Residence permit

The Department of Residence Affairs of the City of Innsbruck is the right place to go if you want to extend your residence permit or if you are staying in Innsbruck for a longer period of time as an EU or EEA citizen. Questions regarding Austrian citizenship lie with the province of Tyrol.

When do I contact the Department of Residence Affairs?

If you would like to live, work or study in Innsbruck and are not an Austrian citizen, please contact the Service Unit Residence matters of the City of Innsbruck.

What is the Residence Affairs Unit responsible for?

• Residence permit
• Settlement permit
• Extension of residence permits
• Documentation (for EU and EEA citizens and their dependents)

What is the difference between residence permit, settlement permit or documentation?

• Residence permits are needed by people who want to stay in Innsbruck for a certain period of time but plan to return to their home country. These are e.g. students, pupils or expatriates
• Settlement permits are needed by persons who want to stay in Innsbruck for a longer period of time. This applies, for example, to family members in the case of family reunification, persons with the Red-White-Red Card or Red-White-Red Card Plus
• Documentation covers the right of residence under EU law; this is required, for example, by EU and EEA citizens and their dependents

How can I extend my residence or settlement permit?

You can apply for your residence permit at the earliest three months before it expires. The City of Innsbruck recommends to apply for the extension at least one month before expiration.

An application for an extension must be submitted in person to the Department of Residence Affairs.

1. Stop by the Department of Residence Affairs during office hours (no appointment necessary).
2. Bring this form, filled out and printed, with you to your appointment.
3. Take all required documents with you.
4. Pay the entry fee by ATM or in cash at the Department of Residence Affairs:
   1. Persons over 6 years: 140 Euro
   2. 0-6 years: 95 Euro (Except for 0-2 year olds born in Innsbruck.)
   3. Documentation: 76 Euro
5. On your application protocol you will find the date when you can pick up your residence permit.
6. Third-country nationals who have signed an integration agreement must demonstrate German language skills at level A2 within two years as part of the integration examination.
   1. Most applicants receive a voucher for a German course. 50 percent of the course fee is covered if the applicant is present 75 percent of the time during the course. The voucher is valid for 18 months.
   2. If no German language skills are proven, you will have to pay a fine of up to 500 euros.

What documents do I need for the renewal application?

• Valid passport and residence permit
• current passport photo of the applicant that meets the passport criteria
• Proof of a secure livelihood:
  • a pay slip or
  • a pay slip
• In case of relocation: proof of legal entitlement to local housing:
• Rental or sublease agreement or
• Housing rights agreement: If you do not have an official rental agreement, for example because you live with your parents or only have a verbal rental agreement, your landlord must confirm that you are allowed to live in the specified accommodation. You will need a separate form for this.
• Declaration of liability, if applicable. You will need this,
  • if you are not married, for example, but are entitled to alimony, you must fill out this form to have it confirmed who will pay for your alimony.
  • if you have sponsors for your studies.
  • if you agree to pay for the support of other dependents, such as your grandparents.
  • If you have children under the age of 18, you do not need this declaration because you are obliged to pay for their maintenance.
  • For the declaration of liability you need this form.
• E-card or proof of health insurance coverage that is obligatory in Austria and covers all risks
• For students:
  • School attendance certificate or annual report card
  • For underage students, proof of care and upbringing of the student by a person of legal age residing in Austria
• For students:
  • Confirmation of admission or confirmation of enrollment
  • written proof of academic achievement in the previous academic year (16 ECTS points per academic year or confirmation from the student's supervisor, with official signature)

I am an EU or EEA citizen. Do I need a residence permit?

As an EU or EEA citizen, you need documentation instead of a residence permit.

Where & how do I apply for documentation?

Documentation may only be requested in Austria. Students and employees normally apply for documentation when registering their place of residence at the Service Unit Registration and residents' affairs, passport matters - Registrations, deregistrations, registration confirmations unit. If this is not the case, please contact the Service Unit Residence matters .

If you are self-employed, a member of the family, a pensioner or other, please contact the Service Unit Residence matters for your documentation.

For documentation, you must fill out this form, print it out, and deliver it in person to the Residence Affairs Unit without making an appointment.

What does documentation cost?

• The entry fee for documentation costs 15 euros for EU and EEA citizens.
• For children who were born in Austria and are between 0 and 2 years old, the entry fee is free of charge.
• For third-country nationals of EU or EEA citizens, the entry fee is 76 euros.

I can enter Austria without a visa - Where do I submit my application for a residence title?

