Austria Visa: Who Needs One, How to Apply, Fees and Documents

• EU, EEA, Swiss: no visa
• Visa-exempt list: 90 days in 180
• Others: Schengen visa

Yes, Austria is a Schengen country, so whether you need an Austria visa depends on your passport, not on Austria itself.

The full visa-exempt list is the one the EU publishes for ETIAS; if your country is not on it, you need a visa. A valid residence permit from another Schengen country also lets you visit Austria for 90 days in 180 without a visa.

• C: up to 90 days in 180
• D: 91 days to 6 months
• Over 6 months: residence permit

A type D visa cannot be extended inside Austria. For more than 6 months you need a residence permit, and work, including a job seeker visa, always needs a visa or permit of its own.

• Apply where you live
• VFS only collects
• Austria must be the main destination

You apply at the Austrian embassy or consulate responsible for the country where you legally live, not the country of your passport. In many countries the embassy uses an external service provider, usually VFS Global, to take applications; the provider has no role in the decision.

How to apply for an Austria visa, step by step

• Apply through VFS
• 18 centres incl. Thimphu
• 2025 refusal rate: 22.09%

For an Austria visa from India, the Austrian Embassy New Delhi decides and VFS Global takes the applications and returns the passports. You can only apply in India if you have your habitual residence there; Indian citizens living elsewhere apply in their country of residence.

VFS lists Austria visa application centres in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Goa, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, Puducherry, Pune and Thimphu, open Monday to Friday. Book the appointment and track your application on the VFS India site.

In 2025 the embassy in New Delhi received 48,761 short-stay applications and refused 22.09%, the highest rate among the Austrian consulates in our refusal table.

• Citizens: no visa
• Residents with another passport: apply there
• Embassy of your country of residence

British, US, Canadian, Australian and Singaporean citizens do not need an Austria visa for up to 90 days in 180 days. If you live in one of these countries on another passport that needs a visa, for example as an Indian national in the UK, you apply at the Austrian embassy responsible for the UK (or its service provider), because the competent embassy is the one for your place of residence.

Bring proof of your residence status there. The embassy's own page and its service provider's site have the local checklist, fee and appointment system.

• Earliest: 6 months before
• Latest: 15 days before
• Book early in peak season

A Schengen visa application can be lodged no earlier than 6 months and no later than 15 calendar days before the trip starts. Where Austria uses VFS, you book the appointment on the VFS site for your country; the embassy warns that waiting times can be longer in peak season.

• Adults: €90
• Children 6 to 12: €45
• Under 6: free

If you apply through VFS, its service fee comes on top and differs by country; check the fee page of the VFS site for your country.

• Passport: max 10 years old
• Valid 3 months after the visa
• Insurance: €30,000

These Austria tourist visa requirements come from the Austrian foreign ministry's general list. Your embassy can ask for more, so also read the checklist on its own page or its VFS site.

• Application formFully completed and signed by you
• PhotoICAO standard, colour, 35 x 45 mm
• PassportNot older than 10 years, valid at least 3 months after the visa ends, 2 free pages; plus a copy of the photo page
• Copies of previous Schengen visas
• FingerprintsTaken at the appointment unless recorded in the last 59 months
• Proof of transportA reservation or booking; a paid ticket is not required. By car: licence, green card, registration
• Travel medical insuranceMinimum €30,000, including medical repatriation, valid for the whole Schengen area
• Proof of fundsYour own means; if you cannot show them, the 8-digit number of an electronic declaration of sponsorship made by your host in Austria
• Ties to your home countryFor example property, employment, studies, pension or family
• InvitationOptional informal letter for family visits; for business trips, a signed invitation from the Austrian company
• Minors travelling without their parentsCertified power of attorney from the parents

• Form is free
• Sign it yourself
• Photo: 35 x 45 mm

The Schengen application form (Visa C) is free; Austrian embassy pages link it under Forms, and VFS sites offer it too. Fill it in completely and sign it personally. The photo must meet ICAO criteria: colour, 35 x 45 mm.

• Usually up to 15 days
• Up to 45 with extra checks
• Questions in writing

A complete Schengen application should normally be decided within 15 calendar days; if further checks are needed it can take up to 45. For some nationalities Austria must first consult other Schengen states, which can add up to 7 calendar days. The clock starts only when the fee is paid and every document is in. A D visa can take up to 6 months.

If you applied through VFS, track the application on the VFS site for your country. The embassy answers questions in writing only.

• No legal right to a visa
• Two legal remedies
• 2025 refusal rate: 11.90%

After checking that the application is admissible, the embassy must be satisfied on each of these points; if one fails, the visa is refused:

• A plausible, verifiable purpose of the trip
• Enough money for the stay and the trip from your own meansOr an electronic declaration of sponsorship from someone in Austria
• Willingness to leave the Schengen area before the visa expiresSupported by evidence of ties to your home country
• Valid travel medical insurance of at least €30,000
• No threat to security or public order

If you are refused, you can file a Vorstellung (remonstration) with the embassy or an appeal to Austria's Federal Administrative Court; how to do it is written on the refusal form. If a Schengen embassy representing Austria refused you, that country's rules apply. You can also submit a new application with stronger documents and a new fee.

• 90 days in any 180
• Rolling window
• One count for all Schengen

Visa-free visitors and type C visa holders can spend at most 90 days in any 180-day period in the whole Schengen area. On every day you are there, count back 180 days: the days spent in all Schengen countries together must not exceed 90. The day you enter and the day you leave both count. Visa-free stay does not allow work.

• EES fully running since 10 April 2026
• No more passport stamps
• ETIAS: not yet in operation

The Entry/Exit System (EES) registers non-EU travellers on short stays at the external borders of 29 European countries, Austria included. Its gradual start ended on 9 April 2026; since 10 April 2026 it runs at every external border crossing and manual passport stamping has ended.

• With a visaOnly your facial image is stored; your fingerprints are already in the visa system
• Visa-exemptFour fingerprints and a facial image are stored
• Children under 12Fingerprints are currently not taken

ETIAS is a travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers to 30 European countries. The official site says it is not in operation yet, that the start date will be announced several months ahead, and that the fee will be €20. If you need a visa, ETIAS does not apply to you.

This page is not legal advice or a visa service. The embassy or consulate decides every application. All facts come from Austria's foreign ministry, the European Union, the European Commission and VFS Global, checked on 16 October 2026; rules and fees change, so check your embassy's page before your appointment.

We do not link visa agencies or insurers.