Expats

City of Vienna Seeks Community Communicators

Vienna is a city of many nations and the city is always trying to strengthen social cohesion and togetherness. More than 60 people are already active as community communicators in Vienna, volunteering their time to improve dialog and exchange between the City of Vienna and various immigrant groups. Now the project starts in the 2nd round.

February 7, 2023

Vienna Ranks Poorly Among Expats

The Expat City Ranking has ranked 50 cities worldwide in the year 2022. There have been some surprises; however, Vienna did not do well in the ranking, with some complaints repeating themselves even from the years before. The expats rank the cities on an annual basis through some basic categories. Vienna has one category where it performed the worst.

December 7, 2022

Foreigners in Austria: More Than a Quarter of the Austrian Population Has a Migration Background

A new study by Statistics Austria analysed the countries of origin of Austrians and found that more than a quarter of the Austrian population has a migration background. If you want to know where most foreigners in Austria come from and how much the proportion has increased in recent years, read on.

July 28, 2022

Weekly Briefing: Newest Developments in Diplomacy and Vienna

Read about the latest developments in diplomacy in Vienna and Austria. The Georgian Prime Minister visited Austria and Vienna enables Ukrainian displaced persons to graduate from Ukrainian high school. In addition, Austria's Chancellor visited Israel and concluded an important agreement there. Furthermore, expats in Austria appreciate the high quality of life, but do not feel welcome. Read more about this week's developments.

July 14, 2022

Expats in Austria Satisfied With Quality of Life but Complain About Rude Locals

According to the newly published "Expat Insider Study 2022", expats living in Austria have mixed feelings about the country. On the one hand, they praise the high quality of life in the country, but on the other hand they find the Austrian population unusually unfriendly. In the end, Austria was only ranked 24th out of a total of 52.

July 12, 2022

Vienna Business Agency Sees Significant Increase in Expat Advice Requests

The Expat Center and the Business Immigration Office of the Vienna Business Agency saw a stark increase in the number of expats seeking advice during the COVID-19 crisis. Read about this increase and how the Vienna Business Agency has assisted expats.

February 9, 2022

Vienna: "A Uniquely Wonderful Place for Expats"

The Expat City Ranking reveals the best and worst cities for expats around the world. Vienna dominates the "Quality of Urban Living Index". Find out why.

February 2, 2022

Expats Rank Vienna Last in Terms of "Local Friendliness"

The results of the "Expat Insider 2021" survey are in, and Vienna earned the top spot in quality of life but took last place in terms of the friendliness of the people. Read why Vienna simultaneously ranked so high and so low.

December 16, 2021

Austrians Abroad Want Dual Citizenship at Last

There are growing calls among Austrians abroad for a change to Austria's strict laws regarding dual citizenship. Read about the citizens' initiative "Dual Citizenship for Austria" and the increasing support it is receiving from Austrians abroad, expats in Austria, and Austrian politicians.

December 8, 2021

Vienna Ranked Fourteenth Most Expensive City in the World

While Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in the world and tops the Cost of Living Index 2021, Paris and Singapore are tied for second, followed by Zurich and Hong Kong in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Vienna comes in fourteenth place after Tokyo and jointly with Sydney. Damascus, Syria, was named the world’s cheapest city. See the full list of the world's most expensive cities to live in 2021.

December 1, 2021

Business Immigration Office: Vienna Launches New Service Point for Expats and International Companies

As of today, Vienna has its own service office for international professionals (expats) and companies for matters of residence law as well as consultations.

October 13, 2021

City of Vienna and Vienna Business Agency Create New Business Immigration Office

The Vienna Business Agency and Vienna City Government have partnered to create the Business Immigration Office (BIO). The BIO will help streamline residence permit and immigration issues and offer help with integration for key personnel and highly skilled workers.

July 15, 2021

Why Austria Is NOT One of the Best Countries in the World

Why a top "Quality of Life" rating is not enough to rank among the "best" countries in the world, and why expat destinations like Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia and even Switzerland are uncatchable ahead of Austria.

April 30, 2021

Driving a Car in Austria: How to Import a Vehicle for Personal Use

What is required to register your car in Austria that you have purchased abroad? What do you need to look out for when buying a car? What costs do you have to bear? You can find all tips for importing your own vehicles (Eigenimport) to Austria here.

