Austria visa guideAn Austrian business visa is a Schengen short-stay visa (type C) for meetings, sales visits and establishing contacts, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. You fill in Austria's application form in English or German, lodge it at a VFS centre such as Chandigarh or Jalandhar, and the Austrian Embassy in New Delhi decides, usually within 15 working days of receiving the file.
Austria separates meetings from everything else. Training, voluntary work and project work need permission from the Labour Market Authority (AMS), obtained by the Austrian company. For ordinary meetings the Austrian side sends either an invitation letter or the electronic sponsorship declaration known as the EVE.
Do Indians need a visa for a business trip to Austria, and which one?
Yes: a Schengen short-stay visa, type C, filed under Austria's business checklist. VFS describes the Austrian business visa as the one for people doing business in Austria, such as making sales or establishing contacts on behalf of a company outside India. It allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area. You fill in Austria's paper application form in English or German, lodge it at VFS, and the Austrian Embassy in New Delhi decides.
Austria separates meetings from everything that looks like work. The Embassy says the visa C is for business purposes without gainful employment, and that anyone who wants to pursue gainful employment or a short activity similar to it, such as an internship, always needs a visa for that. The business checklist puts this into one line before it even reaches the invitation: if the purpose is training, voluntary work or project work, the inviting Austrian company must first obtain permission from the Labour Market Authority, the AMS.
Austria business visa at a glance
- Visa
- Schengen short-stay visa, type C, business checklist
- Stay allowed
- Up to 90 days in any 180-day period
- Decided by
- Austrian Embassy, New Delhi
- From the Austrian sideEVE: electronic declaration of sponsorship filed in Austria
- Invitation letter or an EVE
- Training or project workObtained by the inviting Austrian company
- AMS permission needed first
- Visa feePlus the VFS service charge
- €90
Austrian Embassy New Delhi business checklist (March 2026) and VFS Global Austria, checked 14 Oct 2026
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
Through VFS Global. Of the Austrian visa centres VFS runs in India, the closest to Punjab are Chandigarh and Jalandhar, with Gurugram and New Delhi a short drive further; all open Monday to Friday. Every file from every centre goes to the one Austrian Embassy in New Delhi, so pick the centre with the earliest date.
Busy executives often ask whether someone else can lodge the file. VFS allows submission through an authorised travel agent only when your fingerprints were captured within the last 59 months, and Austria's checklist wants an original authorisation letter naming the representative and their organisation, plus a copy of a valid photo ID. A previous Schengen visa in an old passport does not count: VFS says you then give biometrics again in person.
For group trips paid by an employer, such as dealer or sales-incentive tours, Austria has a separate incentive groups checklist and VFS category. A normal one-person business trip uses the business checklist. To see how dates are opening up, check our Austria appointment availability page.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The common checklist further down covers the basics. The core of an Austrian business file is item 6 of the checklist: either an invitation letter from the Austrian company or business operation, or an EVE (Elektronische Verpflichtungserklärung), which the Austrian business obtains from the competent authority in Austria. The Embassy's website spells out what a business invitation should carry: signed by the inviting Austrian company on company paper, in the original (or sent by the company to the Consulate by fax or email), stating the purpose, the travel dates, and your name, date of birth and passport number.
Employee sent by an Indian company
- What to add
- Salary certificates for the last 3 months, employment contract and a company NOC for the leave, plus your official email or HR's email on the form, or a business card with your official email
Owner, partner or director
- What to add
- GST certificate, Udyam (Udyog Aadhaar) memorandum, Import Export Certificate, Certificate of Incorporation or similar; the Embassy also mentions an excerpt from the company register
Training, voluntary work or project work at the Austrian company
- What to add
- AMS permission (Entsendebewilligung or Anzeigebestätigung), obtained by the inviting Austrian company
Austrian company covering your costs
- What to add
- The EVE reference instead of, or with, the invitation letter
Onward meetings elsewhere in the EU
- What to add
- Proof of the other travel within Austria and the EU, alongside the round-trip flight reservation
Group incentive trip
- What to add
- Austria's incentive groups checklist instead of the business one
All business applicants also give original bank statements for the last 3 months (stamped and signed by the bank, as VFS requires), ITRs with barcode for the last 2 years, copies of the passport pages with earlier visas, and contact details: an operational email, a mobile number and a business card.
How much is the Austria business visa fee for Indians?
The visa fee is €90, which the VFS fee tab showed as ₹9,900 on 14 October 2026; VFS resets the rupee figure with the exchange rate at month end. The VFS service charge is ₹2,479 per applicant, GST included, and can be paid by cash, card or UPI. Neither amount is refunded if the visa is refused, and our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
Allow up to 15 working days from the day the Embassy receives your complete file, as the business checklist and the VFS processing tab both state; the time the passport spends in transport is extra. The Embassy's website gives 15 calendar days as the norm and warns that processing may currently take longer, and individual files can take up to 45 calendar days. Plan on the working-day figure.
