Austria Residence by Investment: Routes, Income, and Language

Austria residence by investment runs along two tracks for non-EU nationals: a Settlement Permit (Gainful Employment Excepted) for people who can live off passive income, and a Red-White-Red Card for self-employed key workers who invest at least €100,000 in an Austrian business that benefits the local economy. Both sit under annual quotas, both require A1-level German before you file, and both make you an Austrian tax resident once you move.

The Two Routes Compared

Settlement Permit for the Financially Independent

The Settlement Permit (Gainful Employment Excepted) is built for people who want to live in Austria without working there. You cannot take salaried or self-employed work while holding it. Your life in Austria has to be funded by wealth or income streams from outside the country: retirement pensions, investment returns, foreign rental income, or profits from a business you own abroad.¹

The number of these permits issued each year is capped by federal quota, and places go on a first-come, first-served basis starting each January.¹ Once the quota fills, remaining applicants wait for the following calendar year. Filing in the first quarter significantly improves your chances.

Red-White-Red Card for Self-Employed Key Workers

This route requires genuine economic engagement. You invest at least €100,000 in a new or existing Austrian company, and the business must produce a measurable benefit for the local economy through job creation, innovation, or tax revenue.² Provincial authorities evaluate your business plan for its contribution to regional growth, looking for scale, strategic importance, or technology transfer.³ A vague consulting operation is not going to clear the bar.

The practical difference between the two routes comes down to how you want to live in Austria. The passive-income permit suits retirees and independently wealthy applicants. The self-employed card suits entrepreneurs prepared to run a real business on Austrian soil. Documentation overlaps in most areas, but the investment threshold and the business-plan review are unique to the Red-White-Red Card.

How Much Income or Investment You Need

Every settlement permit applicant must prove they can support themselves without drawing on Austrian social welfare. The baseline financial requirement is tied to the ASVG equalisation supplement reference rate, adjusted each January. The 2026 standard monthly rates are:⁴

Single person: €1,308.39 per month
Married couple: €2,064.12 per month
Each child: an additional €201.88 per month

The Settlement Permit (Gainful Employment Excepted) requires double the standard reference rates. For 2025, the Federal Ministry of the Interior lists the doubled thresholds as €2,547.98 for a single person, €4,019.70 for a couple, and an additional €393.14 per child.¹ Based on the 2026 base-rate increase, expect the doubled single-person threshold to land around €2,617. The BMI publishes updated figures once the new ASVG rates take effect at the start of the year.

For the Red-White-Red Card route, the €100,000 investment is the headline number, but you also need to show the same kind of ongoing support: adequate income, housing, and health insurance for yourself and any accompanying family.

The German Language Requirement

Before you can submit your application, you need proof of basic German at the A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: greetings, simple questions, everyday phrases.⁵

Austria accepts diplomas from four institutions: the Austrian German Diploma (ÖSD), Goethe-Institut, Telc, and the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF). The certificate must be less than one year old when you file.⁶ Children under 14 and applicants with documented medical conditions that prevent language learning are exempt.

A1 is the entry point, not the finish line. Once you have your permit, you have two years to complete Module 1 of the Integration Agreement, which requires reaching A2 German and demonstrating knowledge of Austrian civic values.⁷ Completing Module 1 on time is what lets you extend your permit past the initial renewal cycle.

What Documents You Need

Austrian authorities expect a thorough file. Missing or improperly formatted documents are one of the most common reasons applications stall. You will need:

The official application form from the BMI website. Some provincial settlement authorities issue their own versions, but the BMI form is standard.⁸
Proof of income or assets: bank statements, pension documentation, dividend records, or evidence of foreign rental income. For the passive-income permit, this means showing the doubled ASVG thresholds.
Housing proof: a lease agreement, preliminary contract, or property ownership document for accommodation that meets local standards for your family size. Free housing that can be revoked without notice does not qualify.⁹
Comprehensive health insurance that provides benefits in Austria and covers all risks, either through a private insurer or self-insurance with the Austrian public system (ÖGK).
A criminal record certificate from your home country. For U.S. applicants, that means an FBI Identity History Summary, apostilled by the U.S. Department of State and translated into German by a certified translator. Austrian authorities generally require the certificate to be issued within three months of submission.
An A1 German diploma from ÖSD, Goethe-Institut, Telc, or ÖIF, dated within the past year.
A valid passport with sufficient remaining validity beyond your intended stay.

All foreign-language documents must be professionally translated into German by a certified translator, and many require an apostille. Certified legal translations typically run $30 to $40 per page for English-to-German work, and apostille fees from U.S. state offices range from $10 to $26 per document.

Filing, Fees, and Timeline

First-time settlement permit applications must be filed from outside Austria at the Austrian embassy or consulate in your country of residence. You file in person, bring originals and copies, and the consulate collects your biometrics before forwarding your file to the Provincial Governor (Landeshauptmann) of the Austrian province where you plan to live.¹⁰

The provincial authority checks quota availability, reviews your financial documentation, and runs background checks. Processing generally takes three to six months. Applications filed late in the year, when quotas are running low, may wait longer. Authorities can request additional documents during the review, so respond quickly.

As of January 1, 2026, the application fee for a temporary residence permit is €218, and a permanent Long-Term Resident – EU permit costs €275. Fees are paid at submission and are not refunded if the application is rejected or withdrawn.¹¹

Once approved, the consulate issues an entry visa for collecting your residence card. You pick up the physical card from your local settlement authority in Austria, and you must register your address with the local municipality within three days of moving in.¹² Missing that deadline creates bureaucratic problems that ripple through your file.

