Before you start

A Meldezettel signed by whoever provides your accommodation
For third-country nationals, an approved route — a Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte category or the EU Blue Card — normally filed at the Austrian representation abroad before travel
Health insurance covering all risks in Austria
Locally customary accommodation and means of subsistence at the ASVG standard rates (€1,308.39 a month for a single person in 2026)

Step-by-step

1
File the Meldezettel within three days at a Bürgerinnen- und Bürgeramt
Bring the completed form signed by your landlord plus your passport. It is free, takes minutes, and can be done at any of the city's offices. Three days is a statutory deadline and late registration carries a fine of up to €726.
In personWho: YouWithin 3 days of moving inFree
2
EU/EEA/Swiss: apply for the Anmeldebescheinigung within four months
Filed with the Graz residence authority, evidencing employment, self-employment, study or sufficient means plus insurance. It documents a right you already hold, but many later procedures ask for the certificate itself.
In personWho: YouWithin 4 months of arrival
3
Check the current Fachkräfteverordnung, including its Styrian entries
The shortage-occupation ordinance is reissued annually — 64 nationwide occupations and 66 that count only in specified federal states for 2026. A regionally listed occupation only helps if the job is in that state, so check whether yours is listed for Styria specifically before choosing a route.
OnlineWho: You or your employer
4
File the residence title before travelling, or have the employer file in Graz
Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte and Blue Card applications go to the Austrian embassy or consulate abroad, or to the Graz authority through the employer. The AMS runs the employment assessment in parallel with the residence decision.
In personWho: You or your employer2–3 months before the start date
5
Collect the card in person and book the German course early
Cards are collected in person with fingerprints. Module 1 of the Integration Agreement — German at A2 — is required within two years and is what upgrades a one-year Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte plus to a three-year one. Graz's universities and the Volkshochschule both run affordable courses.
In personWho: You
6
Re-register within three days of any move
Changing address inside Graz, moving to another Austrian city, or leaving the country all require notification within three days. The same fine applies to each.
In personWho: YouWithin 3 days of each move

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Meldezettel signed by the accommodation provider
Employment contract or job offer
Diplomas, translated and apostilled or legalised
Proof of health insurance
Birth and marriage certificates for family applications

Things most newcomers don’t know

Three days to register, and the deadline is partly in your landlord's hands.

Austria's Meldegesetz is stricter than almost anywhere in Europe — three days from moving in — and the Meldezettel needs the Unterkunftgeber's signature to be valid. That makes compliance dependent on a landlord who may be slow or absent, and it puts you in breach of an offence carrying a €726 fine through no fault of your own. Ask for the signed form when you collect the keys, not afterwards.

Source: Meldegesetz §§ 3, 22

Some shortage occupations count only in named federal states, and Styria's list is not the national one.

The annual Fachkräfteverordnung publishes both a nationwide list and a set of regionally restricted occupations. If your trade is listed for Styria but not nationally, the easier route works for a Graz job and not for a Vienna one — and vice versa. This is the kind of detail that decides whether the AMS runs a full replacement-worker procedure on your application, so check the regional annex rather than the headline list.

Source: Fachkräfteverordnung 2026

The Blue Card threshold is measured across fourteen payments, and the multiplier changed in 2022.

The 2026 floor is €55,678 of annual gross salary including special payments, so an offer of €48,000 plus 13th and 14th clears it while a flat €52,000 on twelve payments does not. The test was 1.5× the average wage until the AuslBG amendment in force on 1 October 2022 reduced it to 1×; any source still quoting a multiple above one is describing repealed law and will overstate what you need to earn by tens of thousands.

Source: migration.gv.at; AuslBG BGBl. I Nr. 106/2022

Graz graduates have a route with no points test at all, and many never use it.

Anyone who completes a degree at an Austrian university or Fachhochschule can stay twelve months to find work and then take a Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte with no points table and no labour-market test — only a job at the customary graduate rate. With four universities in a city of 300,000, a large share of Graz's foreign residents qualify. Applying instead on the general key-worker route, with its salary floor and AMS procedure, is a common and entirely avoidable mistake.

Source: migration.gv.at

Common mistakes to avoid

Missing the three-day Meldezettel deadline because the landlord had not signed.
Assuming EU citizens need nothing — the Anmeldebescheinigung is separate and due within four months.
Checking only the nationwide shortage list and missing a Styria-specific regional entry.
Reading the Blue Card threshold against twelve payments rather than fourteen.
Graduating from a Graz university and applying on a harder route than the graduate card you already qualify for.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.