Useful information about Austria

Documents for entering Austria

Any citizen of an EU member state can move and stay freely in Austria. Since the Schengen Treaty, there are no longer any customs barriers. Valid travel documents for entering and travelling in Austria are therefore a simple identity card or alternatively a passport.
Minors must also be in possession of a personal identification document.

If, on the other hand, you are not resident in an EU country, you must necessarily have a passport with you.

Currency

The official currency in Austria is theEURO, so if you come from another EU country, you will not need to look for foreign exchange once you arrive in the country.

In order to deal with illicit money movements, all travellers moving between EU countries must declare cash amounts in excess of €10,000 to customs. Up to this amount, no declaration is required.

Remember that customs authorities are authorised to check each traveller’s luggage and means of transport and to detain undeclared cash.

Health Care

Austrian health care is excellent. EU citizens must have a European Health Insurance Card with them in order to have access to free healthcare in Austria.

Useful numbers for emergencies

• Police (Polizei) 133
• Fire brigade (Feuerwehr) 122
• Roadside assistance (ÖAMTC) 120
• Ambulance (Rettung) 144

Dialling code

The international telephone code for Austria is +43. If you need to call an Austrian number, you must dial 0043 before the number you wish to call, removing the 0 in the area code.

Time zone

Austria has the Central European Time (UTC+1), which is the same time zone as most of Europe (Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland).

Flag of Austria

The Austrian flag, or Flagge Österreichs, has three horizontal bands of equal size, the outer ones red, while the central one is white. It derives from the coat of arms of the Babemberg dynasty, who ruled over an area of the country at the turn of the year 1000.

A curious legend has it that the Austrian flag was invented by Duke Leopold V of Austria as a consequence of his fighting during the siege of Acre, in present-day Israel. After the fight his white overcoat had turned completely red with blood, and when he took off his belt he found that the underside of it remained clean, white; this red-white-red colour combination gave rise to the flag.