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RESIDENCY PERMITS

EXPLAINED: What rights do I have if I’m married to an Austrian citizen?

If you’re a non-EU foreigner married to an Austrian citizen, some of the bureaucracy that comes with living in Austria is just a little bit easier than it would be otherwise – on everything from residency to buying property.

Published: 7 November 2023 12:38 CET
Updated: 3 April 2024 14:02 CEST
A wedding ring
Being married to a German comes with simplified residence and working rights. Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP

Plenty of foreigners move to Austria for love – and hopefully, that love is strong enough to stand the test of not only time – but Austrian bureaucracy.

Even though marriage to an Austrian makes some residence, citizenship, and property buying rules a little easier – there’s still plenty of caveats to be aware of, so it’s best to know exactly what your rights are.

Will Austria recognise my marriage or partnership?

If you and your Austrian partner were married in Austria, this question is pretty straightforward. Your Austrian marriage licence will provide pretty airtight proof of your commitment for the purposes of things like residency.

If you were married abroad though, you may need to bring your foreign marriage certificate to your local authority to be recognised. You will probably also have to provide a certified translation if it’s in a language other than English or German.

Registered partnerships are also recognised under Austrian law for the purposes of family reunification as well as marriage certificates.

Austria also recognises both registered partnerships and marriages between same-sex partners.

EXPLAINED: How to have your marriage abroad recognised in Austria

Residency in Austria

Non-EU partners of Austrian or EU citizens can typically apply for a “Family Member” visa or residence permit to both enter and reside in Austria – provided they have reached the age of 21.

If the non-EU partner has a passport from a country whose nationals enjoy visa-free access to Austria, they can come to Austria without a visa and apply for the residence permit within three months. Otherwise, they’ll need to apply for a Family Visa from their responsible Austrian mission abroad.

The Family Member residence permit is typically valid for 12 months and thus requires regular renewal.

However, it generally comes with unrestricted access to the Austrian labour market. This includes the right to work in Austria without satisfying a labour market test, having to meet a minimum salary threshold, and without having to fulfill a requisite number of criteria under Austria’s points-based immigration system. Holders of this permit are also not limited to working in the area of their education or training, as holders of many other Austrian residence permits are.

Austria recognises registered partnerships and marriages performed abroad, including those between same-sex spouses, for the purpose of family reunification.
Photo by Patrick HAMILTON / AFP

EXPLAINED: How to get married in Austria as a foreigner

Under this permit though, non-EU spouses still have a few things to prove. They’ll have to prove that they and their partner have a monthly income of at least €1,751.56, plus an additional €171.31 for each child they have. They’ll also have to prove that they have accommodation in Austria that’s large enough for their family and have health insurance. Typically though, non-EU spouses can often be easily covered under their Austrian or EU partner’s insurance.

They will also have to prove that they have German language skills at an A1 level – which is the lowest possible level of proficiency in German.

The non-EU spouse will need to provide proof of all these requirements, along with their valid passport, their partner’s passport or other valid proof of nationality, and their marriage certificate.

After five years of continuous residence in Austria, the non-EU spouse can apply for permanent residence in Austria. Once they have permanent residence, a divorce will not affect their eligibility to remain in Austria. However, a non-EU spouse who divorces their Austrian partner may have to leave Austria if they are on the Family Member residence permit. This isn’t always true though. A non-EU partner who divorces their Austrian or EU partner due to abuse may end up being granted the right to stay in Austria.

Divorce in Austria: How the ‘culpability principle’ works and what you need to know about it

Automatic dual citizenship for your kids

If you are married to an Austrian national, any kids you have with them will automatically be entitled to keep both their Austrian passport, plus yours.

Although Austrian nationality law is generally restrictive on dual citizenship, one of the few cases where it is allowed concerns children who are born to both an Austrian and a foreign parent.

Although dual nationality is restricted in Austria, marriage between an Austrian and a foreigner can often result in children having dual citizenship. (Photo by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash)

Austrian fathers who have children out of wedlock with foreign mothers will typically have to legally acknowledge their children within two months of their birth in order to pass on citizenship. If the couple is married though, an Austrian father will automatically pass on his citizenship to his child without this step.

EXPLAINED: When is dual citizenship allowed in Austria?

Austrian citizenship through marriage

You cannot simply become Austrian by marrying an Austrian citizen.

In fact, you will still have to fulfill the requirements that any other applicant for Austrian citizenship would have to fulfill in order to receive an Austrian passport. This includes B1 German language skills and giving up your previous passport in most cases.

