Staying in Austria: three routes, four months and the right after five years

Yes, as a Dutch citizen you may come and live in Austria, and you need no permit for it. For the first three months a valid passport or identity card is enough. If you stay longer, your residence has to rest on one of three grounds: you work there, you live on your own means with full health insurance, or you are in education there. You record that right within four months of entering the country in the Anmeldebescheinigung, which has cost € 44 since 1 January 2026. The pitfall is for those who don't work: they have to show that they won't need a top-up to the Austrian minimum pension.

On what ground may I stay?

The law knows three routes, and the office asks for different evidence per route. Which one applies to you decides what you bring to the appointment.

Route	What you show	Examples of evidence
Employee or self-employed	that you work in Austria	employer's statement, employment contract, payslip, Steuernummer or extract from the Gewerberegister
Own means	sufficient means of subsistence and full health insurance	bank statements, pension statement, e-card or private policy
Education	enrolment at a school or institution, health cover and means	proof of enrolment, school statement, own declaration on means

For people who work it's simple: the work is the ground of residence. The Austrian government puts it the same way: EU citizens who work in Austria have a right of residence beyond three months, no further questions.

How much money do I need if I don't work?

The law names no fixed amount. The requirement is that during your stay you need neither Sozialhilfe nor the Ausgleichszulage. That Ausgleichszulage is the top-up Austria gives to pensioners on a low income, up to a reference amount that in 2026 is € 1,308.39 a month for a single person and € 2,064.12 for a married couple or registered partners in one household, plus € 201.88 per child. Anyone whose pension and assets would leave them below that line would be entitled to a top-up, and that is exactly what the ground of residence may not require.

Health cover comes on top. Vienna names as evidence an insurance with the Österreichische Gesundheitskasse, recognisable by the e-card, or a private policy. With an S1 from the CAK you register with the Austrian insurer and get such an e-card. How you arrange that cover is in healthcare in Austria.

There is no safety net for the first five years. EU citizens in Austria only have unrestricted access to Sozialhilfe if they are there as employees or have lived there for more than five years. Anyone who comes without work really has to stand on their own feet in the first years.

When and where do I apply for the Anmeldebescheinigung?

Within four months of entry, and that clock starts at the border, not at your registration. You apply in person at the Bezirkshauptmannschaft, in a Statutarstadt at the Magistrat, in Graz at the state government and in Vienna at the EWR-Referat of the MA 35. In Vienna you first register your address and then book an appointment online; if you meet all the conditions, you get the document at that appointment. For children under fourteen the legal representative applies. How this fits together with the Meldezettel and the rest of the chain, and in which order, you see in the route to Austria.

Clock	Deadline	What it costs
Staying without papers	up to three months	nothing
Anmeldebescheinigung	within four months of entry	€ 44 (before 2026: € 22)
Applied too late	fine	€ 50 to € 250
Permanent residence	after five years of lawful and continuous residence	Bescheinigung des Daueraufenthalts, on application
Lichtbildausweis für EWR-Bürger	valid five years	€ 91 (under sixteen: € 39)

Which papers are accepted?

Documents in English generally don't need to be translated. Other foreign documents go in together with a translation by a sworn, court-certified interpreter. Vienna adds that international multilingual documents need no translation; so request multilingual extracts for birth and marriage in the Netherlands. Bring everything as originals.

Your partner and children with an EU nationality each apply for their own Anmeldebescheinigung. If a family member has a nationality from outside the EU, it's an Aufenthaltskarte.

What changes after five years?

After five years of lawful and continuous residence you are entitled to permanent residence. You also have that confirmed on application, with the Bescheinigung des Daueraufenthalts. From then on you have unrestricted access to Sozialhilfe even without work, as the government's checklist puts it: whoever has lived in Austria for more than five years.

A handy extra along the way: with the Anmeldebescheinigung in your pocket you can have a Lichtbildausweis für EWR-Bürger made, a credit-card-sized card that counts as proof of identity in Austria, but not as a travel document. It's a choice, not an obligation.

Working as self-employed, or looking for work first? What then applies for tax and your contributions is in working in Austria.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Austria or go straight to step 1.1 in the open plan.