August 4, 2019 · Updated: April 1, 2021; 13:13

The Vienna Service Office - The Embassy of the City of Vienna inside the Vienna International Centre

The Vienna International Centre hosts a branch office of the City of Vienna, whose sole purpose is to offer the staff of the UN organizations and their relatives rapid and individual assistance with questions of daily life and to provide them with urgently needed information.

November 19, 2020

Getting COVID-19 Infection in Austria: What Should Expats Do If Symptoms Occur?

Foreigners in Austria who feel flu-like symptoms or who have had or may have had contact with someone infected with the coronavirus may themselves have been infected with the novel virus SARS-CoV-2. What should expatriates, tourists and other foreigners in Austria do if they suspect that they have been infected with the virus themselves?

November 2, 2020

COVID-19: Risk Assessment on Travel and Visits to Austria

The coronavirus outbreak has now reached Austria and the disease is spreading further. What is the risk of infection when travelling in and to Austria?

February 28, 2020

Buy Local - Invest Global: How to Invest Your Money on the Vienna Stock Exchange

Expats in Austria now have access to over 680 internationally sought-after securities from 26 countries at local conditions.

October 25, 2019

Expats in Austria Give Host Country Its Worst Ranking Yet

Expats in Austria enjoy a healthy life with great opportunities to travel, however, finding friends or even love can be a struggle. Hence Austria became 3rd from the bottom (56th out of 64 countries) in the Ease of Settling In Index.

September 20, 2019

40th Anniversary of the VIC: Open House Day an Organizational Fiasco

The so-called Open House Day for the 40th anniversary of the VIC Vienna International Centre (UNO City) turned out to be an organizational disaster on Sunday, when thousands of people from 200 nations had to wait for hours in an almost 500 meter long queue to be admitted.

September 9, 2019

Integration Report 2019: Asylum Applications Decline, Immigration Persists

The Expert Council on Integration chaired by Prof. Dr. Katharina Pabel presented Austria's ninth Integration Report. The report deals with integration monitoring and the perspectives of integration. It covers topics such as immigration, asylum, residence, school, apprenticeship, adult education, labour market, social issues, dealing with different gender roles, integration of young people, family reunification, marriage migration and dealing with religious diversity. Read the key findings here.

September 5, 2019

Vienna International Centre Invites Expats and Locals for Anniversary Event

The United Nations headquarters in Vienna is celebrating its 40th anniversary, marking four decades of international diplomacy. Come and see inside the VIC Vienna International Centre as part of its anniversary events.

August 13, 2019

Relocation to Austria: How to Import Tax and Duty Free a Vehicle for Personal Use

It may be convenient to take your car with you when you relocate to Austria. The same applies to cars that may cost less abroad than in Austria. However, there are additional costs in addition to the purchase price (Eigenimport). The NoVA (Normverbrauchsabgabe) is due at the first registration in Austria for new and used cars. The NoVA varies according to age and model. However, you can avoid this under certain conditions.

August 7, 2019

Driving a Car in Austria: What Users of a Vehicle with a Foreign Number Plate Need to Know

Persons whose main residence is in Austria and who drive a vehicle with a foreign registration plate must obtain an Austrian registration plate after one month at the latest. If the license plate is used for a longer period of time, administrative and financial criminal proceedings will be initiated.

August 2, 2019

8 Reasons why Vienna is an Ideal Destination for Expats

Home to imperial architecture, masterpiece-filled museums and inspiring music, it’s no wonder that Vienna is a desirable destination for tourists and expats alike.

July 26, 2019

Diplomats in Austria: How Does the Tax Exempt Purchase of Motor Vehicles Work?

New rules for the tax-exempt purchase of a motor vehicle from an Austrian car dealership concern the direct exemption from VAT and the normal consumption tax, which contributes to speeding up the tax relief.

July 9, 2019

Uber Ridesharing Threatens to Retreat from Austria

The US transportation network company Uber wants to mobilise against the taxi and rental car reform in Austria with a petition. The new law would be a setback for Austria in several respects. If the new law is passed on 3 July, we will no longer be able to offer services such as UberX, according to a statement by Uber.

