Removals to Austria from UK
Moving to Austria from the UK places you in a country that consistently ranks among the best in Europe to live in, and on a removal route that, while longer than France or the Netherlands, is one our teams cover regularly and know well. With over 20 years of combined experience in fully managed European relocations, Total Moving Solutions has helped thousands of families and businesses move abroad, many of them to Austria.
Whether you are relocating for work, moving a family home, or making a permanent fresh start, our managed removals to Austria cover every stage: survey, professional packing, road transport, customs clearance, and delivery to your new Austrian address.
We also handle removals from Austria to the UK. If you are returning home or a business is repatriating staff, the same fully managed service runs in both directions. Call or click for a quick quote and we will have a plan back to you promptly.
This page covers what it costs, how the process works, what the Austrian customs requirements look like after Brexit, and what to expect when you arrive.
What takes people from the UK to Austria
The majority of British nationals moving to Austria do so for work. Vienna’s position as a hub for international organisations (the IAEA, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and UNIDO are all headquartered there), combined with a strong economy in IT, engineering, healthcare, and finance, makes it a natural destination for skilled professionals.
Austria has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe and an active shortage occupations list that keeps the job market open to qualified UK applicants across a wide range of sectors.
Families follow partners and spouses, or make the move independently, drawn by excellent public schooling, a healthcare system that performs well by European standards, and a quality of everyday life that is genuinely hard to match in the UK. Retirees and remote workers choose Austria for space, clean air, and proximity to the Alps. Whatever the reason, the removal follows the same well-established road route and the customs process is the same for everyone.
A significant share of removals to Austria are employer-led. Multinational companies use Vienna as their Central and Eastern European base, and UK staff are regularly seconded to Austrian operations across energy, finance, technology, and professional services. Intra-company transfers of this kind often involve tighter timelines and sometimes a smaller volume of goods than a full family relocation, but the customs and permit requirements are identical. We work directly with corporate relocation teams and HR departments alongside the individual moving, coordinating documentation and scheduling around business handover dates rather than standard moving windows.
English is the working language across most of Vienna’s international employers and organisations, which removes a barrier that puts many people off moves to France or Spain. While German is the language of daily life outside the office, a relocating UK professional can function from day one while language skills build naturally over time.
For families with school-age children, Vienna has a well-established international school sector covering British, American, and IB curricula. Outside the capital, Graz and Salzburg have growing international communities driven by their respective university and technology clusters, and English proficiency across professional Austria is among the highest in the German-speaking world.
Interactive cost explorer: select a property size to see estimated UK to Austria removal costs
Tap your property size for an instant cost estimate
1-bedroom flat
£800 – £1,800
Part-load (groupage) available; London to Vienna is approximately 1,500 km by road.
How much does it cost to move from the UK to Austria?
Austria sits toward the longer end of the European removal map from the UK. London to Vienna is roughly 1,500 kilometres by road via the Channel Tunnel, through northern France and Germany or Switzerland, with Salzburg and Innsbruck somewhat closer at around 1,200 to 1,300 kilometres and destinations like Graz and Klagenfurt adding a little more distance again. All of that feeds into the price, and the widget above breaks it down by property size.
Every figure covers the complete managed service: collection, professional packing, export-grade materials, a full itemised inventory, customs documentation, and delivery to your Austrian address. For a precise quote based on your actual inventory and destination, get in touch and your Move Manager will build one from your specific details.
How we manage your removal to Austria
The road from the UK to Austria runs via the Channel Tunnel to northern France, then east through Belgium and Germany or south through Switzerland, and into Austria. It is a longer drive than northern European destinations, but a well-established one that our drivers cover regularly.
Part-load (groupage) removals
Your consignment travels alongside other households moving on the same route, sharing space in a vehicle and keeping costs down as a result. Every item is professionally packed and fully inventoried before it leaves your UK address, and transit to Austria typically runs 8 to 14 days from collection. It is the right choice for smaller moves, or for anyone whose delivery date has some flexibility built in.
Dedicated removals
A dedicated vehicle carries only your belongings and drives directly to your Austrian address, with delivery to Vienna, Salzburg, or Graz typically taking 3 to 5 days from most UK collection points. It is the natural choice for a full household move, for anyone working to a hard handover date, or whenever your goods need to travel as a single undivided consignment without intermediate handling.
