Relocating to Austria with your family
Vienna and the other cities: Red-White-Red and family permits, German-language school, and a birth that follows the parents’ nationality.
Who this is suitable for
Families with work in Vienna, Salzburg, Graz, or Linz, or a German-speaking household that wants a smaller capital than Berlin. Not a fit if nobody will deal with German.
Visa and residence
The Red-White-Red Card is the skilled-work route, with points and a salary. Family members receive a settlement permit of their own. EU citizens register. The immigration office (MA 35 in Vienna) is the clock. Appointments are not theoretical.
Family residence
A spouse may need German at A1 before the visa, with exceptions for some highly skilled cases. Children need their own permits. A family that arrives ‘to sort it out inside the country’ on the wrong visa gets stuck.
Work
The card names the employer. Changing employer has a rule. Recognition of a non-EU diploma can be required before the card. Build that in if the profession is regulated.
Business
A GmbH or a sole trader needs a tax adviser and, for some trades, a licence. It is not a softer substitute for a job you do not have.
Schools
Public school is in German and it is the system. Vienna has international schools for families on short postings. A child arriving with no German needs a plan for the first year, not a hope. Schulpflicht applies.
Healthcare
Employed people join ÖGK. Private doctors are an extra, not the base. Register a paediatrician. They are busy in Vienna. A mother giving birth wants a hospital booked, because the popular ones fill.
Housing
Vienna’s rental market is calmer than Munich’s and still competitive for family flats. Altbau and social housing are different systems. A foreign family usually starts in the private market and needs a Meldezettel from the registration office once the lease exists.
Cost of living
Lower than Switzerland, similar to a large German city, with Vienna often kinder on rent. International school, if you choose it, removes that advantage.
Family-friendly areas
Districts with the school and a park: the 13th, 18th, and 19th come up for international schools. A village outside Vienna only works with a car and a school place.
Safety
Ordinary European safety. The planning risk is a missing permit or a child with no German and no school seat.
International schools
Vienna International School, the American International School, and others. Fees belong in the employer conversation. They are not the default.
Birth abroad
A child born in Austria is not Austrian by place of birth. Citizenship follows an Austrian parent, or a later grant. Foreign parents register the birth and take their own country’s passport for the child.
Birth registration
The Standesamt issues the Geburtsurkunde. Health insurance should already be active. A Hebamme is booked during pregnancy. Then the parents’ embassy, if a second passport is wanted.
Citizenship rules
Naturalisation takes years of settlement, language, and integration. A birth in Vienna does not reduce that to a delivery. Austria is also cautious about dual citizenship. That is a legal question, not a slogan.
Parent immigration
Parents need their own permit basis. A child born in Austria does not hand them a Red-White-Red Card.
Banking
Meldezettel, passport, and a residence card. Everyday accounts are routine once those exist. We book the appointment.
Property
Foreigners may buy, with some provincial rules on land. A notary or lawyer should act before you pay a reservation. We keep the flat inside the school district.
Business setup
With a Steuerberater, and only if the permit allows the activity.
Transportation
Vienna’s public transport is enough for many families. A car matters more in the west. Airport pickup for the arrival with children.
Nanny and childcare
Kindergarten places, especially for under-threes, are the scarce object. Apply early. A Tagesmutter bridges the gap. The contract is Austrian employment law.
International health insurance
You want to be in ÖGK or an accepted private plan. Travel cover will not satisfy the residence file or the hospital.
Timeline
Often a season from the employer’s process to a kindergarten place. The language course for a spouse can be on the critical path. Start it before the flight if the visa requires it.
Estimated budget
Quoted for Vienna versus a smaller city. Public school keeps the budget closer to a normal salary. International school does not.
Documents
Passports, civil certificates, employer contract, diploma recognition where needed, insurance, photos. German translations are often required.
Professional partners
Austrian immigration counsel for non-standard cases, a Steuerberater, the Standesamt if there is a birth, and the school authority.
Frequently asked questions
Is a baby born in Vienna Austrian?
No. Not by birthplace. Citizenship follows an Austrian parent or a later naturalisation.
Do we need German?
For public school and often for a spouse’s visa, yes. International school delays the question. It does not delete it.
Vienna or the mountains?
Vienna if you need a job and a school. The mountains if the job is actually there.
Book a family assessment
Tell us the passports, the children’s ages, and whether a birth is part of the year. We come back with a plan, or with a no.
This is family orientation, not a visa grant and not legal advice. Licensed counsel in the country confirms the rule before you travel, sign, or give birth.
