Austria · administrative route
Emigrating to Austria
Eight hours' drive, same time zone — and still a country that has made punctuality a system: three days for your registration (with your landlord's signature), one month for your car, four months for your residence document, and that last clock starts at the border. This page shows how the chain really runs — and why it pays: two monthly salaries at six percent, and a pension treaty without catches.
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- Kind of journey
- EU — register, no visa
- The chain
- Meldezettel (3 days) → ÖGK → ID Austria → Anmeldebescheinigung (4 months)
- Note
- As a resident the car may only be on Dutch plates for one month
Last updated: August 2026
The journey
Five phases, from orientation to being settled
No permit, no language test — and still a journey with real clocks: three days for the registration, one month for the car, four months for the residence document that already starts counting at entry. Whoever knows the deadlines is settled in weeks.
- 1
Orientation
Three clocks, one order
Austria asks no permit but punctuality, and this phase teaches you the three clocks: the Meldezettel within three days of moving in, the car on Austrian plates within one month (the relocation exemption doing the rounds online doesn't exist — the NoVA knows no relocation mercy), and the Anmeldebescheinigung within four months of entry. Plus the family conversation that's different here from elsewhere: the school choice falls at age ten.
- 2
Closing the Netherlands
A treaty from 1970 like they don't make them anymore
Your health insurance, benefits and AOW accrual stop, as with every emigration. But the treaty from 1970 gives what no modern treaty gives anymore: your company pension is taxed exclusively in Austria — no threshold, no withholding tax, and no renegotiation in sight. The country-of-residence factor of 0.9177 and the early-retirement deadline of November 2026 are the small print you get to know in time here.
- 3
The move
The shortest drive — with two sharp edges
Nine hundred and fifty to twelve hundred kilometres, one vignette of € 12.80, no customs. The sharp edges: the RDW export has to be timed so that the Austrian registration is done within the one month (then you get the BPM refund automatically), and the dog has to go into the national register within a month — with, from July 2026, a compulsory course for new dog owners.
- 4
Registration in Austria
One signature carries the whole chain
The registration itself is free and done in ten minutes — but within three days of moving in, with your landlord's signature on the form. After that everything follows in order: the social insurance your employer arranges before day one, ID Austria on your Dutch passport, the Anmeldebescheinigung (€ 44 since 2026 — not the € 15 the internet still mentions, and often ready right at the counter), and the bank account.
- 5
Arrival
Fourteen salaries, and winter as a system
The car through the chain within the month, and then Austria becomes generous: two extra monthly salaries at six percent tax, child benefit with five years' retroactive effect, a Familienbonus of € 2,000 per child, and a health system where the panel doctor is free — provided you know the difference with the Wahlarzt. Plus winter: tyres, chains, and the Alpenverein membership that covers the helicopter rescue the health insurance doesn't.
Look inside
This is what one step of your plan looks like
Not a brochure but the real thing: this is one of the steps of the Austria journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 4.5 of your plan
The Anmeldebescheinigung: the clock was already running
- Lead time
- application by appointment; with a complete file often ready straight away
- Costs
- € 44 per person
Within four months of your entry — so the clock was already running during your house hunt — you apply at the Bezirkshauptmannschaft (in Vienna: the MA 35) for the Anmeldebescheinigung: the document that records your EU right of residence. Workers show a contract or payslip; the non-active show means (guideline: about € 1,308 a month for a single person) plus healthcare cover. The fees are € 44 as of 2026 — not the € 15 the whole internet still mentions — and applying late costs € 50 to € 250. The reassurance: the notorious Viennese backlogs have been cleared for EU cases; with a complete file you nowadays often get the document handed over straight away at the counter. Your right of residence itself is never in question — this paper only confirms it.
This is step 4.5 of 32. The other 31 are ready for you — each with the same sources, the same counters and a planning that watches your dates.
What it costs
A rough indication for your situation
A few short questions, and you get a range instead of an amount. That's deliberate: an exact figure would suggest a precision nobody has.
Count on a total of
€ 2.600 – € 8.400
Where does that difference come from?
- De eerste maanden€ 2.500 – € 8.000
Open the breakdown below: there you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 40 – € 150
- De verhuizing
- € 60 – € 250
- De eerste maanden
- € 2.500 – € 8.000
View the itemsPer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- Anmeldebescheinigung€ 40 – € 45
- Akten en eventuele vertalingen(estimate)€ 0 – € 60
De verhuizing
- Reis(estimate)€ 60 – € 250
De eerste maanden
- De eerste maanden(estimate)€ 2.500 – € 8.000
De borg is hier de uitschieter: drie maanden is gebruikelijk, maar tot zes maanden is toelaatbaar — vraag het vóór de bezichtiging. Daar staat tegenover dat de makelaarsprovisie sinds 2023 vrijwel altijd voor de verhuurder is, en dat huurstijgingen in 2026 wettelijk op één procent zijn gedeckeld. Nieuwe contracten in Wenen vragen marktprijzen van € 17-20 per vierkante meter; de deelstaatsteden zitten daar merkbaar onder. Tel de dubbele lasten van de zoekweken mee, plus de ORF-Beitrag en het energiecontract die na je Meldezettel vanzelf beginnen.
And if you buy a house?
This calculation assumes renting: the first months include deposit and rent in advance.
If you buy, count on 7 to 12% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 17.500 to € 30.000.
De Grunderwerbsteuer is 3,5% en de inschrijving in het Grundbuch 1,1% — beide landelijk gelijk. Daarbovenop een advocaat of notaris voor de akte (1,5 tot 3%) en, als er een makelaar bij zit, tot 3% plus btw. Zonder makelaar kom je rond de 6,5% uit, met makelaar op 10 tot 12%. Let op: de tijdelijke vrijstelling van inschrijvingskosten is per 1 juli 2026 vervallen.