The full process, from survey to delivery
Your Move Manager handles everything from the first survey through to delivery, starting with a home or video survey to calculate volume and build a precise plan around your dates. On move day, our crew packs and loads using export-grade materials, building an itemised inventory as they go, and that inventory becomes the foundation of your customs documentation, which we prepare and submit before anything reaches the Austrian border.
Because we manage the packing ourselves, we can also flag anything that might cause a complication at the Austrian Zollamt before the vehicle leaves your address, rather than discovering a problem after the fact. On arrival at your new Austrian home, we unload and, if requested, unpack and remove all packing materials. If your property is not ready, we can hold your goods in secure storage in the UK, in Austria, or both, for however long you need.
Our service covers specialist items too. Antiques, pianos, artwork, and properties with awkward access are all handled within the same managed service, provided we have sufficient notice to plan accordingly. MoveProtect Enhanced Liability cover is available for anyone who wants additional peace of mind during transit.
Customs: what happens at the Austrian border
Since Brexit, all household goods entering Austria from the UK clear EU customs through the Austrian Zollamt. The paperwork is the same regardless of where in Austria you are moving to, and our Move Managers work directly with Austrian customs partners, preparing your documentation before anything leaves the UK so there are no surprises at the border.
Transfer of Residence relief (Übersiedlungsgut)
If you are relocating your permanent home to Austria, you may be exempt from EU import duty and VAT under Transfer of Residence relief. The three conditions are straightforward: you must have been living outside the EU for at least 12 months, the goods must have been owned and in personal use for at least six months, and they must be for your continued personal use rather than for resale. Your goods must also arrive within 12 months of you establishing Austrian residency.
We prepare a dual-language itemised inventory and coordinate the Zollamt application with our Austrian partners. Where Transfer of Residence relief does not apply, standard EU import duty of 10 per cent plus Austrian VAT at 20 per cent applies to most household goods.
For a full breakdown of Austrian customs rules, the FIDI Import Customs Guide for Austria covers the Zollamt’s current requirements in detail, and we can walk you through the specifics that apply to your move at the survey stage.
Vehicles
Importing a car qualifies for the same Transfer of Residence exemption, subject to the same six-month prior ownership and use condition. Outside the exemption, EU import duty and Austrian VAT apply. Once in Austria, UK-registered vehicles must be re-registered at the local Zulassungsstelle within one month of establishing residency, and the car will need to pass the Pickerlprüfung (Austria’s roadworthiness inspection). UK driving licences remain valid in Austria.
Pets
Dogs and cats need a microchip, a current rabies vaccination, and an EU-compliant Animal Health Certificate from an official UK vet. We work with specialist pet relocation partners who manage all the documentation, coordinating their process with your removal so both arrive together.
Where in Austria are you moving?
Austria spans nine federal states across a range of distances, access conditions, and transit times from the UK. Select your destination below to see the numbers that matter for your move.
Where in Austria are you moving? Select a city for route, transit, and access details
Your destination in Austria
Select a city for route, transit, and access details
Vienna
Inner-district delivery requires advance parking permits in areas like the 1st to 9th districts. Your Move Manager arranges this during the survey.
Vienna is our most frequently served Austrian destination. We have an established local partner network for storage, access logistics, and customs clearance.
Cost of living comparison: Austria versus the UK
Austria sits closer to the UK on everyday costs than most people expect, but the headline average masks some striking differences at the category level. Transport is the standout: a monthly Wiener Linien pass in Vienna costs around £43, and Austria’s nationwide KlimaTicket gives unlimited travel on every train, bus, and tram across the whole country for around £84 per month. A London Zone 1-3 Travelcard costs £149.
Vienna kindergarten for children aged three to six is free at the core fee level, compared to the £0-£350 most UK families still pay after the funded hours entitlement. And while Vienna’s inner districts have risen sharply over the past decade, a one-bed city flat there typically runs between £765 and £1,105 per month, compared to £950 to £1,450 in Birmingham, Leeds, or Manchester.
The widget below gives you a live side-by-side across the categories that matter most to a new arrival. Select any row to see where Austria pulls ahead, where it sits level with the UK, and where the numbers are broadly the same.
Cost of living comparison: Austria versus the UK, by everyday expense
Cost of living, side by side
See how your money compares in Austria
Pick a category below. Austria sits broadly in line with the UK for most everyday costs — but transport, childcare, and rent outside Vienna tell a very different story.
