I am going to Austria for training at our parent company. Is that a business visa?

Austria treats it differently from meetings. Where the purpose is training, voluntary work or project work, the checklist requires permission from the Austrian Labour Market Authority (AMS) — an Entsendebewilligung or Anzeigebestätigung — obtained by the inviting Austrian company before you apply.

What does the Austrian company need to send?

Either an invitation letter, or an EVE — the Elektronische Verpflichtungserklärung, an electronic letter of guarantee that the Austrian business obtains from the competent authority in Austria. The checklist accepts one or the other.

Does the order of documents matter?

Yes. Austria's checklists ask for the documentation to be arranged in the same order as the list.

Can my passport have a handwritten correction?

No. Austria requires that there be no alteration or handwritten amendment concerning the data page.

How much insurance cover is needed?

A minimum of EUR 30,000, valid throughout the Member States for the entire period of the intended stay.

Austria · Visa guide

Austria Business Visa

A short-stay Schengen visa for business meetings and establishing contacts in Austria.

ProcessingUsually about 15 calendar days once all documents are submitted
Visa categoryBusiness Visa
Your guideOne consultant

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A business visitor visa is refused when the purpose looks like work. Call us with the invitation and your company details. We tell you if the purpose reads right.

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Austria Business Visa — overview

An Austrian business visa is a short-stay Schengen visa (Type C): up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Austria's checklist is the 2026 edition and asks for documents in a fixed order.

Austria separates business meetings from everything else. If the purpose is training, voluntary work or project work, the Austrian company must first obtain permission from the Labour Market Authority (AMS). For ordinary meetings, the Austrian side provides either an invitation letter or the electronic guarantee known as the EVE.

Earliest slot we saw

Checked by hand · 26 September

Bengaluru: 1 Oct
Mumbai: 5 Oct
New Delhi: 5 Oct
Chandigarh: 7 Oct

Tourist / short-stay appointments only. A snapshot from the portal on the date above, not a live feed. Slots move hour to hour and we never hold or sell them. All centres & jurisdictions

Meetings are business. Training and project work are something else.

Austria's checklist draws this line in item 5, before it even reaches the invitation: in case the purpose of travel is other than business meetings — training, voluntary work or project work — the file needs permission from the Austrian Labour Market Authority, the AMS, in the form of an Entsendebewilligung or an Anzeigebestätigung, obtained by the inviting Austrian company.

Being sent to a group company for a fortnight's training, or to work alongside the Austrian team on a project, is not a meeting — and an application that describes it as one is describing the wrong visa. The AMS step belongs to the Austrian company and takes place in Austria, so it has to be raised with them at the start. We ask what you will actually be doing before we draft a word.

Invitation letter, or EVE

For genuine business meetings, the Austrian side provides one of two documents:

an invitation letter from the Austrian company or business operation; or
an EVE — Elektronische Verpflichtungserklärung, the electronic letter of guarantee, which the Austrian business obtains from the competent authority in Austria.

Where the Austrian company is covering your costs, the EVE records that guarantee formally. Either document is accepted.

Austria's two house rules

Order. The checklist is headed "to be arranged in same order". We build the file in that sequence and tab it.
The data page. No alteration or handwritten amendment on the passport's data page. If yours has one, renew the passport first.

Your own letter still matters

Item 7 is a cover letter from the applicant: purpose, duration, anyone travelling with you, transport and accommodation. With a corporate invitation in hand it is tempting to treat this as a formality. It is where the dates, the hotel, the flights and the Austrian letter are tied together in your own words — and it should match all of them.

Source: Austrian Embassy, New Delhi — Visa for Business Purpose checklist (2026 edition), as issued through VFS Global and held in our knowledge base. Requirements change; confirm against the current checklist before you submit.

10 items

Documents you need

Application form
Fully completed and signed by the applicant, with documents arranged in the checklist's order.
Passport
Valid at least three months after your last intended departure from the Schengen states, at least two blank pages, issued within the previous 10 years, and with no alteration or handwritten amendment on the data page.
One photograph
Meeting ICAO international standards.
AMS permission — for anything other than business meetings
For training, voluntary work, project work and similar purposes: permission from the Austrian Labour Market Authority (Entsendebewilligung or Anzeigebestätigung), obtained by the inviting Austrian company.
Invitation from the Austrian company — or an EVE
An invitation letter from the Austrian company or business operation, OR the electronic letter of guarantee (EVE — Elektronische Verpflichtungserklärung), which the Austrian business obtains from the competent authority in Austria.
Cover letter from you
Purpose of travel, duration, names of anyone accompanying you, and transport and accommodation details.
Flight reservation and itinerary
Round-trip airline reservation, and proof of other travel within Austria or the EU if you are travelling onward.
Proof of accommodation
Hotel reservation or other documents showing your travel plans within Austria and the EU.
Travel medical insurance
Valid across all Member States for the whole stay, minimum EUR 30,000.
Permit to return to India, if applicable
For non-Indian nationals resident in India: a valid Indian residence permit or return visa.

5 steps

How the process works

Typical processing: Usually about 15 calendar days once all documents are submitted — may extend up to 45 calendar days.

Step 1
Free eligibility review
We confirm the business-visa route and build a checklist for you and the inviting Austrian company.
Step 2
Coordinate the invitation & build the file
The Austrian invitation or EVE, business documents and finances are prepared and cross-checked.
Step 3
Book the VFS Global appointment
We schedule your submission and biometrics slot at VFS Global.
Step 4
Submit & give biometrics
You attend the VFS centre to submit the file and provide biometrics.
Step 5
Decision & passport return
The Austrian mission decides the application and your passport is returned through VFS.

Transparent

Costs & fees

Item

Amount

Schengen visa fee

Payable in INR.

EUR 90

VFS Global service fee

Plus optional add-ons.

INR 2,479

Government and third-party fees change often — we confirm the exact current amounts for your case before you pay anything.

5 answers

Frequently asked questions

Austria treats it differently from meetings. Where the purpose is training, voluntary work or project work, the checklist requires permission from the Austrian Labour Market Authority (AMS) — an Entsendebewilligung or Anzeigebestätigung — obtained by the inviting Austrian company before you apply.
Either an invitation letter, or an EVE — the Elektronische Verpflichtungserklärung, an electronic letter of guarantee that the Austrian business obtains from the competent authority in Austria. The checklist accepts one or the other.
Yes. Austria's checklists ask for the documentation to be arranged in the same order as the list.
No. Austria requires that there be no alteration or handwritten amendment concerning the data page.
A minimum of EUR 30,000, valid throughout the Member States for the entire period of the intended stay.

Why it matters

Going it alone vs filing with us

On your own

Guessing the document list — one missing or wrongly formatted paper triggers a refusal.
Generic cover letters copied from the internet that officers recognise and flag.
No read on peak rejection windows or what this visa post is strict about.
Government and VFS fees are non-refundable — money lost if you are refused.
A refusal stamp follows you and weakens every future visa application.

With Lifeset Overseas

An honest case assessment before you spend a rupee on government fees.
A file built to the embassy's exact checklist and in the exact order.
Weak finances, ties or purpose identified and fixed before submission.
Previously refused? We can rescue and rebuild the file.
Every case handled by one consultant, end to end.

Refused before?

A refusal isn't the end

A refusal is not a permanent bar — but it only improves if the actual reason is found and answered, and nobody can tell you a second application will succeed. If a Austria visa has been refused, we: