How to get a visa to Austria in 2025

Yasya

Are you going to the Vienna State Opera or the Wiener Stadthalle arena to watch Eurovision 2026? Or are your plans not limited to just the capital? A trip to Austria will be much more exciting and rich than it might seem at first glance. In Innsbruck, take a ride on the Nordkette cable car, in Graz visit the Kunsthaus modern art museum, and in Salzburg see the instruments Mozart himself played as a child. All options are good, but all require a Schengen visa for the trip. We tell you how to get one.

What visa do you need for Austria

To enter Austria, travelers from Russia will need a Schengen visa. The terms are standard: with it, you can stay in the country for up to 90 days within a six-month period.

What types of visas are there for Austria

When applying for a visa, the purpose of your trip is important:

tourism;
business trip;
visiting close relatives/family members;
transit;
sports, scientific, cultural activities;
long-term visa/national D-type visa.

A Type C tourist visa is suitable for the first three options. It has restrictions, including a ban on employment and entrepreneurial activities. Austria also requires that the maximum number of days from the established trip duration be spent on its territory (this is in case you decide to arrange a Eurotrip). You will also have to cross the EU border in Austria, so you will need tickets to Vienna (with a layover somewhere in Istanbul or Antalya).

What documents are needed for a Type C visa to Austria

Application form for a Schengen visa – fully completed in German or English with the applicant's signature (for children, parents or legal representatives sign).
Valid international passport. Its validity period must be at least 3 months after the last intended date of departure from the Schengen area. The passport must have at least two blank pages for visa stamps.
Copy of the first page of a valid international passport.
Copies of all Schengen visas for the last three years from previous (cancelled)/valid international passports, as well as the main pages from these passports.
Two photographs, complying with ICAO requirements. These can be taken at the visa center.
Medical insurance, valid in the Schengen area for the entire duration of the trip, with a minimum coverage amount of €30,000. European and only embassy-accredited insurance companies are accepted.
Copy of internal national passport.
Financial documents:

– for employed persons: employment certificate stating position and salary, employment record book (optional), bank statement with transactions for the last three months;

– for individual entrepreneurs: company registration certificate, bank statement of the company for the last three months, extract from the tax register;

– for minors or students: certificate from school or other educational institution, sponsorship letter with a photocopy of the sponsor's national passport, employment certificate stating the sponsor's position and salary, bank statement with transactions for the last three months;

– for pensioners: pension certificate (original, copy), bank statement for the last three months or sponsorship documents as for students;

– for unemployed persons: sponsorship letter with a photocopy of the sponsor's national passport, employment certificate stating the sponsor's position and salary, bank statement of the sponsor with transactions for the last three months.

Translation of all Russian-language documents – exactly as per the original document, with the translation date, translator's full name, signature, and contact details. The translation can be done independently; there are even templates for bank statements and employment certificates. Notarization of translations is not required.
Consent to personal data processing.
Documents with hotel booking/payment confirmation, indicating the full names of all guests who will be staying in the hotel room.
Flight tickets, train tickets, or bus tickets indicating the exact date of arrival and departure.
For car trips, you must provide copies of your driver's license, vehicle registration certificate. It is also recommended to prepare an itinerary.

All documents must be arranged in the specified order.

What documents are needed for minors

copy of birth certificate (and original, which will be returned to you after verification);
copy of notarized consent for departure from both parents / guardians or from one parent / guardian who is not accompanying the minor child;
copies of the first page of national passports of the father/mother;
in some cases – a copy of the consent for the child's departure;
copies of the international passport and valid Schengen visa of the parent/parents/guardian/accompanying person, or another document allowing entry into the Schengen countries, as well as proof of joint travel with the minor applicant.

How to apply for a visa to Austria

Once your document package is ready, you can book an appointment to submit your visa application at the VFS Global visa center, which is Austria's official partner in Russia. After booking, you will receive confirmation of the date and time of your appointment. The center has a very detailed and simple booking instruction – we recommend checking it.

Next, you will need to pay the consular fee – for Russian citizens, it is €90, as well as a service fee of €38.76. Fees are paid in Russian rubles. If you apply for a visa at regional VFS Global offices (i.e., everywhere except Moscow), an additional logistics fee of 450 rubles will be added.

Documents are submitted in person or through a representative, but only if the applicant has already undergone fingerprinting within the last 59 months. Documents for a Category C visa are submitted no earlier than three months and no later than 15 days before the start of the trip.

When the visa center makes a decision on your application, you will receive a notification by e-mail. The status of the application can also be tracked online. To collect your ready passport, you will need to present the receipt issued by the Visa Center and an identity document.

Tips for submitting documents

choose a visa to Austria if you intend to visit Austria specifically.
do not consult ChatGPT when preparing your document package: neural networks may overlook important details.
use the visa checker on the kupi.com website when searching for tickets.
there are no direct flights from Russia to Austria. Plan your routes considering the estimated travel dates and try to choose tickets so that, in case of possible delays, the trip fits within the visa's validity period.