Nationals from third countries for stays of more than 6 months

OeAD grant/scholarship holders from third countries¹ need a “Residence Permit for Special Cases of Gainful Employment" (“Aufenthaltsbewilligung — Sonderfälle unselbstständiger Erwerbstätigkeit") for entry and stays of more than six months in Austria. 

Checklist

1. Application in home country:
   
   In order to enter Austria you have to apply in person for a “Residence Permit — Special Cases of Gainful Employment” at the competent Austrian representative authority in your country of residence.

   Please start preparing the necessary documents, arranging an appointment with the competent Austrian representative authority and, if necessary, having documents for legalisation immediately after the scholarship has been awarded!

    If possible, it is recommended that you start the application process for a residence permit six months in advance. Experience has shown that the availability of appointment slots at the individual Austrian representative authorities varies depending on capacity and workload.

    In case of a positive decision on the application by the competent residence authority in Austria, the responsible Austrian representative authority will be informed. After that a visa D for collecting your residence title in Austria can be filed at the Austrian representative authority.

    

2. Application in Austria during visa-free stay:
   
   OeAD grant/scholarship holders, who are allowed to enter Austria without requiring a visa, may also submit their application for a “Residence Permit for Special Cases of Gainful Employment” during the permitted period of their visa-free visit at the competent residence authority in Austria.
   Please note that your permitted stay without a visa does not coincide with the receipt of your scholarship as while you are in receipt of a scholarship you either need a visa for gainful employment (“Visa D for Gainful Employment”) or a “Residence Permit for Gainful Employment”.
   
   ATTENTION: Please bear in mind that your application does not entitle you to overstay this permitted time (with a visa or visa-free).
   
   As the decision period of the residence authority can last up to 6 months, you should apply immediately after arrival in Austria.
   
   In case the residence authority does not issue the residence title within the permitted stay, you musst leave Austria in due time and await the decision in your country of residence. In this case please also inform the residence authority about your new contact details.

Documents in languages other than German must be submitted together with authorised German translations. Non-Austrian documents as a rule also have to be legalised (exceptions in case of specific legalisation agreements). The legalisation of documents needs to be done before they are translated into German language as all seals and stamps need to be translated as well.

You have to submit the legalised originals plus photocopies of the following documents:

• fully completed and signed application form (Guide for filling in the application form)
• two recent passport-sized colour photographs, size 3.5 x 4.5 cm (according to the EU and ICAO criteria for passport photos) not older than 6 months
• Copy of the valid passport with all pages (original must be presented)
• confirmation of the award of a scholarship by the OeAD
• needed means of subsistance [as of 2025]: EUR 1.273,99/month
  The following monthly costs need to be added to the amount stated above:
  • for the health insurance covering all risks and
  • the differencial amount if the rent and the installment of the loan/alimony are higher than EUR 376,27/month
    Information on how to calculate the financial means can be found here in the FAQs “How are the minimum means  of the subsistence calculated”.
• filled in declaration of regular expenses (loans, maintenance payments or other financial burdens)
• proof of accomodation in Austria for the duration of your stay: e.g. rental contract, private accommodation agreement, booking confirmation from the OeAD student housing or a student hall of residence
• proof of health and accident insurance: Before travelling to Austria you have to take out a travel health insurance for 10 to 14 days valid from the day of entering Austria and covering costs of at least EUR 30,000 and a guarantee to cover possible recovery and repatriation costs.
  The insurance must pay the costs for medical treatment in Austria directly and not just reimburse them in your home country against submission of receipts.
• proof of health insurance "covering all risks". 
  In case that the health insurance that you have in your home country is also valid in Austria (in case of social security agreements), please provide the relevant confirmation.For further information, please contact the “Österreichische Gesundheitskasse” (ÖGK=Austrian Health Insurance Fund).
• Police clearance certificate (no older than three months at the moment of application).

ATTENTION: We recommend making and keeping a photocopy of the submitted application and of the visa or residence permit!

The Austrian representative authority and the residence authority may ask for additional documents in individual cases.
The fee for the residence permit is EUR 212. For foreign civil status documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, civil union certificate) depending on the type of document furhter fees (EUR 42 or EUR 11) may be charged.

In principle, it is not possible to pursue gainful employment during your scholarship.The only exception is marginal scientific/artistic employment in the area of universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutions, provided that this is permitted under residence and foreign employment law. However, the employment must involve tasks other than the scientific work funded by the scholarship (as described in the application).

Please note, however, that in this case you must pay tax on all your income (including the scholarship).

Scholarship recipients of the following programmes can engage in any type of employment up to the marginal earnings threshold (EUR 551.10 in 2025):

• Ernst Mach-Grant- Ukraine
• OeAD Sonderstipendien (Individual agreements with universities)
• IASP (Indonesia-Austria Scholarship Programme
• SHER Fellowship Programme
• Technology Grants - University of Klagenfurt: The paid internship is part of the degree programme. Other forms of employment can be accepted if the OeAD and the University of Klagenfurt have been informed in advance.

Being in receipt of a scholarship does not entitle you automatically to bring along family members (spouse, unmarried minors) to Austria.

The scholarship is not sufficient for this!

If you do want to bring your family along, you have to bear the additional costs yourself and provide proof of being able to cover these costs (e.g. bank/savings account which can be accessed from Austria). Certain groups of family members* can then apply for a “Stay Permit – Family Reunification” for each family member at the Austrian representative authority in their country of residence. They have to await the processing of their applications in their country of residence. Only in exceptional cases² (e.g. people who are allowed to enter Austria without requiring a visa) it is possible to apply for the residence permit at the competent residence authority in Austria. Further information is available here.

*Family members are 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.

All residence permits entitle their bearers to travel to or through other Schengen countries³ within the validity period of the permit for a maximum duration of 90 days within 180 days. The “Visa D” entitles its bearer to travel to other Schengen countries for up to 90 days within the validity period of the visa. Additional visas may be necessary for travelling through non-Schengen countries.

In some cases OeAD scholarship holders can also apply for a Settlement Permit - Researcher (“Niederlassungsbewilligung – Forscher”) or a Residence Permit - Student ("Aufenthaltsbewilligung - Student"). A "Settlement Permit - Researchers" is only granted if your Austrian host institution has concluded a hosting agreement for carrying out a research project with you. Please note that only very few institutions offer such an agreement.