The Austrian authorities have said that it will be possible in the future to register secondary residence electronically.
An amendment to the Registration Act that will enable electronic registration of secondary residence in the future was passed in the Council of Ministers on September 20, 2023.
As the Ministry of Interior of Austria explains, the amendment will further digitalise registration and will make it possible to transfer secondary residence in the future.
As for now, it is already possible to move or deregister the main residence electronically but not to register the secondary residence.
Commenting on the move, the Minister of Interior of Austria, Gerhard Karner, said that this change will make administrative procedures easier for applicants.
The same stressed that the possibility of registering secondary residence electronically will also ease the burden on communities.
The change to the registration law takes a further step towards making administrative procedures easier and more up-to-date for people. This new option for digital registration of residence will also relieve the burden on communities.
As the Austrian government explains, in contrast to the main residence, secondary residence refers to the place of residence one chooses when studying or working in another country.
As for the time that a person can have a secondary residence in Austria, the government noted that they can continue to reside in the country for as long as a ‘connecting factor’ exists.
Overall, it is possible to establish as many ‘secondary residences’ as desired.
When registering for residence, a separate registration form must be completed for each individual.
When completing the registration form, people are required to provide their personal information, including name, surname, date of birth, place of birth and nationality. Moreover, they must submit any certificates of academic qualifications.
As data provided by Austria’s Federal Statistical Office show, at the beginning of this year, a total of 1,410,630 people had Austria registered as their secondary country of residence.
Such a number registered in January 2023 represents an increase compared to the same month in 2022 when 1,396,494 people had secondary residences in Austria.
Of all federal provinces, it has been revealed that the highest number of secondary residences was registered in Lower Austria – 364,790.
Lower Austria was followed by Vienna (268,002), Upper Austria (170,438), Styria (158,531), and Tyrol (143,549). The others, such as Vorarlberg and Burgenland, had lower rates.