Rent (1-bed city flat)
Arriving in Austria: what to sort in the first weeks
These are the things that interact most directly with your removal and your ability to function from day one.
The Meldezettel is Austria’s mandatory address registration, and it needs to be submitted within three days of moving in. The form requires your landlord’s signature and is submitted at the Magistrat in Vienna or the Gemeindeamt everywhere else. Without it, you cannot open a bank account, register with the social insurance system, or access most public services, so it sits right at the top of the arrival list. In Vienna, Magistrat appointment slots fill up quickly, and it is worth booking one as soon as you have a confirmed address, even before your removal date.
Once you are working for an Austrian employer, they register you with the ÖGK (Österreichische Gesundheitskasse), Austria’s main health insurance fund, and you receive an e-card: your health insurance card for GP visits, hospitals, and pharmacies. Contributions are split between you and your employer and deducted from your salary automatically. If you are self-employed, you register with the SVS (Sozialversicherung der Selbständigen) and pay contributions based on your income.
Most Austrian employment contracts also include 14 monthly salary payments rather than 12, with the two additional payments (a holiday bonus in May or June and a Christmas bonus in November or December) taxed at a reduced flat rate. In practice this means the take-home pay from an equivalent gross Austrian salary is often meaningfully higher than you might expect from the numbers alone, and it is worth factoring into any salary negotiation before you finalise a role.
For your bank account, Austrian banks require the Meldezettel, passport, and typically proof of employment. N26 and Wise are popular with new arrivals who need a working account quickly while the Meldezettel is being processed.
Visa options for UK citizens moving to Austria
Since Brexit, British nationals need a residence permit for stays of more than 90 days in Austria. Applications go through the Magistrat in Vienna or your regional Bezirkshauptmannschaft elsewhere in the country.
Red-White-Red Card (Rot-Weiß-Rot-Karte)
Austria’s main work and residence permit for skilled non-EU nationals is a points-based system with several distinct categories. Very Highly Qualified Workers are assessed on qualifications, experience, language skills, and age; scoring 70 or more points out of 100 qualifies you without needing a job offer in place first. Skilled Workers in Shortage Occupations need 55 points and a qualifying job offer, with Austria’s annually updated Mangelberufsliste currently covering IT, engineering, healthcare, and a range of skilled trades. Other Key Workers need a job offer meeting the applicable minimum monthly salary (currently around €2,800 gross, updated each year) and 50 points. A separate category exists for Start-up Founders establishing a new economically viable business in Austria.
The card is initially valid for 24 months. After 12 months of working on a Red-White-Red Card, you can apply for the Red-White-Red Card Plus, which lets you work for any Austrian employer rather than the one named on your original permit.
EU Blue Card
For highly qualified workers with a university degree and a job offer above the Blue Card salary threshold (currently around €4,700 gross per month), the EU Blue Card provides residence and work rights with more inter-EU mobility than the Red-White-Red Card.
Job Seeker Visa
Allows up to six months in Austria to search for qualifying employment. Once a job offer is secured, you apply for the Red-White-Red Card from within the country rather than from the UK.
Self-employment permit
Self-employed people apply for a Niederlassungsbewilligung as a selbständig entrepreneur, demonstrating that their business is viable and serves an Austrian economic interest. Compulsory registration with the Wirtschaftskammer Österreich (WKO) follows.
Family reunification
Available if your spouse, civil partner, or dependent child holds a valid Austrian residence permit or citizenship, with the sponsor required to meet a minimum income threshold.
Verify current conditions with the Austrian Embassy in London or a qualified immigration adviser before starting your application, as requirements are reviewed periodically.
Why Total Moving Solutions for your Austria removal
We are Move Assured accredited, with over 20 years of combined experience in fully managed European removals and a track record of thousands of completed moves for families and businesses across Europe and beyond. Austria is a route our teams cover regularly in both directions, and the partnerships we have built with Austrian agents and customs partners mean we have the flexibility to handle the things that can go wrong on a longer European route (access issues, customs queries, storage gaps) without those problems landing on you.
You will have a single Move Manager from first enquiry through to delivery: one person who handles your Transfer of Residence application, understands what the Austrian Zollamt expects, and keeps the plan intact whether you are heading to a Vienna apartment or a property in the Tyrolean Alps.
