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DIGITAL ID

EXPLAINED: How to get the essential Handy-Signatur and ID Austria

Whether you want to check your social security payments or file your taxes for the year, you'll likely need a Handy-Signatur and ID Austria.

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Pictured is somebody using a smartphone. Photo by Jonas Leupe on Unsplash

The Handy-Signatur and the ID Austria are “digital ID cards” for people in Austria, used to sign in to almost all official government websites, including for tax assessments at FinanzOnline or logging into your public health insurance site.

They also enable you to sign documents or invoices legally using your smartphone. Furthermore, from the summer of 2022, people with a Handy-Signatur can easily switch to the ID Austria which will be used in the future to carry digital forms of Austrian identity cards. 

How does the Handy-Signatur work?

Once you have it set up, it’s very simple to use. Whenever you need to log in to an official or sign a document online, you will be prompted with the possibility of signing in with your Handy-Signatur login.

A typical log in page for a public site in Austria (screenshot)

You can click on it and choose “login myself”. It will then ask you for your username or mobile phone number and your signature password. You can have those saved on your browser if you wish. After filling it in and submitting the login request, the site will send a signature request to your Handy-Signatur app on your smartphone. 

You can click on the app and either choose “show documents” to check where the signature request came from or go ahead and click on “sign”. Your phone will use your digital or face recognition system to sign in, and you’ll immediately get access to the site you wanted in the first place.

READ ALSO: Ten essential apps to download for living in Vienna

A detailed description makes it seem more complicated than it actually is, but it’s a simple and secure way of logging into some of the most critical sites in Austria.

How do I get the Handy-Signatur? 

There are several different ways to get your Handy-Signatur, but they will all require some back and forth with signatures and documents because, at first, you will need to confirm your identity.

One common way to activate the mobile signature is via the FinanzOnline website. This is what you need to do:

  • First, log in to FinanzOnline with your access data.
  • After logging in, scroll down and click the “Activate mobile signature” (Handy-Signatur aktivieren) button.
  • The form for entering your mobile number is displayed in a new window. First, select the area code of your mobile number and then enter your mobile number WITHOUT the area code.
  • Confirm the option “YES, I have read the above information and would like to unlock my mobile signature now.” (JA, ich habe die oben stehende Information gelesen und möchte meine Handy-Signatur jetzt freischalten.)
  • Click on “Next”. (Weiter)
  • The “Temporary identification” (Temporäre Identifikation)page then appears. Click the “Send” (Senden) button here.
  • In the next few days, you will receive a letter with the activation/revocation PIN and instructions on completing the activation. It includes entering your mobile number and the activation PIN HERE.

This method can be done in the comfort of your house, but it takes a few days and can be overwhelming if you don’t know any German. However, you can also activate your mobile signature at one of the many registration points in Austria.

READ ALSO: The smartphone apps that make living in Austria easier

Generally, you need a pre-registration to visit the offices (but check beforehand). You must also take an official picture ID, such as your passport and your phone. It takes about ten minutes to have it all set up. You can check all the registration sites HERE.

Prerequisites

You actually don’t need a smartphone to activate your Handy-Signatur, only a phone that can receive SMS. Usually, you will need an Austrian or German SIM card (though some exceptions are possible if necessary and are typically made when registering in Austrian embassies and consulates).

What about the ID Austria?

Eventually, all Handy-Signatur will be replaced by a broader digital service called “ID Austria”, currently in a pilot phase. The plan is to use only ID Austria to sign in eventually but also as a way to secure digital ID cards, such as driver’s licences that will be valid throughout the EU.

Once you have a Handy-Signatur, swapping for a basic version of ID Austria is quickly done via the Digitales Amt smartphone application. You’ll need to sign in using your Handy-Signature, “skip” the full version (which requires you to have Austrian citizenship) and sign in with your Handy-Signature password. 

READ ALSO: How to exchange your foreign driving licence for an Austrian one

ID Austria can be used the same way as the Handy-Signatur app (you can use either or to sign into websites once you upgrade to the Digitales Amt app. 

The advantages of the Digitales Amt app are that it contains plenty of information on residence status, pregnancy and birth, official documents (such as a digital driver’s licence valid only in Austria) and election functions – many online services, however, are only available to Austrian citizens. 

Useful links:

Handy-Signatur
ID Austria

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POLITICS

EXPLAINED: Austria wants to define its fundamental culture but what is it?

