides important information on the practicalities of living and working in Austria and dealing with public authorities, ranging from birth registration to work legislation. Most of the information is only published in German, to view the pages available in English see the section ‘help for foreign citizens’.
• The website of the Austrian Embassy in London provides detailed information in German on various subjects, including finding work, accommodation, health treatment, social security, taxes, driving, education, au-pair agencies etc. Further information is available under the heading ‘Practical Advice’, then ‘General Information.’
• The EURES European job mobility portal provides information on living and working conditions, social security, taxation etc in all EU / EEA member countries, in the section “Living & Working”. It also has an online job search facility.
• For information on consular matters (passport renewal, marriage etc) after you have arrived in Austria, please read the relevant sections from the "Help for British nationals" area. For further information and for possible appointments contact the Consular Section of the British Embassy in Vienna or your nearest British Consulate.

Accommodation

The Austrian federal association of real estate trustees (Bundesinnung der Immobilientreuhänder) can provide details of registered estate agents (Immobilienmakler) throughout Austria. On their website www.wkimmo.at, which is also available in English, you can search for details of member real estate agents in the region of your choice. You can also contact the regional associations, details of which are available in the ‘About us’ section of the website, direct for their advice.

Most local and national newspapers, such as Die Presse, Kurier and Der Standard also advertise accommodation in their weekend editions, under the section ‘Immobilien’.

Driving in Austria

British driving licences are valid in Austria and need not be exchanged for an Austrian licence. As a tourist you can drive in Austria with UK licence plates for any length of time, but if you are registered as resident in Austria you must exchange them for Austrian plates at your nearest Vehicle Registration Office (Kfz-Zulassungsstelle). For further information please visit the Austrian government agency ‘help’ site , under the headings ‘driving licence’ and ‘motor vehicles’. 

In Austria third-party car insurance (Haftpflichtversicherung) is compulsory. This can be arranged via an insurance broker (Versicherungsmakler) or insurance company (Versicherungsunternehmen), which you will find listed in Austrian telephone directories . You must produce proof of insurance before you are issued with your car licence plates (Autokennzeichen) and car registration document (Zulassungsschein). Your insurer will advise you on the procedures and make the necessary arrangements.

Please note that to drive on the motorways and ‘A’ roads in Austria it is obligatory to display a sticker, called an ‘Autobahn-Vignette’. No exceptions are made for transit traffic and visitors, and on-the-spot fines are imposed if you do not have one. You can buy the Vignette at Austrian border crossings and also at most petrol stations (including border near petrol highway patrol stations near the Austrian border), post offices and tobacconists (Tabak-Trafik). There are also special arrangements in force for heavy vehicles, both commercial and private, using Austrian motorways: for further information please see the travel advice pages on this website.

The main motoring organisations in Austria are ÖAMTC and ARBÖ . They offer a variety of insurance cover, breakdown assistance and other services to members.

Education and English-language schooling

Please refer to the information sources at the top of the page for general information on the Austrian school system. The following organisations can provide information on English-language education institutions and projects in Austria:  

• Your local board of education (Landes- or Stadtschulrat). In Vienna, this is the Stadtschulrat für Wien
• The Vienna board of education operates the Vienna Bilingual Schooling project, whereby pupils are taught in both English and German. For details on participating schools please contact

Stuart Simpson D.A.
Co-ordinator for bilingual and international projects
Europa Büro
Stadtschulrat für Wien
Auerspergstraße 15/22
A-1080 Wien
Tel.: +43 (0)1 52525 77084 Fax: +43 (0)1 403 44 27
E-mail: stuart.simpson@ssr.magwien.gv.at

A list of international schools in Austria can be found in the online Directory of International & English Schools Worldwide.Most of Austria's international schools are located in Vienna. To see a full list of these, please visit the page on international schools in Vienna, on the City of Vienna website. Please note that these schools are private, fee-paying schools and places are limited.

Entry and residence procedures

You will need a valid UK passport. As Austria and the United Kingdom are both members of the EU, UK nationals do not need residence or work permits.  If you intend to stay for more than three months, you may be required to show the Austrian authorities that you can support yourself and your family without becoming an unreasonable burden on public funds. It is your responsibility to demonstrate this if required and the Embassy cannot provide any assistance in this respect.

In Austria registration of address (Meldepflicht) within three days of moving into your new home is obligatory for all residents. This is done at your local registration service (Meldeservice). In Vienna these are located in the 23 district council offices (Magistratische Bezirksämter) and in the federal provinces in your local communal authority offices (Gemeindeamt). For further information and address details, please see the Austrian government agency ‘help’ site , under the heading ‘Registrations’.