Renewing the Permit and the Integration Agreement

Your first settlement permit is valid for one year. You can apply for renewal up to three months before it expires. Waiting until after expiration can force you to restart the process from outside Austria.¹³ The first renewal typically grants another one-year permit.

After two years of continuous residence, you can receive a three-year permit, but only if you have completed Module 1 of the Integration Agreement. Module 1 requires passing an integration exam at A2 German and demonstrating knowledge of Austrian legal and social values. You have two years from the grant of your first permit to complete it.⁷

Throughout the renewal cycle, you must continue to meet the financial thresholds and maintain valid health insurance, and you have to actually live in Austria. For holders of the Long-Term Resident EU permit, the specific cutoff is 12 consecutive months outside the EEA.¹³

Bringing Family Members

Spouses, registered partners, and children under 18 can apply for family reunification once you hold a valid settlement permit. Family members of settlement permit holders are subject to the annual quota, so their applications compete for limited places.¹⁴ If you hold a Red-White-Red Card or EU Blue Card, your family members are exempt from the quota, which is a meaningful advantage of the active-investment route.

Each family member must independently meet the general requirements: adequate income to cover the larger household, health insurance valid in Austria, and housing suitable for the family size. Adult family members need an A1 German diploma before applying, under the same institutional and validity rules as the primary applicant.¹⁴ Children under 14 are exempt from the language requirement.

For applicants with a close connection to an EU, EEA, or Swiss national, children up to age 21 may qualify as dependents rather than the standard age-18 cutoff.

Tax Consequences of Moving to Austria

Becoming a resident makes you an Austrian tax resident, and the tax picture is more complex than many applicants expect. Austria taxes worldwide income on a progressive scale. The 2026 brackets are:¹⁵

Up to €13,539: 0%
€13,540 to €21,992: 20%
€21,993 to €36,458: 30%
€36,459 to €70,365: 40%
€70,366 to €104,859: 48%
€104,860 to €1,000,000: 50%
Above €1,000,000: 55% (temporary surcharge through 2029)

Investment income is treated separately. Dividends and capital gains from securities are taxed at a flat 27.5% withholding rate. Interest on bank deposits is taxed at 25%, and interest on bonds and fund distributions is taxed at 27.5%. These are generally final taxes, so you do not need to include them in your annual return unless your marginal rate is lower and you want to opt into progressive taxation.

The most surprising trap for many applicants: if you later leave Austria, an exit tax of 27.5% applies to unrealized capital gains on securities like stocks and bonds. You will not owe it immediately if you move to another EU or EEA country, since the tax is deferred, but it becomes due if you later sell the assets or relocate to a non-EU country. Understand this before restructuring any investment portfolio around your move.

Long-Term Residence and Citizenship

After five continuous years of legal residence, you can apply for the Long-Term Resident – EU permit. It is valid for five years at a time, gives you more secure legal standing, and is much harder to revoke.¹⁶

Qualifying requires completing Module 2 of the Integration Agreement: B1-level German plus deeper knowledge of Austrian civic values and legal systems.¹⁷ The jump from A2 to B1 is substantial and typically takes dedicated study. Plan for it well before the five-year mark.

Any Austrian residence permit also lets you travel to other Schengen Area countries for up to 90 days within any 180-day period without a separate visa.¹⁸

Austrian citizenship through naturalization requires at least ten continuous years of legal residence, with at least five of those on a permanent-type settlement permit.¹⁹ An accelerated track allows application after six years if you can demonstrate sustained personal integration, including B2 German, which is a demanding standard involving extended writing and discussion of complex topics.

Austria generally does not allow dual citizenship. Accepting Austrian nationality typically means renouncing your existing passport, which is a deal-breaker for some applicants. Narrow exceptions exist, but most investment-route residents should plan on choosing one or the other. The citizenship decision is separate from the residence permit: you can hold a Long-Term Resident EU permit indefinitely without naturalizing, keeping your original citizenship intact while living in Austria full-time.¹⁶

1
Federal Ministry of the Interior. Settlement Permit Except Gainful Employment
2
Migration.gv.at. Self-Employed Key Workers
3
European Commission. Self-Employed Worker in Austria
4
oesterreich.gv.at. General Conditions for the Issue of Residence Permits
5
Federal Ministry of the Interior. Proof of German Language Skills
6
oesterreich.gv.at. Proof of Knowledge of German
7
Migration.gv.at. Integration Agreement
8
Federal Ministry of the Interior. Application Forms
9
Federal Ministry of the Interior. Documents Required When Applying for a Residence Permit
10
Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. Settlement and Residence
11
Federal Ministry of the Interior. Fees for Residence Permits for Third-Country Nationals
12
oesterreich.gv.at. Registration of a New Main Residence or Secondary Residence
13
Bundesministerium für Inneres. Validity of Residence Permits for Third-Country Nationals
14
Migration.gv.at. Family Reunification
15
usp.gv.at. Tariff Levels – Income Tax
16
WORK in AUSTRIA. Long-Term Resident EU Permit
17
oesterreich.gv.at. Integration Agreement
18
European Commission. Visa Policy
19
oesterreich.gv.at. Citizenship