June 27, 2019

Welcome Expats - Vienna Remains the Most Livable City in the World

In 2019 Vienna was again rated by the international consulting agency Mercer as the city with the highest quality of life worldwide. In the special evaluation on the subject of personal security, however, Vienna was only ranked 6th.

March 14, 2019

Expats in Austria: "You will never be able to make local friends"

We would like to share with you some of the findings of the Expat Network InterNations on the well-being of expats in Austria. Although these differ in some respects considerably from other annual reports, they also contain survey results which are a common thread in most studies. These include the fact that the quality of life is perceived as very high, but on the other hand intercultural communication and establishing friendships is perceived as very difficult.

September 20, 2018

Expat Advise: How Does the Austrian Tax and Social Security System Work?

If you are moving to Vienna as an expat or are already living here with employment income and want to find your way around the complicated Austrian tax and social security system, Vindobona recommends attending an interesting event organised by the Vienna Business Agency and Deloitte Austria.

March 22, 2018

Vienna Forever the Most Livable of All Cities?

For the ninth time in a row, Vienna has been ranked number 1 worldwide in the Mercer Quality of Living ranking. Vienna owes this to the generous and liberal spending policy of the city government of recent decades. In view of the expected budget cuts, it remains to be seen whether Vienna will be able to maintain this leading position in the future.

March 20, 2018

Most Expensive Expatriate Cities: Vienna Moves Up to 54th Place Overall in the Index

For the 22nd year running, global HR consulting firm Mercer has published its annual Cost of Living Ranking that lists the costliest and cheapest destinations for expatriates. Asia hosts five of the world’s 10 most expensive cities for expatriates. Hong Kong is once again the world’s most expensive city for expatriates. Vienna moves up to 54th place from 56th place overall in the index. 209 countries have been surveyed. See the full index below.

July 22, 2016

Quality of Living - Vienna is still the Number One

Vienna again tops the quality of living survey in 2016. The results of the Mercer study show, for the seventh time in a row, that Vienna's approach to quality of living is internationally acknowledged. Vienna is followed by Zurich (2), Auckland (3), and Munich (4).Vancouver (5) is North America’s highest ranking city, and Singapore is the highest ranking Asian city, holding 26th place. London ranks 39th.

February 26, 2016

Expat Families: Austria is Most Popular Country

Not only the Nordic Countries are popular with expat families. Austria, Israel and New Zealand are also among the preferred destinations for families. According to the Family Life Index 2015 by InterNations, Austria is the most popular country among expat families. While Finland and Sweden, ranking second and third, impress with the cost and availability of childcare and education, Israel and New Zealand in 4th and 5th place respectively, rank especially high when it comes to the general well-being of expat families.

September 22, 2015

Expat Insider: The Hard-Working Austrian Expat

After sharing a detailed picture of life in Austria for the international expat, InterNations shares with you a picture of life abroad for the Austrian expat. It revolves around work, but getting to know new friends through work and a relatively high income sweeten the deal.

August 27, 2015

Expat Insider: Country Report Austria - Safe & Sound

InterNations shares with you a detailed picture of life abroad in Austria: why people relocate, what their daily life is like, and how satisfied they are. Known for schnitzels, mountains, and bodybuilders turned governors, Austria has excellent rankings in the Quality of Life, Working Abroad, and Family Life Indices, but settling in isn't easy. They provide an in-depth country profile of Austria. Read on and find out what expatriate life in your dream destination Austria is actually like.

August 25, 2015

Austria Introduces New Visa Rules for Chinese, Indian and Indonesian Business Travellers

Austria has decided to introduce a liberalized regime for issue of business visas to Austria, effective from August 1, 2015. In an initial pilot phase, the new regime will be applicable only to India, China, and Indonesia.

July 29, 2015

Rembrandt, Titian and Bellotto in Prince Eugene's Winter Palace in Vienna

The winter palace is showing around 100 important works of grand masters from the Dresden Picture Gallery.

June 26, 2015

“The Third Man” - Brand New Release of the Greatest Film of all Time

Silver screen classic “The Third Man” was shot in Vienna in 1948. It is considered to be the greatest film of all time. A brand new release of “The Third Man” will be presented in selected cinemas to audiences fully restored in 4k resolution from 26 June. This year also marks the 100th birthday of Orson Welles, who played Harry Lime.

