The first thing Austria asks of you is not a visa or a form with a long name. It is a signature from your landlord on a piece of paper, handed in within three days of getting the keys. If your plan is moving to Austria, that three-day clock is the thing worth knowing before you load the van. The rest of the process follows a sensible order, and this guide walks you through it for an EU or EEA citizen, with notes for Swiss and British readers at the end.
What do you need to do before moving to Austria?
Before you leave, three things are worth settling at home:
- Your health cover. In Austria, health insurance comes from your activity: an employee is insured automatically from the first day, a self-employed person through the SVS. Without a job, you must show comprehensive health insurance to get your registration certificate. A retired person living on a pension from another EU country asks that country's pension body for an S1 form. Our guide to health insurance in Austria explains each case.
- Your documents. Passport or ID card, birth certificate if you can, and proof of work, study or means. Foreign official documents generally need a certified translation from a sworn translator, and sometimes an apostille.
- Your home. Almost everything that follows depends on a rental contract and a landlord willing to sign a form. See renting in Austria.
Keep your European Health Insurance Card for the first days. It covers necessary treatment during a temporary stay while your Austrian cover is being set up. It does not replace proper insurance for a move.
Which steps come first when moving to Austria?
Here is the sequence that works for most people who relocate to Austria from another EU country:
- Day 1 to 3: the Meldezettel. The registration form is signed by you and by the person providing the housing, then handed to the Meldebehörde (the local registration office, usually run by the municipality). The full walk-through is in our Meldezettel guide.
- First weeks: social security. If you are an employee, your employer registers you and asks for your social security number. You then receive an e-card, the health card. If you do not have an Austrian passport, ID card or licence, it can only be issued once a photo is on file, so bring one. Details in tax number and social security number in Austria.
- As soon as you have your Meldebestätigung: ID Austria. This is the digital identity used for government websites, signing and tax. You register once in person at a registration authority, with ID and a smartphone.
- Within four months: the Anmeldebescheinigung. If you stay more than three months, you apply in person for this EU registration certificate. See Anmeldebescheinigung.
- Bank account. Not a legal step but a practical one, since your employer and landlord want an IBAN. Read opening a bank account in Austria.
- Tax. Employees have tax withheld by the employer; the self-employed apply for a tax number. The tax number article above explains both cases.
If your situation is a little unusual (you are a pensioner, you are working for a foreign employer from Austria, you are bringing a car), the order can change. Moovy can walk you through your own case and point to the exact official page. It will not do the paperwork for you, since you sign and send everything yourself.
What is the difference between the Meldezettel and the Anmeldebescheinigung?
This is the confusion that costs newcomers the most. The two documents answer different questions.
The Meldezettel says where you live. Everyone who moves into a home in Austria, Austrians included, must register within three days. It is free. Failing to register is an administrative offence, with a fine of up to €726 (and up to €2,180 for a repeat offence) according to oesterreich.gv.at.
The Anmeldebescheinigung says that you have the right to stay as an EU citizen. You apply within four months of arriving, in person, and the fee is €44. It needs proof that you work, study or have enough money plus comprehensive health insurance. One does not replace the other.
Which authority handles what?
Austrian administration looks complicated until you see the logic:
- The municipality handles your address registration and household waste. In Vienna, waste is the job of the MA 48.
- The district authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft), or the Magistrat in cities with their own statute, handles your registration certificate and business licences. In Vienna, the MA 35 handles the registration certificate; in Graz, it is the Styrian provincial government.
- The Finanzamt Österreich is a single national tax office with branches around the country.
- The social insurance bodies are the ÖGK for employees and the SVS for the self-employed.
- The AMS is the public employment service.
- The Bildungsdirektion of your province handles schools.
Offices differ from one Land (province) to another in their opening hours, required documents and whether you need an appointment. Always check the page of the office that covers your address.
Where should you live, and what will it cost?
Austria's biggest cities each have their own character, and our guide to the best places to live in Austria compares Vienna, Graz, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Linz. On costs, rents depend heavily on the type of building; the reference rent per square metre ranges by province from €6.15 in Burgenland to €10.35 in Vorarlberg as of April 2026 (Statistik Austria, via oesterreich.gv.at), but that figure only caps rent in older buildings. Newer buildings are priced freely. We explain this in renting in Austria.
What about work, school and the car when moving to Austria?
If you are an employee, there is no statutory minimum wage in Austria. Your minimum pay, extra months and often your weekly hours come from the collective agreement (Kollektivvertrag) of your sector. Most agreements pay 14 monthly salaries a year. Read working in Austria before you sign a contract.
With children, school is compulsory for nine years from the 1 September after the sixth birthday, whatever the nationality, and public school is free. The year before school is a compulsory Kindergarten year, 20 hours a week. See schools in Austria.
With a car, you have about a month to register it in Austria, the NoVA (a CO2-based registration tax) is due even when you are simply moving, and you need a vignette for motorways. All of it is in driving in Austria.
What small things catch newcomers out?
Shops close on Sundays and public holidays; on Saturdays they must shut by 6 pm. Stock up on Saturday. The emergency number is 112, and 1450 is the national health advice line. Recycling rules depend on the commune. The broadcasting contribution (ORF-Beitrag, €15.30 a month in the figure shown by oesterreich.gv.at) is due for each address where an adult has a main residence, with or without a television. Our article on daily life in Austria goes through the habits that surprise people.
A realistic first-month checklist
Put your name on the doorbell and mailbox the day you arrive, because official letters get returned otherwise. Take a photo of your signed Meldezettel before you hand it in. Book your registration certificate appointment early if your office asks for one. Open a notebook (paper or digital) for every reference number you are given. And ask each office, politely and early, which documents it needs, since lists differ between offices. Austria rewards people who arrive with a complete folder.
What does moving to Austria look like for different profiles?
The employee. This is the simplest path. Your employer registers you with social security, you collect your number and e-card, and income tax is withheld from your pay each month. Your main jobs are the Meldezettel, the registration certificate and the bank account. Once the year is over, you can file an annual return (Arbeitnehmerveranlagung) that often brings a refund, especially if you arrived mid-year. We cover that in tax number in Austria.
The freelancer. You have the same address steps, plus a business registration, the SVS and a tax number. The right status (Gewerbe, Neue Selbständige or a regulated profession) decides your insurance and your paperwork, so get advice before you start.
The retiree. Your health cover and your means are the heart of your file. A pension from another EU country usually comes with an S1 form, and the tax treaty between Austria and your home country decides who taxes the pension.
The remote worker. If you live in Austria and work for a foreign employer, the paperwork is more tangled. Social security is decided by EU coordination rules, tax by the treaty and your employer's setup. Get your case checked with a tax adviser (Steuerberater) rather than guessing.
The family. Add the school or Kindergarten registration, which needs your Meldezettel, your child's birth certificate and a social security number or e-card. Places in crèches are limited, so start early. Moving to Austria with children is easier when you begin this step in your first week.
Which official websites are worth bookmarking?
Austria has a good central portal: oesterreich.gv.at, which explains procedures and lets you register an address online once you have an ID Austria or an EU Login. The tax office's online portal is FinanzOnline, the employment service is ams.at, and the social insurance bodies are the ÖGK and the SVS. For the legal text, the federal legal information system RIS publishes current laws. Whenever a blog, including this one, gives you a figure, check it against the official page before you act.