Can foreigners buy property in Austria?

The essentials in brief

• EU, EEA, Switzerland: treated the same as Austrians. In Lower Austria a statutory declaration (eidesstattliche Erklärung) is enough; in Vienna you can apply for a confirmation that no permit is required (Negativbestätigung).
• Non-EU countries: a permit is required. The rules are provincial law and differ from province to province.
• Vienna: the MA 35 decides. Grounds for a permit are an urgent personal housing need, an economic interest (an investment creating jobs) or a rounding-off of adjoining land (Arrondierung). Fee: 130 € provincial charge plus 21 € federal fee per applicant.
• Lower Austria: the provincial government decides. The application must be filed within three months of signing the contract. The condition is an economic, social or cultural interest — or at least ten years of principal residence (Hauptwohnsitz) in Austria.
• Purchase costs are the same for foreigners as for Austrians: property transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) 3.5 %, land register entry 1.1 %, agent's commission up to 3 % plus 20 % VAT.
• No residence permit through buying property. Austria has no “golden visa”.
• Russia and Belarus: the purchase itself is not prohibited, but payments and deposits above 100,000 € fall under EU sanctions rules.

Who counts as a foreigner when buying property?

Acquisition of property by foreigners (Ausländergrunderwerb) is the acquisition of ownership or other rights in a property by a person without Austrian citizenship or by a company with its seat abroad. It is governed by a separate provincial law in every federal province — in Vienna by the Wiener Ausländergrunderwerbsgesetz, in Lower Austria by the NÖ Grundverkehrsgesetz 2007.

Citizens of the EU and the EEA as well as Swiss nationals are treated as equals. In Vienna, British nationals with residence status under Article 50 TEU and Japanese nationals holding an Austrian residence title also need no permit. In Lower Austria a company whose capital is mostly held by foreigners is likewise deemed foreign; arrangements designed to circumvent the permit requirement are subject to a permit there as well.

Which rules apply in Vienna?

In Vienna, a person from a non-EU country needs a permit from the MA 35 (immigration and citizenship) in order to acquire ownership. The authority grants it on one of three grounds:

• Social interest: the urgent housing need of the applicant — that is, the flat for themselves.
• Economic interest: a substantial investment that creates jobs on the property.
• Arrondierung: the acquisition rounds off an adjoining property already owned by the person.

For the application the MA 35 needs the signed and certified purchase contract, a current land register extract, the passport and the residence title. A draft contract is not enough. The fee is 130 € for the acquisition of ownership plus a 21 € federal fee per applicant. The city does not state a statutory processing deadline.

What this means in practice: for a non-EU national, a flat bought purely as an investment, without a personal housing need in Vienna, can hardly be justified on social grounds. Those who live in Vienna and intend to live there have the best prospects.

Which rules apply in Lower Austria?

In Lower Austria the provincial government decides. The application must be filed within three months of concluding the contract. A permit is granted only if

1. no state-political or public interests are impaired,
2. there is no conviction for an intentional offence carrying more than six months or for a fiscal offence, and
3. an economic, social or cultural interest exists or the person has had their principal residence (Hauptwohnsitz) in Austria for at least ten years.

Without a permit, a joint acquisition with an Austrian spouse and certain transfers within the family are possible, for example. Instead of an application, EU and EEA citizens submit a statutory declaration on the prescribed form.

Vienna, Lower Austria and EU citizens compared

How does the purchase work for non-EU nationals?

The process differs from an ordinary purchase mainly in that the contract only takes effect once the permit is granted.

1. Clarify your status — before viewings. Citizenship, residence title, length of principal residence and the purpose of the purchase decide whether a permit is realistic and in which province.
2. Prove the financing and the origin of the funds. Banks and trustees check where the money comes from. Prepare the documents early.
3. Purchase offer with a permit proviso. The offer and the contract state that the purchase only becomes effective with official approval and what happens if it is refused.
4. Sign the purchase contract and have the signatures certified. The purchase price is usually transferred to the escrow account (Treuhandkonto) of the notary or lawyer and is paid out to the seller only after registration.
5. File the application with the authority. In Vienna with the MA 35, in Lower Austria with the provincial government within three months.
6. Permit, then the land register. With the decision, ownership is entered. If the permit is refused, the contract is unwound in line with the agreed clause.

What does buying cost for foreigners?

The purchase costs are the same for foreigners as for Austrians: around 10 % of the purchase price, around 11 % with a loan. Added to that are the permit fees and, where necessary, certified translations of documents. All items with worked examples are in our guide Additional costs when buying property.

Do buyers from abroad get a mortgage?

Yes, but on stricter terms. From buyers without Austrian income, banks as a rule require considerably more equity than the usual 20 % plus purchase costs; in our practice 40–50 % is not unusual. Income from the EU is recognised more readily than income from non-EU countries. More on this in the guide Property financing and in the mortgage calculator.

Does buying property give a right of residence in Austria?

No. Buying a property does not establish a residence title in Austria; there is no “golden visa”. Your own flat can serve as proof of locally customary accommodation in a residence procedure — but it does not replace any of the other requirements.

What applies to buyers from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine?

Russia and Belarus. EU sanctions do not prohibit the purchase of property by Russian nationals. In 2024 the European Court of Justice confirmed that notarising such a purchase is permissible. However, Article 5b of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 prohibits banks from accepting deposits of more than 100,000 € from Russian nationals or persons resident in Russia. Exempt are, among others, persons holding a temporary or permanent residence title in an EU state. Comparable rules apply to Belarus. Anyone on a sanctions list cannot buy. The bank and the trustee check every case in advance — allow time for that.

Ukraine. Ukrainian nationals are non-EU nationals and need a permit. In Vienna the usual ground is their own housing need.

How ImmoLöwin supports you

We check your status before the first viewing, so that you do not lose time on properties that cannot be approved. We advise in German, Russian, English and Ukrainian, coordinate the notary or lawyer and accompany the application through to registration. View current properties or book a consultation.