June 25, 2015

Lower Belvedere Exhibition: Klimt and the Ringstrasse

The "Klimt and the Ringstrasse" exhibition in at the Lower Belvedere is dedicated to those charismatic painters of the Ringstrasse who exercised a profound influence on their time, namely to the work of Hans Markart, Gustav Klimt and their associates who were the greatest artists of the Ringstrasse era.

June 24, 2015

Swedish Embassy in Vienna has New Premises

The Swedish Embassy/UN representation and the OSCE-delegation have moved to new premises with extensive entertainment facilities, Schwedenhaus Wien. This represents a new and unique concept which could be a model for how Sweden will be represented abroad in the future. As the Embassy also represents Sweden in Slovakia and Slovenia, Schwedenhaus Wien will have both a regional and multilateral (UN and OSCE) approach.

May 29, 2015

Vienna Museum: "The Ring - The Boulevard’s Early Years, 1857–1865"

The exhibition in the Vienna Museum spans the period from the beginning of planning to the construction of the Ringstrasse in 1857 and its festive opening on 1 May 1865. Plans, designs, models and photographs are put on display for the first time. They tell of architects, painters, and sculptors searching for the style of their age. They illuminate the juxtaposition of demolition and new construction.

May 28, 2015

Expat Survey: 14 Percent of Expatriates Leave Home for Love

InterNations has published the Expat Insider Survey, which sheds light into the world of global relationships. The report reveals that 14 percent of the expatriates across the world leave their home country for love. These romantics live in countries such as Greece or Argentina and 64 percent of them are female.

March 19, 2015

Quality of Living Rankings: Vienna Tops the List Again

Vienna remaines at the top of the 2015 Quality of Living Rankings, boasting the best quality of living for expatriates. In the top 5 there are two other European cities, Zurich (place 2) and Munich (place 4). Also Auckland (3rd) and Vancouver (5th) are among the top five cities.

March 4, 2015

Vienna as a Business Location - The City at a Glance

Vienna combines tradition, culture and quality of life with the factors of a top business location in a unique way. A stable political and economic environment, a research and technology-friendly climate, geographical and cultural proximity to the growth markets in the east and, not least, the highest quality of life in the world provide for a place at the very top of the world’s rankings.

January 27, 2015

Vienna as a Business Location - Areas of Strength

Vienna combines tradition, culture and quality of life with the factors of a top business location in a unique way. A stable political and economic environment, a research and technology-friendly climate, geographical and cultural proximity to the growth markets in the east and, not least, the highest quality of life in the world provide for a place at the very top of the world’s rankings.

January 22, 2015

10 Reasons Why You Should Invest In Vienna

In this post you'll find the top 10 reasons why your company or institution should consider investing in Vienna/Austria. In fact, we'll share the international studies which confirm the numbers and facts including its closest competitors. We look at the quality of living, the smart cities index, the prosperity, international congresses and conventions, the most reputable cities, the innovation cities index, online cities, business friendliness and other factors that influence the decision making.

January 20, 2015

Cost of Living Rankings: CEE Capitals Cheaper, Vienna is 32nd Most Expensive City

The Mercer's 2014 Cost of Living Rankings have been published and cover 211 cities across five continents. While Western European cities have all risen in the rankings mainly due to the strengthening of the Euro against the US dollar, most cities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), however have fallen in the ranking as a result of local currencies depreciating against the US dollar. Bratislava (#84), Prague (#92), Kiev (#98), Ljubljana (#116), Zagreb (#120), Budapest (#135), Warsaw (#142), Belgrade (#184).

July 25, 2014

Living Expenses for Expats in Austria

In global rankings, Vienna often emerges as a relatively low-cost destination for expatriates. But what does this mean in terms of day-to-day expenses? We explore the cost of living in Austria below.

December 16, 2013 · Sponsored Content

Viennese Office Market: Collapse Threatens

Although office rents are relatively low in Austria´s capital, multinational companies tend to establish their headquarters elsewhere. Real estate experts fear a vicious circle.

March 5, 2012
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