Politicians from Austria's centre-right ÖVP are putting together a definition of Austria's 'guiding culture', known in German as 'Leitkultur'. What is that and why are they doing it?

EXPLAINED: Austria wants to define its fundamental culture but what is it?

When you think of Austria, your first thoughts might be of Alpine hills, Schnitzel and traditional folk music. 

Is this what politicians are referring to when they talk about Austrian ‘Leitkultur’ or ‘leading or guiding culture’? 

Many in Austria are considering this question because the coalition government is honing in on this concept. 

Austria’s Integration Minister Susanne Raab, of the centre-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), has been tasked by chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) to develop a legal definition of ‘Austrian guiding culture’.

It’s part of the “Austria Plan” that Nehammer presented earlier this year when he called for a “guiding Austrian culture by 2030, which should also be reflected in law as a national cultural asset”.

READ ALSO: ‘Austria Plan’ – What are the chancellor’s new plans for the country?

Raab said it should ensure “that symbols and behaviours that contradict our fundamental values can be treated in a legally differentiated manner”.

However, this topic has been the subject of heated debate with critics accusing politicians of using it to alienate immigrants, particularly asylum seekers and refugees.There is a fear that the ‘Leitkultur’ concept goes against multiculturalism and calls on people to conform to one ‘guiding culture’ without an acceptance of other ways of life outside western culture. 

The concept is not just a talking point in Austria – it’s also been discussed heavily in neighbouring Germany for years, particularly by centre-right and far-right parties. 

How is Austria planning to define Leitkultur?

The Austrian government says it wants to define a concept of national cultural heritage in law over the next six years. 

As a first step, the Integration Minister has brought together a panel of experts who will meet on Thursday.

Under the banner “Austrian identity and guiding culture: values of coexistence”, the first meeting will be an introductory exchange, according to Raab’s office. The minister will outline her approach to the topic before the discussion, Austrian newspaper Der Standard reported.

The panel includes Katharina Pabel, a lawyer from Linz, Rainer Münz, who worked for Erste Bank and advised Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the EU Commission and Wolfgang Mazal, a professor at the Institute for Labour and Social Law at the University of Vienna.

What is Austrian ‘guiding culture’?

In an interview with Der Standard before the meeting, Mazal said the initial discussion “should serve to find a consensus in society about what is important to us and what form of coexistence we should cultivate”. He added that the ‘Leitkultur’ debate should be a “process of reflection”.

Mazal does not share the criticism of the term – in his view, it is not about placing one culture above others. Similar to the mission statement of a company, a “guiding culture” should define the “fundamental direction” of a society, he said. 

But the ÖVP’s communication has been more rigid. Secretary General Christian Stocker, for instance, recently explained in a Facebook video that Austrian identity is “what defines us”. This goes “from A to Z”, for example from brass band music to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. “How we celebrate our festivals and holidays” is also part of our identity, he said. And “anyone who doesn’t want to accept all that is welcome to leave”, he made clear.

Overall, the People’s Party is focussing the debate very strongly on the topic of migration. Stocker says, for example, in the context of his comments on identity, that those “who have come to us” have done so voluntarily. “They have chosen this country and therefore they must also accept how we live in this country, what tradition and identity we have.”

In social media posts, Der Standard notes that the party states things like: “Anyone who believes that they should not shake a woman’s hand because she is ‘unclean’ must leave.” Or: “Anyone who rejects our way of life must leave!” 

Integration a key component 

Integration Minister Susanne Raab (ÖVP) told the Kronen Zeitung earlier this year that the concept was centred on integration. 

“Integration means learning the language, going to work and also accepting the values of our coexistence,” she said.

“And that is relevant because many people come to us who have been socialised completely differently. Where the culture is completely different, where women are worth less than men, where girls have no access to education and are forced into marriage or where the police are not your friend and helper, but highly corrupt. All of this is important to convey. And this is where immigrants also have to adapt.”

Raab added that it was possible for someone who did not adapt to face sanctions. 

“Yes, there will be measures that can be implemented in law, Raab told the newspaper, suggesting that could include cuts to social benefits, for example, or negative influences in the citizenship procedure or to asylum status.

The minister gave the example of when refugees come to Austria they have to take a German and values course as well as sign a declaration of integration otherwise there is a risk of having social benefits cut. The ÖVP is also currently considering further sanctions. 

Whatever the case, it is clear that the ÖVP is pushing for more integration measures in Austria, which is something they have been doing consistently. 

READ ALSO: Austrian minister wants foreigners to improve German levels to keep social benefits

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