Before you start

A signed Meldezettel from the person providing your accommodation
For third-country nationals, an approved work route — usually a Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte category or the EU Blue Card, filed before travel at the Austrian representation abroad
Health insurance covering all risks in Austria
Accommodation regarded as locally customary, and evidence of 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 of moving in
Take the completed form, signed by your landlord or accommodation provider, plus your passport, to any Meldeservice office in Vienna — you are not tied to your own district. It is free and takes minutes. The three-day deadline is statutory and late registration is an administrative offence with a fine of up to €726.
In personWho: YouWithin 3 days of moving inFree
2
EU/EEA/Swiss citizens: apply for the Anmeldebescheinigung at MA 35
Separate from the Meldezettel and due within four months of arrival. You show employment, self-employment, study or sufficient means plus insurance. It is a documentation of a right you already have, not a permission — but you need the certificate for a great many later procedures.
In personWho: YouWithin 4 monthsLow administrative fee
3
Third-country nationals: file the residence title before you travel
Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte and EU Blue Card applications are normally lodged at the Austrian embassy or consulate in your country of residence, or by your employer at MA 35 in Vienna. The AMS assesses the employment side while MA 35 assesses the residence side; both must clear.
In personWho: You or your employer2–3 months before the start date
4
Collect the card in person and enrol in Modul 1 early
Residence cards are collected in person at MA 35 with fingerprints taken. The Integration Agreement's Module 1 — German at A2 — is what turns a one-year Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte plus into a three-year one and is required within two years. Booking the course in year one rather than year two saves a renewal cycle.
In personWho: You
5
Aim at the Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte plus, not just the first card
The plain card ties you to one employer. After 21 months of qualifying employment inside 24 months you can switch to the card plus, which gives free labour-market access — and family members get it directly, which is what makes a trailing spouse employable.
In personWho: You
6
Re-register within three days every time you move
Moving flat inside Vienna means a new Meldezettel within three days and, if you are leaving Austria, a deregistration (Abmeldung) within three days either side of departure. The same deadline and the same fine apply.
In personWho: YouWithin 3 days of each move

Documents you’ll need

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

Things most newcomers don’t know

Three days to register, and you cannot do it without your landlord.

Most of Europe gives you a fortnight or a month; Austria's Meldegesetz gives three days from moving in, and the form requires the Unterkunftgeber's signature. That makes the deadline partly outside your control — a landlord who posts the form rather than signing at handover can put you in breach before you have unpacked. Ask for the signed Meldezettel in the same conversation as the keys, and treat a refusal as a warning about the tenancy.

Source: Meldegesetz §§ 3, 22

The shortage-occupation list is rewritten every year, and that decides whether you face a labour-market test.

The Fachkräfteverordnung is re-issued for each calendar year — 64 nationwide and 66 regionally-limited occupations for 2026. If your job is on it you need 55 of 90 points and collective-agreement pay, with no replacement-worker procedure. If it dropped off, you fall to the 'other key worker' route with a €3,465 monthly salary floor and a genuine AMS test. Check the ordinance for the year you will actually file.

Source: Fachkräfteverordnung 2026; AuslBG

The EU Blue Card salary test is measured across fourteen payments, which changes which offers qualify.

The 2026 threshold is €55,678 of annual gross salary including special payments. Because Austrian salaries usually carry a 13th and 14th month, an offer of €48,000 'plus Urlaubs- und Weihnachtsgeld' clears it while a flat €52,000 on twelve payments does not. The threshold has also been 1× the average wage since the AuslBG amendment of 1 October 2022 — anything quoting 1.5× is describing repealed law.

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

A Legitimationskarte is not a residence permit, and international-organisation staff should know what that costs them.

Staff of the UN, IAEA, OPEC, OSCE and CTBTO reside lawfully on a card issued by the foreign ministry, outside the NAG entirely. Time on it can be credited toward the five years for Daueraufenthalt – EU, but you must actively apply for a NAG title within six months of the card lapsing and surrender the Legitimationskarte to get one. People who assume the years automatically converted find out at the worst moment — when the contract ends.

Source: City of Vienna, MA 35; BMEIA

Common mistakes to avoid

Missing the three-day Meldezettel deadline because the landlord had not signed the form.
Assuming an EU citizen needs nothing — the Anmeldebescheinigung is separate and due within four months.
Filing on the 'other key worker' route when your occupation is on the current shortage list, and inviting a labour-market test you did not need.
Reading the Blue Card threshold against twelve monthly payments instead of fourteen.
Holding a Legitimationskarte for years and never converting to a NAG title, then having six months to fix it when the job ends.

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