An order of magnitude based on averages, not a quote. The real amounts depend on your occupation, your route, the season and dozens of choices you still have to make.
Rates checked on 23 August 2026.
Your complete, personal cost picture — with your route, your documents and your deadlines — you get in Vertrekklaar.
That was the move. And once you live there?
Who may tax your pension once you live in Austria, is there a favourable regime, and how do you become insured? That depends on where your income comes from. Tick it and you see which rules apply to you — with the source.
See the financial conditionsThe departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for Austria: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that only a short update when something in Austria really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Read on
The knowledge base on Austria
Per phase, the articles that are already there. They're written from the same journey and go deeper than what fits above.
Registration in Austria
- 3 min
The Meldezettel and the four-month clock: how the Austrian chain works
Austria asks EU citizens not for a permit but for punctuality: three days for the Meldezettel after moving in, four months for the Anmeldebescheinigung — and that last clock already starts at the border. How the chain runs, what your landlord's signature has to do with it, and why the fee is suddenly € 44.
Updated 23 August 2026
- 3 min
Living in Austria: Richtwert, Befristung and the six-month deposit
The Austrian rental market has rules that sit just differently from everywhere else: a deposit that may run to six months, fixed-term contracts of at least five years with a 25% statutory discount in old buildings, an estate agent paid by the landlord since 2023 — and rent increases capped at one percent in 2026.
Updated 23 August 2026
Leaving the Netherlands — for every destination
- 2 min
Keeping a bank account and DigiD: the two lines you never cut
After your deregistration you still need the Netherlands for years — for the M return, refunds and your pension. Within the EU your bank account is a right, towards Australia a favour from the bank. And your DigiD you arrange before departure, not after.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
The protective assessment: the bill that travels with you, and that never expires for one item
On emigration the Netherlands imposes an assessment on your pension, your annuity and your substantial shareholding that you don't have to pay — as long as you do nothing that makes it collectable. For pension and annuity it usually lapses after ten years. For a substantial shareholding it doesn't: that one remains valid indefinitely.
Updated 27 August 2026
- 2 min
Emigrating with children after a divorce: the consent that comes before everything
With joint custody you can't just go abroad with the children — you need the consent of the other parent, or substitute consent from the court. What the court weighs, and why leaving without consent is legally child abduction.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Emigrating on early retirement: the CAK route is expected to close as of 1 November 2026
Whoever moves to the EU or Switzerland with a Dutch pension arranges their healthcare via the CAK. That door is closing to a crack: as expected, from 1 November only new applicants with AOW, Anw, WAO, WIA or Wajong will be admitted. Early retirement and RVU fall outside it — whoever is already a customer keeps their rights.
Updated 16 August 2026
- 2 min
The M form: the tax return for the year in which you emigrated
For the year of your departure you lived partly inside and partly outside the Netherlands, and a separate return goes with that. Nowadays it can be done online — but you have to think of it yourself, because an invitation rarely comes by itself.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 2 min
Your AOW accrual stops on departure — and you have one year to repair that
Every year outside the Netherlands costs you 2% AOW (the Dutch state pension), for life. The SVB has a voluntary continuation that closes that gap — but signing up is only possible in the first year after departure, and almost everyone misses that deadline.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Your Dutch pension abroad: what comes along, and who levies
The AOW (the Dutch state pension) travels fully to the EU and to Australia — the latter thanks to a treaty from 2001. Your company pension too, but *where* you pay on it depends on the tax treaty, and the exemption you arrange yourself.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Cancelling your health insurance without a gap
Your Dutch basic insurance is tied to living or working in the Netherlands and stops being a given on emigration. The art is to have the end date match your new cover — and to know which route belongs to your situation.
Updated 28 August 2026
- 2 min
Taking medicines across the border: certificates, supply and the 90-day ceiling
For medicines under the Opium Act you need a certificate — and the Dutch system only carries you for three months. What you arrange with the CAK, what Australia wants to see at the border, and why finding a local doctor simply belongs to your first weeks.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 9 min
Partner comes along without a job of their own: deregistering, healthcare, AOW and the house
Your partner has a job, a visa or a right of residence there; you come along without a job of your own. Administratively you're then no passenger: the deregistration, the end of your health insurance and your AOW accrual apply to you separately. What you get back if you arrange it well, what it costs if you let it slide — and why "just staying registered" isn't an option.
Updated 7 September 2026
- 2 min
Stopping allowances on emigration: do it yourself, and in time
Housing allowance, healthcare allowance, childcare allowance and child budget don't stop by themselves on the day you leave. Whoever lets them run gets a reclaim months later — this is what you arrange per allowance.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 3 min
Deregistering with the municipality: when exactly, and what stops then
Deregistering from the BRP is only possible from five days before departure, and is compulsory as soon as you're away for more than eight months a year. What stops at that moment, what stays, and which piece of paper you have to ask for right away.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 6 min
When does your pension stay taxed in the Netherlands? The three pots and the three conditions
"Your pension is taxed in your new country of residence" is right by approximation and not in the details. Your AOW, your company pension and your government pension each follow a rule of their own, and with the company pension the Netherlands can still levy if three conditions apply at once. This article explains which three, and which four questions you have to answer for your own situation.
Updated 27 August 2026
Ready to begin?
Thirty-six journeys are fully ready — Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Canada, Panama, United States, Suriname, China, Dubai, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, with the timing watched. Pay once, and it's yours.