In addition since 01.01.2006 every person who moved to Austria on or after this date or was born on or after this date needs to approach his local registration authority for a so called "ANMELDEBESTAETIGUNG" or "ANMELDEBESCHEININGUNG". Details on the registration process and required documents for the issuance of this registration certificate can be obtained through the respective local registration authority.

Municipal Department MA35
1200 Vienna, Dresdner Straße 93
Unit for Land Acquisition & EEA Affairs
(Referat „Grunderwerb & EWR“)
Dresdner Straße 93
1200 Vienna
tel: 01/4000 ext. 35241, (-48)
fax: 01/4000 99 35240

email: 50-ref@m35.magwien.gv.at

URL: http://www.wien.gv.at/verwaltung/personenwesen

You may apply for a European Economic Area (EEA) identity card (EWR Lichtbildausweis), which shows that you are resident in Austria. This is useful for personal identification purposes, . Alternatively the original passport or a passport copy certified by a British Consulate could be used. For further details contact your local district police station (Bezirkskommissariat) or nearest district administration office (Bezirkshauptmannschaft). 

Finding work 

The following organisations and information sources can help you find employment:

• Your local Jobcentre in the UK. For contact details and an on-line job search facility, both in the UK and in the entire EU / EEA area, visit the Jobcentre Plus website.
• Your nearest Euroadviser, a specialist who advises on working and living in other countries within the EU / EEA. Details are available at your local Jobcentre or from the EURES European job mobility portal.
• The website of the Austrian public employment service, Arbeitsmarktservice , has an online job search (see ‘Arbeitsuche’).
• Local and national newspapers (for examples see the section on ‘Accommodation’ above), contain supplements on job vacancies in their weekend editions (see ‘Beruf’ and ‘Karriere’).
• Private employment agencies, which are listed in the local yellow pages telephone book, under Personalberatung (personnel consultancy), or via the Austrian telephone directories , in the ‘Gelbe Seiten’ section.

Teaching English

Native speakers without formal teaching qualifications can often find work giving private English lessons or at adult education institutes (Volkhochschulen). You will find these listed in your local telephone book or by visiting the website of the Verband Österreichischer Volkshochschulen , association of Austrian adult education institutes. A list of private language schools is available on the website of the British Council Austria .

If  you are interested in becoming a teacher of English it is possible to do a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adult speakers of other languages (CELTA) in Austria. This is an internationally recognised qualification, administered by the University of Cambridge. For further details, visit the CELTA pages on the University of Cambridge ESOL examinations .

Working at international organisations

The following Vienna-based international organisations advertise job vacancies on their websites:

• United Nations Office in Vienna

• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - See the section ‘About the IAEA’ / Jobs at the IAEA

• United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

• Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization 

• OSCE - See the section ‘Employment’

For information on job vacancies at UN organisations worldwide visit the following website: United Nations Human Resources

Importing household goods and personal vehicles

If your are taking up residence in Austria, your household goods and personal belongings may be imported from the UK free of VAT and customs duty. Used personal vehicles are also included, however there are restrictions regarding re-sale after importation. All vehicles must be registered for travel within Austria, and a one-off tax called NoVA (Normverbrauchsabgabe) is payable on registration (However there might be some exceptions - please contact one of the Austrian Touring Club organisations OEAMTC or ARBO for details) . An information summary on importing vehicles from an EU member state is available on the website of the Austrian Finance Ministry , in the section Zoll / Wissenswertes / Fahrzeugimport. For further information on NoVa, and other tax and customs matters related to car import, contact your local tax office in Austria, details of which are available on the above website, in the section ‘Behörden’.

Social and cultural life

In Austria, particularly Vienna, there is a flourishing English-language cultural scene, including specialist theatres and cinemas showing English-language productions and films. There are also a number of Austro-British social clubs and associations in Austria, and other organisations which may be of interest to British expatriates to help them make contact in Austria. For further information, please visit our pages on clubs, culture, and useful links.

Personal taxation

As a rule UK nationals resident in Austria pay their taxes to the Austrian tax authorities. There is a taxation agreement between Austria and the UK, to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion, reference Bundesgesetzblatt 390 of 1970. For advice on taxation contact your local HM Customs & Revenue office before leaving the UK. When you arrive in Austria, contact your nearest tax office (Finanzamt), which you will find listed in the local telephone book or on the Austrian Finance Ministry website, in the section ‘Behörden’, together with information on the Austrian tax system.

For details of  professional tax advisers (Steuerberater) see your local Yellow Pages telephone directory or the online version of the Austrian telephone directories , under the heading  ‘Wirtschaftstreuhänder / Steuerberater’, or visit the website of the professional organisation for tax advisers and accountants, the Kammer der Wirtschaftstreuhänder .