Visa C or Visa D for Gainful Employment

Researchers who want to stay in Austria for less than 6 months can apply for a Visa C for gainful employment (for stays of up to 90 days) or for a Visa D for gainful employment (for stays in Austria from 91 days up to a maximum of 6 months) at the competent Austrian representative authority in their country of residence. These visas are free of charge. Due to the planned taking up of employment a visa for gainful employment is required even in the case of a general right to enter without a visa. With a visa for gainful employment you may start your research work immediately after entry.

A Visa C for gainful employment permits you to enter all Schengen countries and to stay in those countries for a total period of up to 90 days within 180 days provided that you fulfil the general entry conditions.

A Visa D for gainful employment entitles you to enter and stay in Austria. It can be granted for a duration from 91 days up to 6 months. Holders of a Visa D enjoy freedom of movement to other Schengen countries for up to 90 days within a time period of 180 days provided that they fulfil the general entry conditions.

You have to apply for the visa in person at the competent Austrian representative authority (embassy, consulate with power to issue visa) in your country of residence before travelling to Austria. The visa will then be issued by that authority.

In the checklist you will find a list of all documents that are required to apply.

If you are already staying in the Schengen area with a residence title of another Schengen country, you may only apply for an Austrian visa at the Austrian representative authorities in Bratislava, Ljubljana or Munich. You may apply for the visa at the competent representative authority at the earliest six months before your planned travel date. You should not apply later than 15 calendar days before your planned stay. Processing times may vary regionally or seasonally (e.g. due to keen demand). As an orientation we recommend that you apply for the visa at least four weeks before intending to enter Austria.

If your future employer is either a research institution owned to an extent of at least 50 percent by a public body or a certified research institution and this research institution submits a declaration of liability for the future employee the following simplified procedure applies for entry, residence within the territory of Austria and immediate commencement of work. By signing such a declaration of liability the host institution undertakes to bear all the costs incurred as a result of the researcher’s stay.

In this case the research institution has to contact the competent Austrian representative authority in the researcher’s country of residence and to submit the declaration of liability, the employment contract and the contact addresses of the researcher. It is also possible to submit the declaration of liability in electronic form free of charge (Elektronische Verpflichtungserklärung – EVE).

The researcher will then receive a prompt special appointment with the Austrian representative authority and submit an application for a visa for gainful employment (Visa C or Visa D). This visa is free of charge. If the simplified procedure is also to apply to family members, the declaration of liability must also include them.

In principle travel health insurance must be taken out to enter Austria with a visa (and for the whole duration of your stay unless you are going to have statutory health insurance). Please note that this insurance must be valid in Austria and provide sufficient cover for various health issues (insurance cover well over EUR 30,000, including guarantee to cover possible recovery and repatriation costs and costs for treatment of the COVID-19 disease).

Researchers who are employed by an Austrian research institution will be covered by the statutory Austrian health insurance associated with this employment – provided that their salary exceeds the limit of EUR 518.44/month [as of 2024] ("Geringfügigkeitsgrenze") (they will also have an accident and pension insurance).

see Conditions for the granting of a visa

If you have been granted a visa for gainful employment, you can start your research work without any further permits. Work that goes beyond the research activities that are not subject to the Act Governing Employment of Foreign Nationals is not permitted. You are only allowed to carry out research work in Austria.

In principle it is not possible to apply for a visa in Austria nor to have it renewed/extended. Once the visa expires you have to – unless you have been granted a residence title – leave the Schengen area. Under certain circumstances you may be entitled to apply for a residence title (e.g. for a "Settlement Permit – Researcher") at the competent residence authority in Austria. Please note, however, that the application for a residence title does not permit you to overstay the period of residence defined in your visa.

Family members* can also apply for a Visa C or a Visa D, depending on the researcher's visa, at the competent Austrian representative authority (embassy, consulate with power to issue visa) in their country of residence. A charge applies to visas for family members.
If family members are, on the basis of their nationality, entitled to enter Austria without requiring a visa, they are allowed to stay in Austria visa-free up to 3 months/90 days within 6 months/180 days (Japanese nationals up to 6 months).

Working in Austria is not permitted without a visa for gainful employment.

* Spouses, partners in a civil union and unmarried minors. Spouses and partners in a civil union must be at least 21 years old at the time of application.

You have to register within three working days of arrival in Austria with the registration office at your place of residence.

A registration with the registration office is not needed if you reside in a tourist accommodation (e.g., hotel, guest house, campsite, private room, AirBnB) for a maximum of 2 months.

You have to enclose photocopies of the following documents with the personally signed application form additionally show the originals:

• Visa C
• Visa D
• Valid travel document, which must be valid until at least three months after leaving the Schengen territory; the travel document must contain at least two empty pages and it must have been issued within the past ten years
• Passport-sized photograph according to the ICAO criteria (colour photograph, size 3.5 x 4.5 cm)
• Contract or preliminary contract with the employer in Austria (salary, planned duration, accommodation where required, etc.) to prove the necessary funds to finance your living costs
• Upon request you should be able to prove the origin of the funds (possibly also by means of appropriate evidence).
• Proof of accommodation (unless settled in the contract with the employer)
• Proof of appropriate travel health insurance (insurance cover at least 30,000 Euro, including guarantee to cover possible recovery and repatriation costs and costs for treatment of the COVID-19 disease; the insurance must be valid in the whole Schengen area) for the planned duration of your stay in Austria or until the start of insurance in connexion with your employment (statutory insurance). Should you already have statutory insurance, you have to prove this when applying for the visa.
• Flight, bus or train reservation
• Proof of family ties and/or economic ties with the home country (e.g. proof of employment, proof of being a student there, spouse, children, etc.)

You have to enclose photocopies of the following documents with the personally signed application form additionally show the originals:

• Visa C
• Visa D

• Valid travel document; the validity period of which must exceed the validity period of the visa by at least three months; the travel document must contain at least two empty pages and it must have been issued within the past ten years
• Passport-sized photograph according to the ICAO criteria (colour photograph, size 3.5 x 4.5 cm)
• Declaration of liability of a research institution owned to an extent of at least 50 percent by a public body or a certified research institution
• Proof of appropriate travel health insurance (insurance cover well over EUR 30,000.00, including guarantee to cover possible recovery and repatriation costs and costs for treatment of the COVID-19 disease; the insurance must be valid in the whole Schengen area) for the planned duration of your stay in Austria or until the start of insurance in connexion with your employment (statutory insurance). Should you already have statutory insurance, you have to prove this when applying for the visa.
• Flight, bus or train reservation