Before arrival
Please note: The information on this page applies exclusively to OeAD scholars.
If you do not receive a scholarship by the OeAD you will find useful information here.
Before coming to Austria several preparations such as visa, housing/accommodation, insurance etc. should be done from your home country. Please arrive on time and also note the opening hours of your responsible Regional Office and OeAD student housing. Here you can find further information about:
Scholarship and Online Portal
The letter of award of your scholarship will be sent to you by email and includes following documents:
- Letter of award
- Letter of acceptance
- Scholarship conditions
- Checklist before and after your arrival in Austria
- if necessary: Information on travel expenses
Your scholarship award only becomes valid once you fully complete your letter of acceptance, sign it and send it to your Regional Office (via e-mail or post) within four weeks of receiving the scholarship award.
Attention: If we do not get your signed letter of acceptance, you lose the entitlement to your scholarship.
The arrival date written on your acceptance letter is binding. It is only possible to postpone the scholarship duration if there is a comprehensible reason and if it is approved of the OeAD and of your academic supervisor.
The scholarship only serves to carry out the study or research project at the institution described in the scholarship award. It is not allowed to change the project or the institution. In specific well-justified cases a change is possible but only if the Programme Officer, your academic supervisor and the financers of the scholarship agree. You have already received the general guidelines with your letter of award.
Here you can find the general guidelines again.
Our online portal (STIP-Online) is only accessible to OeAD scholars.
Please log in with your user name and password. You can find the registration link in the scholarship award e-mail if you have not yet registered. Please direct any questions to stiponline-support@oead.at.
Starting from 4 weeks before the planned start of your scholarship, you can upload certain documents to our online portal. All details will be sent out along with your scholarship documents.
⇒ Here you can find a short manual on the upload of documents.
⇒ Here are some frequently asked questions and answers to our online portal.
Entry, Insurance and accommodation
You will not receive any travel costs compensation in addition to your scholarship unless this is expressively mentioned in your scholarship award. If your scholarship includes travel costs compensation, you have to submit your original travel documents to your responsible Regional Office after your arrival in Austria. If you do not submit these documents, you will not receive a travel costs subsidy. Information on travel expenses can be found in your letter of award.
If you get a travel allowance you don’t have to submit the travel documents.
See also: FAQs on the Refund of Travel Expenses
Please use and fill in the enclosed template. You can also find examples below on how to fill in the refund form correctly:
Please read the information on entry conditions thoroughly. If you have any further questions concerning entry and residence conditions your responsible Regional Office will be pleased to help you - you will find the contact details in your scholarship award notice.
On your letter of acceptance you can tick whether or not you wish accommodation (student hall of residence or flat) arranged/reserved for you by the OeAD student housing. For booking an accommodation of the OeAD student housing a booking link will be sent to you by e-mail. You can find more information here.
Usually the monthly rent and additional fees would be deducted from your monthly scholarship.
If you have questions about your accommodation, please contact the OeAD student housing directly.
Attention: Usually it is not possible to bring your family or partner to the student halls of residence.
The date stated in your letter of acceptance is binding. It can only be changed in exceptional cases and for important reasons. To change the start date of your scholarship you need written consent of your academic supervisor and of your contact person at the OeAD.
Attention:
- A delay of your arrival may cause alterations in the amount of your first scholarship instalment.
- You are responsible for any changes in your visa or residence permit.
- If you do not arrive in time you will still have to pay the entire accommodation fee for your room with the OeAD Housing Office
If you have booked a room of the OeAD student housing and you arrive in Austria later than expected or should there be changes or problems with your accommodation please always contact the housing4scholars@oead.at directly.
You are obliged to ensure a valid health and accident insurance during your stay in Austria. Without a valid insurance you cannot get the Visa or residence permit card and the scholarship.
Please choose your nationality and the planned duration of your stay (if necessary):
Third countries: up to six months
Third countries: stays over six months
Information about the Students' Insurance with the Gesundheitskasse can be found here.
Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences
If you wish to attend courses at a university in Austria for a limited period of time (one or two semesters) you have to get in contact with the university or university of applied sciences directly. Information about the enrolment and the therefore needed documents can be found on the website of the university or university of applied science.
For some scholarship programmes that require a degree to be obtained in Austria (e.g. a doctorate or master's degree) we can offer to assist with the application for admission to an Austrian university or university of applied sciences.
If you have to pay tuition fees please ask at your host institution. Most OeAD scholarship holders are exempt from paying tuition fees. Some universities require an application for exemption from tuition fees. All students (including scholarship holders) must pay a membership fee at the beginning of the semester to the Österreichische HochschülerInnenschaft (ÖH).
At Austrian universities most courses are held in German language. Doctoral studies can also be carried out in English language if this has been approved by the Austrian academic supervisor. The same applies to independent academic research. If not enough courses taught in English language are offered by the university, you may have to attend a German language course. Here you can find a list of programmes that are completely taught in English: www.studienwahl.at/en
In all university locations in Austria there are many institutions and organisations that offer German courses. These courses are – unless expressly stated in the scholarship award or in the conditions of the scholarship programme – not part of the scholarship and you have to pay them by yourself. The Regional Offices can provide a list of German language courses at your university location.