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
The following sources provide information on a wide range of subjects relating to living and working in Austria:
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.
- Accommodation
- Driving in Austria
- Education and English-language schooling
- Entry and residence procedures
- Finding work
- Teaching English
- Working at international organisations
- Importing household goods & personal vehicles
- Social and cultural life
- Personal taxation
General guidance
Accommodation
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.
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" for which he needs to provided the following documents:
Passport
Meldezettel
Dienstvertrag (employer/work contract)
In Vienna the relevant authority is the
Magistratabteilung 35 (MA35)
Simmeringer Hauptstrasse 154,
A-1110 Vienna
tel: +43-1-4000 / 8020
fax: +43-1-4000 9935010
eMail: post@ma35.wien.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 website.
Working at international organisations
Importing household goods & 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.