Two dates matter. You can apply up to six months before the trip. And the checklist warns that a file reaching the Embassy less than 15 working days before travel is sent back to VFS with the passport, which is why it advises applying at least 1 month ahead. For a fair or meeting with a fixed date, book the VFS appointment as soon as the invitation is in hand, and earlier still before holiday periods.
Why do Austria business visas get refused for Indian applicants?
The Embassy must be satisfied that the purpose is plausible and verifiable, that costs are covered from your own assets or income, and that you will leave the Schengen area in time. Business files usually fail on one of these.
Training or project work filed as meetings
A fortnight's training at a group company, or working alongside the Austrian team on a project, is not a business meeting. Without the AMS permission obtained by the Austrian company, the trip is filed on the wrong basis. The permission is applied for in Austria, so it cannot be fixed at the VFS counter.
An invitation that does not identify you (reasons 2 and 10)
The Embassy expects the invitation to name the purpose, the travel dates, and your name, date of birth and passport number, signed on company paper. A generic "please visit us" letter leaves the purpose unverifiable.
A business the officer cannot check
Owners must show the business exists: a GST certificate, Udyam memorandum, IEC or Certificate of Incorporation, and ideally a company register extract. A letterhead alone proves nothing.
Personal finances and roots left out (reasons 3 and 13)
Austria asks for your own bank statements and ITRs with barcode even when the company pays. Without them the officer cannot see your means or the economic ties that bring you back, such as your job, your business or property in India.
Each numbered reason is explained on our Schengen refusal reasons page. If a refusal does come, the Embassy names two remedies, a "Vorstellung" at the consulate or an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court; Austria's Interior Ministry sets the deadline at 4 weeks.
Tips for a stronger file
- Brief the Austrian side early. Send them the Embassy's list: original on company paper, purpose, travel dates, your name, date of birth and passport number.
- Match the two letters. Your own cover letter must give the same purpose, duration, travel companions, transport and accommodation as the invitation and bookings.
- Use your office email. Austria's checklist wants your official email, or HR's, on the form, or a business card showing it.
- File in the checklist's order. The checklist is headed "To be arranged in same order".
- Check the data page. A passport with any alteration or handwritten amendment on the data page is not accepted.
- ITRs with barcode and stamped statements. Both are on the checklist for every applicant, owners included.
- Insurance from the approved list. Since 1 March 2026, applications lodged in India need an insurer from the approved list, with at least €30,000 of cover.
- Reservation, not ticket. A round-trip reservation is enough; the Embassy does not require a paid ticket.
When does Austria treat a business trip as work?
When the activity goes beyond meetings, negotiations and making contacts. Austria's business checklist names training, voluntary work and project work as purposes that need permission from the AMS: an Entsendebewilligung (a posting permit) or an Anzeigebestätigung (a confirmation of notification), obtained by the inviting Austrian company. The Embassy adds that temporary self-employment, temporary dependent employment, seasonal work and trainee activities need a visa for gainful employment, and it refers questions about labour market permits to the AMS directly.
Settle this with your Austrian host before anything else, because the AMS step happens in Austria and takes time. Paid work needs a work visa, not a business visa.
What is an EVE, and should the Austrian company file one?
An EVE is an electronic declaration of sponsorship filed in Austria. Austria's Interior Ministry explains that the inviting person, company or association with its seat in Austria declares that it will cover all costs that public bodies may incur through your stay, even beyond the period of the invitation. A company's authorised representative files it, free of charge, at the regional police directorate for the company's seat. A sole trader inviting mainly for business must appear in person with a company register extract or trade licence and proof of creditworthiness, preferably a credit agency extract, and if possible papers on the business relationship with you.
The company needs a copy of your passport data page and your full address in India. Once the EVE is filed, the company receives an ID number and passes it to you. You lodge your application at the earliest 48 hours after the EVE was filed, quoting that number. The business checklist accepts either the EVE or an invitation letter; the EVE matters most when the Austrian side is paying for your stay. For the wider picture, see the Austria country page and the Austria tourist visa guide.
Official sources
- Visa, Austrian Embassy New Delhi (BMEIA)
- Einreise / Visa / Visumfreiheit / EVE, Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior
- VFS Global Austria India: visa types, fees and processing time
- VFS Global Austria India: visa application centres
- VFS Global Austria India: what happens at the centre
- Information on Travel Medical Insurance (approved list applied by Austria), German Missions in India
- Visa Code, consolidated text (EUR-Lex)