There are countries whose nationals do not need a visa (= visarequirement) to enter Austria(list of countries requiring a visa). These persons can enter and apply for their residence permit directly at the Department of Residence Affairs. For this purpose, you will also need the following documents in addition to those required for a renewal application:

• Birth certificate
• Police clearance certificate from your home country
• Possibly marriage certificate, certificate of divorce (legally binding), certificate of guardianship
• Proof of legal entitlement to local housing:
  • Tenancy or subtenancy agreement or
  • Housing rights agreement: If you do not have an official rental agreement, for example because you live with your parents or only have a verbal rental agreement, your landlord must confirm that you are allowed to live in the specified accommodation. You will need a separate form for this.
• Declaration of liability, if applicable:
  • if you are not married, for example, but are entitled to alimony, you must fill out this form to have it confirmed who will pay for your alimony.
  • if you have sponsors for your studies.
  • if you agree to pay for the support of other dependents, for example, your grandparents
  • If you have children under the age of 18, you do not need this declaration because you are obliged to pay for their maintenance.
  • You will need this form for the declaration of liability.
• If necessary, other documents

How can I bring my family to me permanently?

In the case of family reunification, third-country nationals come to an anchor person in Innsbruck and receive a residence permit or documentation.

An anchor person:

• lives in Innsbruck
• is an EU or EEA citizen or
• has a residence permit or
• has a settlement permit

What do my family members have to do to come to Austria?

The first approval usually goes through an Austrian representation in the applicant's home country. For example, if you live in Canada, you apply at a Consulate General or Embassy of Austria in Canada.

1. You make an initial application in person at an embassy or consulate general and also bring all the necessary documents there. The embassy sends the application to the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs in Vienna, then on to the regional government of Tyrol. There the application is assigned to the district of Innsbruck. For this reason, the postal route can take two to four weeks, for some states even up to six months.
2. The Service Unit Residence matters then checks in Innsbruck, among other things:
3. whether the apartment is large enough for the family.
4. whether there is enough income available. There are guideline rates for this.
5. The applicant receives a provisional confirmation of a residence permit. This confirmation is sent to the embassy or consulate general via Vienna. The applicant is informed that he/she can pick up the entry title, usually the visa D. The visa is valid for four months. This is then valid for four months.
6. With the visa, the applicant enters Austria.
7. The person registers at the registration office with a residence registration.
8. The person goes to the Department of Residence Affairs.
9. At the Department of Residence Affairs, a fingerprint is taken, the data is checked and finally the applicant is officially registered.
10. The residence permit can usually be picked up a week later in the Service Unit Residence matters .. can be picked up.
11. Third-country nationals who have signed an integration agreement must demonstrate German language skills at level A2 within two years as part of the integration examination.
    1. Most applicants receive a voucher for a German course. 50 percent of the course fee is covered if the applicant attends 75 percent of the course. The voucher is valid for 18 months.
    2. If no German language skills are proven, you will have to pay a fine of up to 500 euros.

Can I invite someone to stay with me for a longer period of time?

If you live in Austria, you can invite someone who needs a visa to come to Austria. This third-country national will then receive a visa under the following conditions:

• You, as a person living in Austria, but also as a company or association, must undertake to bear all costs that might be incurred by public legal entities due to the visa applicant's stay, even if it extends beyond the period of the invitation.
• For this purpose, you have to submit an Electronic Declaration of Commitment (EVE) to the Provincial Police Headquarters Tyrol. Please make an appointment by phone with the Provincial Police Directorate Tyrol and clarify which documents they require.
• You can also invite someone as a company or association with headquarters in Austria.

Invitees need in any case:

• Identity card
• Registration form
• Proof of income (pay slip, income tax assessment or profit and loss statement)
• Rental contract or similar
• Proof of existing care obligations
• Self-disclosure of the credit protection association (InfoPass)
• Documents about the relationship to the visa applicant, e.g. passport number of the visitor

Citizenship

You want to apply for Austrian citizenship? Then you have to contact the province of Tyrol. The city of Innsbruck has no authority here. Here you can find more information.

You need a proof of citizenship? You can get it here!

What does the Residence Affairs Unit not do?

• Initial applications for residence in Austria. You have to apply at the Austrian representation (embassy or consulate general) in your home country. (Unless you are allowed to enter Austria without a visa or are otherwise legally in Austria (e.g. residence title in another EU country) - then you can submit the initial application at the Department of Residence Affairs)
• Apply for a visa.
• Apply for Austrian citizenship.