There is one edge non-EU nationals married to Austrians get though – they can apply for Austrian citizenship after a shorter period of residence in Austria.

Although most foreigners aren’t eligible to apply for Austrian citizenship until they’ve been resident in Austria for at least ten years, non-EU nationals married to Austrians can apply after six years – provided they’ve been married for at least five of those previous six years.

If you take the shorter route though, your German will have to be a bit better than the B1 normally expected. You’ll instead have to pass B2 German – one language level higher than normal.

READ ALSO: Five surprising Austrian citizenship rules you should know about

Buying property in Vienna

Foreigners buying property in Austria face a load of hurdles in most cases.

In western states like Tyrol and Vorarlberg, only Austrian and other EU/EEA nationals can buy property. In most of the rest of the country, only foreigners holding permanent residence may buy. Even then, they’ll need to seek approval from their state’s real estate commission – a process that can take many months and deter some sellers from working with foreign buyers.

Styria puts no such restrictions on foreigners. Vienna does, but waives them in once key instance – when the buyers are a married couple where at least one in Austrian.

In these cases, the couple buying property in Vienna don’t need to seek real estate commission approval for the purchase.

READ ALSO: Can foreigners buy property in Austria?

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EU

How would a ‘youth mobility scheme’ between the UK and EU really work?

The EU and the UK could enter into a 'youth mobility' scheme allowing young people to move countries to work, study and live. Here's what we know about the proposal.

Published: 18 April 2024 17:09 CEST
How would a 'youth mobility scheme' between the UK and EU really work?

Across the 27 countries of the EU, people of all ages can move countries to work, study, spend a long visit or chase the possibility of love – and all this is possible thanks to EU freedom of movement.

That freedom no longer extends to the UK. As a result of Brexit, a UK national who wants to move to an EU country, or an EU citizen who wants to move to the UK, will need a visa in order to do so.

However, a new ‘mobility scheme’ could re-create some elements of freedom of movement – if the EU and UK can come to an agreement. The signs of that are not good, with the current UK government rejecting the proposal before it had even been formally offered, but here’s what we know about the proposal.

Who would benefit?

First things first, it’s only for the youngsters, older people will have to continue with the time-consuming and often expensive process of getting a visa for study, work or visiting.

The Commission’s proposal is for a scheme that covers people aged 18 to 30. 

Their reasoning is: “The withdrawal of the UK from the EU has resulted in decreased mobility between the EU and the UK. This situation has particularly affected the opportunities for young people to experience life on the other side of the Channel and to benefit from youth, cultural, educational, research and training exchanges.

“The proposal seeks to address in an innovative way the main barriers to mobility for young people experienced today and create a right for young people to travel from the EU to the UK and vice-versa more easily and for a longer period of time.”

How would it work?

The proposal is to allow extended stays – for young people to be able to spend up to four years in the EU or UK – under a special type of visa or residency permit. It does not, therefore, replicate the paperwork-free travel of the pre-Brexit era.

The Commission states that travel should not be ‘purpose bound’ to allow young people to undertake a variety of activities while they are abroad.

Under the visa system, people must travel to a country for a specific purpose which has been arranged before they leave – ie in order to study they need a student visa which requires proof of enrolment on a course, or if they intend to work they need a working visa which often requires sponsorship from an employer.

The proposal would allow young people to spend their time in a variety of ways – perhaps some time working, a period of study and then some time travelling or just relaxing.

It would also not be subject to national or Bloc-wide quotas.

It seems that some kind of visa or residency permit would still be required – but it would be issued for up to four years and could be used for a variety of activities.

Fees for this should not be “excessive” – and the UK’s health surcharge would not apply to people travelling under this scheme.

Are there conditions?

Other than the age qualification, the proposal is that young people would have to meet other criteria, including having comprehensive health insurance, plus financial criteria to ensure that they will be able to support themselves while abroad.

The visa/residency permit could be rejected on the ground of threats to public policy, public security or public health.

Will this happen soon?

Slow down – all that has happened so far is that the European Commission has made a recommendation to open negotiations.

This now needs to be discussed in the Council of Europe.

If the Council agrees then, and only then, will the EU open negotiations with the UK on the subject.

The scheme could then only become a reality if the EU and UK come to an agreement on the terms of the scheme, and then refine the fine details – reacting the news reports of the proposal, the UK government appears to have already dismissed the idea out of hand, so agreement at present seems unlikely. However, governments can change and so can the political climate.

But basically we’re talking years if it happens at all – and that would require not only a new government in the UK (which seems likely) but a major change in the whole British political atmosphere.

Don’t start packing just yet.

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