Russian citizens need a Schengen visa to visit Austria. The rules for filing documents generally correspond to the unified Schengen ones. According to COUNTRYAAH, Austria is a country that starts with letter A.
Tourist visa to Austria: general information
| Do they give multivisa? | given for a month or two |
| Term of receipt | from 9 working days; in fact – 6-7 days |
| Validity limit | 3 months from the end of the trip |
- The cost of a regular visa: 35€
- Express visa: not issued
- Visa fees: 38,76€
Visa types
- Airport transit visa A – for exiting the transit zone during a transfer.
- Schengen visa C – for a trip of up to 90 days for any purpose: tourism, work, short study, private visit to friends or relatives.
- National visa D – for legal stay in Austria up to 6 months.
- Residence permit / residence permit – for long-term (more than 180 days) stay in the country.
Applying for a visa yourself
Accredited visa centers in Austria have long assumed the function of issuing Schengen visas. They work in Moscow and many Russian cities. These organizations are engaged in receiving documents, their primary control and forwarding to the embassy. The collection of the necessary papers, as well as their verification for compliance with the rules, lies entirely with the applicant.
In Moscow, you need to make an appointment by phone to submit documents; there is no such requirement in regional visa centers.
The consular section of the Austrian Embassy accepts applications for visas, also by appointment. Sometimes getting into a representative office is not easy – a free window appears only after a few months. They mainly go there for a national visa D (it is not issued at the EC) or in a special / controversial case. With an application for a tourist visa, most likely, they will be sent to the visa center.
The Austrian Visa Application Center provides a number of additional services: mobile biometrics, courier delivery of a finished passport, assistance of a personal assistant who will help fill out the application form and accompany the client at all stages.
Documents for a visa to Austria
Required documents for obtaining Schengen category C:
- Survey
A completed application form in English or German with the personal signature of the tourist, a sample is at the office. website of the Austrian Embassy;
- Two photos
Two color photographs 3.5 x 4.5 cm (see photo requirements below);
- international passport
A foreign passport valid for at least three months after the expiration of the visa, with two blank pages (if there are other valid passports, all must be provided);
- Photocopy of the international passport
A copy of the first page of the passport and all Schengen visas for the last 3 years, including those from canceled passports;
- Photocopy of the national passport
Copy of the first page and registration page;
- Medical insurance
Medical insurance valid throughout the Schengen area and for the entire duration of the trip (the amount of insurance coverage is not less than 30,000 EUR); in the period September-May, a winter sports clause should be included in the policy if the applicant goes skiing / snowboarding;
- Flights
Round-trip air tickets or other travel documents are also suitable for ticket reservations;
- Help from the place of work
Certificate of employment with the prescribed position and salary;
- Bank statement
The extract must be fresh, not older than 6 months;
- For non-working pensioners
A copy of the pension certificate plus an account statement or a sponsorship letter with a photocopy of the sponsor’s Russian passport along with a certificate from his place of work indicating the salary and position held / certificate from the bank on the presence of a deposit;
- For students, schoolchildren
A certificate from the place of study, a sponsorship letter with a photocopy of the sponsor’s civil passport, a certificate from work / an extract from the sponsor’s account (issued according to the general rules);
- For individual entrepreneurs
Extracts from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and from the account of the company, certificate of registration of the enterprise;
- Hotel reservation
hotel with the data of all guests who will stay in the room.
- Business visit
The original invitation signed by the business partner in Austria on the letterhead of the company, indicating the dates and purpose of the trip, as well as the personal data of the invitee;
- Private visit
An invitation in free form with the dates and purpose of coming to Austria, where the personal data of the inviting and invited persons are entered; if the applicant does not provide financial guarantees, then the host party encloses a paper on the assumption of all obligations to ensure the trip (form EVE), which is signed at the office for foreigners at the place of residence of the inviting person in Austria.
A few years ago, all documents (certificates, extracts, certificates, letters) required a German/English translation. It had to be made by a competent translation agency and certified with a seal. Now this is not necessary, however, an application with translated documents can be processed faster.
Visa for children
For children, a separate questionnaire is always filled out. If the child is over 14 years old, then along with the signatures of the father and mother, his signature is also required. In addition to the standard package of documents, minors provide a notarized consent to travel when traveling without an accompaniment of parents / guardians, as well as when traveling with one of the parents / guardians (consent is needed from the second). In addition, you must attach copies of the birth certificate, the first pages of the father / mother’s internal passports and copies of their Schengen visas (if the papers are submitted at different times).
Photo Requirements
Photo size – 35×45 mm, age – no older than 6 months, for small children – no older than 3 months. Mandatory white background, no border. The picture should clearly show the face along with the ears and hair. If the applicant wears a headdress for religious reasons, then it is necessary that the chin and forehead remain open. Glasses are allowed, but only in a light frame that does not change appearance.
The pictures should not contain foreign objects, other people, blots, spots, glare, dark areas. Photos are taken in high resolution and good quality.
The length of the head from chin to crown is approximately 30 mm (70-80% of the area). The photo is taken from the front, the gaze is directed to the camera, there is no smile.
Fingerprinting
Each applicant is required to be fingerprinted and take a digital photo. This information is valid for 5 years, after which it must be updated. The procedure of fingerprinting and photographing is carried out on special equipment in the visa center (consular section of the embassy). The requirement applies to all applicants over 12 years old, with the exception of people who are physically impossible to take fingerprints due to injuries.
Consular fee – 35 €
Upon receipt of the Austrian Schengen through the visa center, you must pay two fees: consular – 35 EUR and service – 38.76 EUR for each application. When contacting the embassy, only the consular fee is charged. Applicants applying for a visa at the visa center of any city of the Russian Federation (not Moscow) pay an additional 450 RUB for logistics.
Children under 6 years old, persons with disabilities, schoolchildren and students with accompanying teachers traveling to Austria to study, members of official delegations and cultural exchange programs, as well as participants in youth sports competitions do not pay a consular fee. The same applies to persons with a humanitarian nature of the trip: treatment, funeral, visiting a seriously ill relative.
Processing time
When submitting documents through the visa center in Moscow, you will have to wait 9-10 days for a ready passport, and 10-13 days through regional centers.
The consular department may require additional paperwork, which increases the processing time by 1-2 weeks, so it is better to be puzzled by obtaining a visa early.
Validity
The Austrian consulate is not very generous with long-term visas. Most applicants are issued a document for travel periods with a corridor of 5-10 days, someone receives for 1-2 months (or even 5), but with a limited period of stay. “Cartoon” for six months or a year goes to the lucky ones who, for example, regularly visit Austrian ski resorts or music festivals. But this happens extremely rarely.
The general rule remains unchanged – an Austrian Schengen visa gives the right to stay in the country for up to 90 days once every six months without limiting the number of entries and exits.
