Renewal of Residence Titles

Only residence titles (residence permits (Aufenthaltsbewilligung) and settlement permits (Niederlassungsbewilligung)) can be renewed in Austria. You have to apply for a renewal before expiry of the original permit. Until a decision about the renewal has been taken you may – even after expiry of your original permit – stay in Austria.

In case you have to leave Austria for a short time before you receive your renewed permit the authority can, if you can give well-founded reasons, add a confirmation, to which a fee applies, to your travel document, which will enable you to re-enter Austria.

Attention: This is not the same as a Schengen visa!

If you submit your application for the renewal after expiry of your previous residence title the application will be classified as a first-time application and you have to apply at the Austrian representative authority in your home country.

An application that is submitted after the expiry of the previous residence title will exceptionally be regarded as a renewal if you can prove that an unexpected and inevitable incident has occurred for which you cannot or can only marginally be made liable and which has prevented you from submitting the application for the renewal in time. In this case the application must be submitted within two weeks of the end of the hindrance.

A renewal of a visa is not possible in Austria.

Only in case of continuing medical treatment that prevents you from leaving Austria before the visa expires you are entitled to apply for a visa in Austria. The precondition for this is that the medical treatment is absolutely necessary and has already started.

A renewal of a residence title has to be applied for at the Austrian authorities(Landeshauptmann / Magistrat / Bezirkshauptmannschaft).

To apply you need the following documents:

• fully completed and signed application form
• recent photograph, size between 3.5 x 4.5 cm and 4.0 x 5.0 cm
• valid travel document, e.g. passport
• registration form (Meldezettel)
• Proof of accommodation: e.g. tenancy contract, accommodation contract of a student hall of residence
• Proof of a health insurance valid in Austria
• Proof of sufficient funds to finance your stay
• students only: confirmation of your continuing university enrolment and (after the first year of study) proof of successful study (= passed examinations equivalent to at least 16 ECTS credits/eight semester hours for each academic year)
• academic lecturers and researchers only: confirmation of your activities in Austria, e.g. employment contract, hosting agreement

If you signed an integration agreement when you applied for a residence permit for the first time, you will also have to produce proof of your German proficiency or of having attended a German integration course.

For the renewal of the residence permit you have to pay a fee of 100 euros.