Entry & Customs Regulations in Austria
Information about travel documents, ID, EES, ETIAS, customs regulations and travelling with pets
EU Entry-Exit System (EES)
On 12 October 2025, the new EU Entry-Exit System (EES) has come into effect. This automated IT system registers non-EU nationals travelling to the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland for a short stay (up to 90 days within any 180-day period). When you enter one of the above countries for the first time, you will have to provide the following biometric data:
a scan of your fingerprints and/or
a photograph of your face
Once you're registered and return, your fingerprints and photo only need to be verified, which will take less time. If you hold a biometric passport, you will then be able to use the time-saving e-gates again (if they are available at your border crossing point).
Please find more information here.
European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS)
ETIAS travel authorisation will start operations in the last quarter of 2026. No action is required from travellers at this point.
Find out more about ETIAS.
In general, checks are no longer carried out within the Schengen area. However, in order to be able to provide proof of identity during random checks, travellers must always carry their travel documents.
Passport controls
Each child needs their own identification document (identity card or passport), as entries in a parent's passport are no longer valid.
Swiss nationals require a valid ID or a passport that hasn't expired for longer than 5 years to enter Austria.
Further information: Austrian Embassy in Bern
Citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany require a valid identity card or passport (or one that has expired within the last 12 months) to enter Austria.
Further information: Austrian Embassy in Berlin
Travellers who are native to the EU, EEA countries, Switzerland, and others with a special agreement (e.g. Australia, Japan, Canada, US) do not need a visa to enter Austria. All other nationalities require a Schengen visa for stays up to 90 days. Please find a Schengen calculator here.
Under the Schengen Agreement, third-country nationals with a visa can enter Austria without a separate Austrian visa.
If you hold a residence permit for a Schengen state, you can travel to other Schengen countries for up to 90 days.
UK, US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Indian Nationals
In principle, customs checks are no longer carried out, but spot checks are possible at any time.
In the case of a direct flight (without a stopover in a third country) from an EU state to another EU state, the exit for EU travellers can be used.
Note: If the journey was started in a state outside the EU and only a stopover/transit stay was made in another EU country before entering Austria, the provisions for travellers from third countries apply.
More information about the free movement of goods in the EU.
Entry from within the European Union
Tobacco products or alcoholic beverages are exempt from duty only for personal use. If the standard quantities stated below are exceeded, you have to proof that the goods are intended for personal use.
Tobacco products:
800 cigarettes
400 cigarillos (maximum 3 g unit weight)
200 cigars
1 kg smoking tobacco
800 "heated" (heat-not-burn) tobacco sticks
Alcoholic beverages:
10 litres of spirits
20 litres of alcoholic beverages other than beer, sparkling wine or wine up to 22 % vol
90 litres of wine (of which max. 60 litres sparkling wine)
110 litres of beer
Here you will find detailed information on the allowances when travelling from EU countries.
This provision does not apply to the Canary Islands (Spain), Gibraltar (Great Britain) and the British Channel Islands (Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, etc.). When entering from these countries, the same import quantities are allowed as when entering from non-EU countries.
Attention: Duty free purchases are no longer possible when travelling directly within the EU.
When passing through customs, you must declare the following goods, i.e. submit a customs declaration for
goods not intended for personal use
goods purchased outside the EU that exceed the allowances for tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, non-sparkling wines, beer and medicines and the exemption limit for other goods
goods that are subject to import bans or import restrictions
Entry from NON-EU countries
Maximum quantities for duty-free import into Austria from third countries for personal use or as a gift in air and sea travel:
Tobacco products:
200 cigarettes OR 100 cigarillos (cigars with a maximum weight of 3 g each) OR 50 cigars OR 250 grams of smoking tobacco OR a proportionate assortment of these goods
Alcoholic beverages:
1 litre of alcohol and alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of more than 22% vol. or undenatured ethyl alcohol of 80% vol. or more, OR 2 litres of alcohol and alcoholic beverages of an alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 22% vol, OR a proportionate assortment of these goods and in addition
4 litres of non-sparkling wines and 16 litres beer
Here you will find detailed information on the allowances for entry from non-EU countries.
Other goods up to a total value of €300 (for entry by land); for air travellers up to a total value of €430.
For travellers under 15 years of age, these two allowances are generally reduced to €150 (regardless of the mode of transportation used). Multiple travellers may not add their travel allowances together.
Travel equipment for personal use during the stay may be imported into Austria duty-free and informally, provided there are no import bans.
Central Inquiry Office/Customs
Customs Office Klagenfurt Villach
Ackerweg 19
9500 Villach
Phone +43 (0) 50 233 740
E-mail zollinfo@bmf.gv.at
This is what you need to keep in mind
A maximum of five animals per person are allowed.
Each animal must be identified by a microchip. However, a tattoo carried out before July 3, 2011 is still valid, provided that it is clearly legible.
Each animal must have a pet passport issued by a veterinarian authorised by the competent authority. It must also show that the animal in question has a valid rabies vaccination and, if applicable, a valid booster vaccination. The rabies vaccination is valid for 21 days after completion of the basic immunisation, if the animal has undergone regular booster vaccination thereafter.
For more information on entry, validity of rabies vaccination and entry requirements for puppies, please visit the website of the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection. There you will also find information on entry and re-entry with pets from third countries to Austria.
Leash and muzzle must be carried during your stay in Austria. In Austria, the regulation of the leash or muzzle obligation is the responsibility of the individual communities. There is no nationwide law in which the leash or muzzle requirement is precisely regulated. The tourism association of the chosen holiday destination can provide precise information about the regulations that apply in the respective municipality.
In general, the Upper Austrian dog-keeping law is taken as a basis.
An excerpt from it:
In the local area, there is a leash OR muzzle obligation. If necessary, but in any case at bus stops, in public transport, in schools and kindergardens/nurseries, in children's playgrounds, as well as in larger gatherings of people, such as in shopping centres, bathing facilities and at events, there is a leash AND muzzle obligation.
Police dogs on duty, assistance and rescue dogs, trained hunting dogs, as well as dogs on whose assistance certain persons are dependent (e.g. guide dogs for the seeing impaired) are exempt from these regulations.
The municipality may determine by ordinance:
where leash OR muzzle obligation does NOT apply in the local area (free running areas)
where leash AND muzzle obligation applies in the local area
where the carrying of dogs is generally prohibited in the local area (dog-free zone)
where leashing OR muzzling is also compulsory outside the local area