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Article 50 Cards
All UK citizens legally resident in Austria under the Settlement and Residence Act prior to the end of the transition periodTransition Period The transition period (also referred to as the implementation period) is the period following the UK's departure from the European Union (on 31.01.2020) until the end of 2020. An option to extend this period has not been taken up by the UK government. (i.e. 31.12.2020) had to apply for their Article 50 card (Art 50 EUVAufenthaltstitel "Artikel 50 EUV" The Aufenthaltstitel "Art 50 EUV" is a residency title to be issued to British citizens from the end of the transition period. Its name is derived from Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. The "Titel" refers to the document or card itself, and not the right, or permission that it confirms. Karte) by the end of 2021. This was irrespective of how long they had been resident in Austria and what previous residence title they had held. Failure to have done so would have meant they would lose the special status that they enjoyed within the scope of the Withdrawal AgreementWithdrawal Agreement The Withdrawal Agreement sets out the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and provides for a deal on citizens’ rights. It sets out a transition period which lasts until 31 December 2020. During this time you can continue to live, work and study in the EU broadly as you did before 31 January 2020. If you are resident in Austria at the end of the transition period, you will be covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, and your rights will be protected for as long as you remain resident in Austria. Any rights that are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement will be the subject of future negotiations. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-withdrawal-agreement-and-political-declaration .
The Ministry of the InteriorBMI The Bundesministerium für Inneres (BMI) - Austria's Ministry for the Interior - is the competent ministry for issues related to residency and citizenship. (BMIBundesministerium für Inneres The Bundesministerium für Inneres (BMI) / Ministry for the Interior (UK counterparty: the Home Office) is competent for public security, policing, border control as well as residency and citizenships. It is also responsible for elections and direct democracy instruments as well as the civil service in the respective provinces, as well as municipal level where they are not covered by the Federal Chancellery.) provided exceptional assistance to UK citizens and tried to resolve all unconcluded applications by mid-2022. Since then, it has only been possible for new applications for children born to rights holders, in some cases of family reunion.
Holders of 5 year cards are able to upgrade to 10 year cards once they reach five years uninterrupted legal residence in Austria. The special, preferential treatment offered in 2021 (separate appointment availability) is no longer guaranteed.
If you have feedback about your Article 50 card applications for newborn children, please let us know through our feedback form.
In 2021, 9,458 applications were made for the Article 50 EUV cardAufenthaltstitel "Artikel 50 EUV" The Aufenthaltstitel "Art 50 EUV" is a residency title to be issued to British citizens from the end of the transition period. Its name is derived from Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. The "Titel" refers to the document or card itself, and not the right, or permission that it confirms. (a figure that includes non-British Angehörige who have also applied). As of 01.01.2021 there were 11,529 UK Citizens resident in Austria.
Austria by Region
 Burgenland |  Carinthia |  Lower Austria |
 Salzburg |  Styria |  Tyrol |
 Upper Austria |  Vienna |  Vorarlberg |
Exchange your UK driving licence…
If you are resident in Austria, you are required to exchange your UK driving licence. Failure to do so within six months of establishing residency in Austria means that you are driving illegally with a British driving licence, and you risk large fines and invalidating your insurance.
Effects of Brexit for British citizens in Austria
The Withdrawal Agreement enables both EU citizens and UK nationals, as well as their respective family members, to continue to exercise their rights derived from Union law in each other’s territories, for the rest of their lives, where those rights were based on life choices made before the end of the transition period at the end of 2020. These over 3 million EU citizens in the United Kingdom, and over 1 million UK nationals in EU countries, as well as their respective family members, can continue to live, work or study in the host state as they currently do under the same substantive conditions as under Union law, benefiting in full from the application of the prohibition of any discrimination on grounds of nationality and of the right to equal treatment compared to host state nationals.