Residence permit

Service Unit Residence matters of the City of Innsbruck is the right place for you if you want to extend your residence permit or are staying in Innsbruck for a longer period of time as an EU or EEA citizen. Questions regarding Austrian citizenship are the responsibility of 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.

A renewal application must be submitted in person at Lade Service Unit Residence matters ..

1. Come to the Lade Service Unit Residence matters during office hours (without making an appointment).
2. Take this form, completed anddrucked out, with you to your appointment.
3. Take all the necessary documents with you.
4. Pay the entry fee by ATM or in cash at the Lade Text Service Unit Residence matters .:
   1. Persons over 6 years: 140 euros
   2. 0-6 years: 95 euros (except for 0-2 year olds born in Innsbruck)
   3. Documentation: 76 Euro
5. The date from which you can collect your residence permit is stated on your application form.
6. Dritt nationals who have signed an integration agreement must demonstrate German language skills at level A2 within two years as part of the integration test.
   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 be fined 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 applied for in Switzerland. Students and employees normally apply for documentation when registering their place of residence at Lade Service Unit Registration and residents' affairs, passport matters - Registrations, deregistrations, registration confirmations If this is not the case, please contact the Lade Text Service Unit Residence matters

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

For documentation, you must complete this form, print it outdruand hand it in personally at the Service Unit Residence matters . without making an appointment.

What does documentation cost?

• The entry fee for the 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 fee is free of charge.
• For Dritt nationals of EU or EEA citizens, the entry fee is 76 euros.

I can enter Austria without a visa - Where do I apply for a residence permit?

There are countries whose nationals do not require a visa to enter Austria (list of countries requiring a visa). These persons can enter Austria and apply for their residence permit directly at Service Unit Residence matters . In addition to the documents required for an extension application, you will also need the following documents:

• Birth certificate
• Police clearance certificate from your home country
• Possibly marriage certificate, certificate of divorce (legally binding), custody order
• Proof of legal entitlement to local accommodation:
  • Tenancy or subtenancy agreement or
  • Right of residence agreement: If you do not have an official tenancy agreement, for example because you live with your parents or only have a verbal tenancy agreement, your landlord must confirm that you are allowed to live in the specified accommodation. You will need a separate form for this.
• Possibly a declaration of liability:
  • if, for example, you are not married but are entitled to maintenance, you must complete this form to confirm who is responsible for your maintenance.
  • if you have sponsors for your studies.
  • if you undertake to pay for the maintenance of other relatives, for example your grandparents
  • You do not need this declaration for children under the age of 18, as you are obliged to pay for their maintenance.
  • You will need this form for the declaration of liability.
• Further documents if necessary

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 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 provincial 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 countries even up to six months.
2. The Service Unit Residence matters .. then checks in Innsbruck, among other things:
3. whether the apartment is big enough for the family.
4. whether there is enough income available. There are guideline rates for this.
5. The applicant receives a provisional approval of a residence permit. This approval is sent to the embassy or consulate general via Vienna. The applicant is informed that he/she can collect the entry permit, usually a visa D. This is then valid for four months. This is then valid for four months.
6. The applicant enters Austria with the visa.
7. The person registers at the registration office with a residence registration.
8. The person goes to the Service Unit Residence matters
9. A fingerprintdruck is taken at the Residence Department, the data is checked and finally the applicant is officially registered.
10. The residence permit can usually be collected one week later from the Service Unit Residence matters office.
11. Dritt nationals who have signed an integration agreement must demonstrate German language skills at level A2 within two years as part of the integration test.
    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 be fined 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 Department not do?

• Initial applications for residence in Austria. You must submit these to 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 permit in another EU country) - then you can submit the initial application in the)
• Apply for a visa.
• Apply for Austrian citizenship.