Our crew packs with customs in mind throughout, which means anything that could create a border complication gets identified at your UK address rather than discovered at the border. MoveProtect Enhanced Liability cover is available for anyone who wants added protection during transit, and if your schedule at either end does not align perfectly, we have secure storage options in the UK and in Austria.
Austria’s bureaucracy is thorough and the customs process has added layers since Brexit. Our job is to make sure none of that lands on you unexpectedly.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a removal from the UK to Austria cost?
Costs range from around £800 for a smaller part-load move up to £6,000 or more for a large family home, with Austria sitting at the longer end of the European removal map from the UK (approximately 1,500 kilometres from London to Vienna). The final figure depends on your volume, collection location in the UK, destination in Austria, and service type. Get in touch for a quote based on your specific move.
How long does a managed removal to Austria take?
A dedicated vehicle typically delivers to Vienna, Salzburg, or Graz in 3 to 5 days from UK collection, while part-load services run 8 to 14 days depending on destination. Your Move Manager confirms exact timings once your dates are set.
Do I need to pay EU import duty on my belongings?
If you are relocating your permanent home to Austria and have lived outside the EU for at least 12 months, you may qualify for Transfer of Residence relief, which exempts household goods from EU import duty and VAT. Where the exemption does not apply, standard duty (10%) plus Austrian VAT (20%) applies. TMS prepares and coordinates the Transfer of Residence application with our Austrian customs partners.
What is the Meldezettel and why does it matter?
The Meldezettel is Austria’s mandatory address registration form, to be submitted within three days of moving in. Without it, you cannot open a bank account or register with the health insurance system, so it is the first administrative task to tackle on arrival. Your landlord signs the form and you submit it at the Magistrat (Vienna) or Gemeindeamt (elsewhere). In Vienna, book your Magistrat appointment as soon as you have a confirmed address, as slots fill quickly.
Can you move us to anywhere in Austria?
Yes. We cover Vienna, Salzburg, Graz, Innsbruck, Linz, Klagenfurt, Bregenz, and destinations in between. For properties in Tyrol or Vorarlberg with restricted access, we factor routing and access into the survey stage. Contact us and your Move Manager will confirm what applies to your specific destination.
Can I import my car as part of the removal?
Possibly duty-free under the same Transfer of Residence conditions as your household goods (six months of prior ownership and use). Outside the exemption, EU import duty and Austrian VAT (20%) apply. Once in Austria, UK-registered vehicles must be re-registered within one month and pass the Pickerlprüfung (Austria’s roadworthiness inspection).
Can you help with pets?
Yes. Dogs and cats need a microchip, rabies vaccination, and an EU-compliant Animal Health Certificate from an official UK vet. We coordinate with specialist pet relocation partners who manage the documentation and timing alongside your move.
What if my Austrian property is not ready on delivery day?
We offer secure storage at the UK end, in Austria, or both. Your Move Manager builds any storage requirement into the plan from the outset so your timeline stays intact regardless of what happens at either property.
Do you offer packing as part of the service?
Yes, professional packing is included in our managed removal service. Our crew uses export-grade materials and builds a full itemised inventory as they pack, which also forms the basis of your customs documentation. Unpacking at destination and removal of all packing materials are available on request.
How does Austrian healthcare work once I arrive?
Once you start working for an Austrian employer, they register you with the ÖGK (the national health insurance fund) and you receive an e-card covering GP visits, hospital treatment, and most prescriptions. Contributions are split between you and your employer and deducted from your salary. Self-employed people register with the SVS and pay contributions directly based on their income. Coverage starts from registration, with no equivalent of the NHS waiting period.
Can I book removals to Austria before my visa is confirmed?
Yes. You can book and proceed with the removal while your permit application is in progress, though your goods will need to clear customs on arrival and Transfer of Residence relief requires that you are establishing Austrian residency. Your Move Manager can talk through the timing and implications at your survey.
How far in advance should I book?
For dedicated moves, as soon as your dates are confirmed and ideally four to six weeks ahead. Part-load moves have more flexibility, but spring and early autumn are busy periods and availability fills. Contact us and we will confirm what is possible for your window.
Do you collect from anywhere in the UK?
Yes, we collect from across the UK, not only from London or the South East. Get in touch and we will confirm collection logistics and timing for wherever you are based.
Ready to book your Austria removal?
Or call our team on 01922 32 40 32 to speak with a Move Manager who knows the UK to Austria route and can walk you through a clear plan from the first conversation.