Registration, banking and utilities in Vienna

Step one: the Meldezettel

You must register your address within three days of moving in, at any Meldeservice office in Vienna regardless of which district you live in, and registration is free. The form has to be signed by you and by the accommodation provider; if you own the place, you sign both fields. Bring the completed Meldezettel, your passport or travel document if you are not Austrian, and possibly the lease, title deed or land-registry extract. Appointments can be booked through mein.wien.gv.at.

• Re-registration can be done online with ID Austria or an EU Login, but only if it is not your first Austrian registration.
• Every later move needs a fresh registration, so keep the routine rather than treating it as an arrival formality.

Step two: your residence status at MA 35

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens intending to stay longer than three months need an Anmeldebescheinigung from MA 35, Einwanderung und Staatsbürgerschaft, applied for within four months of arrival. MA 35 answers on +43 1 4000-3535. Holders can also get a credit-card-format photo ID card, valid as identification inside Austria but not for travel, and after five years of continuous lawful residence you can apply for the Bescheinigung des Daueraufenthalts. Ask MA 35 for the current fee and document list rather than relying on a list you found online.

• Third-country nationals staying longer than six months need an Aufenthaltstitel from MA 35.
• The main employment routes are the Red-White-Red Card streams — Very Highly Qualified Worker, Skilled Worker in a Shortage Occupation, Other Key Worker, Start-up Founder and Graduate — assessed on points and handled jointly by the local AMS office and the residence authority.
• Points thresholds, salary floors, fees and processing times move; get them from migration.gv.at or MA 35 directly.
• British nationals lawfully resident in Austria before 1 January 2021 hold status under the Article 50 withdrawal arrangements rather than the ordinary third-country route.

Bank account, tax and social insurance

Austrian banks will ask for your Meldezettel and passport, which is the practical reason the registration comes first. Income tax for employees is withheld at source by the employer, and FinanzOnline, accessed with ID Austria, is the tax portal. Social insurance is not something you apply for either: your employer registers you with the Österreichische Gesundheitskasse and the e-card follows by post.

Utilities with Wien Energie

Electricity, gas and district heating in Vienna are contracted through Wien Energie, on 0800 500 800. Register in the Meine Wien Energie portal up to 30 days before the contract starts; Wien Energie asks for four weeks' notice around a move and applies a 14-day notice period when you end a supply. Registration needs your name, date of birth and email, with a phone number optional, and for Fernwärme, which serves a large share of Viennese flats, the rental or ownership contract as proof. Read the meters on your move-in day, ideally with the landlord or the outgoing tenant, and photograph them, so the closing and opening bills rest on a real reading rather than an estimate.

In order

1. 1Move in first — registering before the move is not permitted.
2. 2Get the Meldezettel signed by you and by the accommodation provider.
3. 3Register at a Meldeservice within three days, with your passport and the lease.
4. 4EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: apply for the Anmeldebescheinigung at MA 35 within four months of arrival.
5. 5Third-country nationals: sort the Aufenthaltstitel with MA 35, since a stay over six months requires one.
6. 6Open a bank account, which will want the Meldezettel and passport.
7. 7Register the supply with Wien Energie and send meter readings dated your move-in day.
8. 8Leave the health insurance registration to your employer and wait for the e-card by post.