More information can be found here: for a comprehensive guide on what to do before arriving and when in Vienna.

Administration Matters

Meldezettel: Register your accommodation within three days of your arrival in your district. You’ll need: passport, home contract, filled form. See here for info and there for more info. 

Between 3 and 4 months after arriving: register for being allowed to stay (whatever that means).

Handysignature (for signing in heathcare online account, and many other official accounts): you can activate it with a post.at account, or by going to a cellphone shop.

Register your covid vaccine in the Austrian social security through elga: at the moment they have an office in the Vienna International Centre. You need the batch number of your shots + some kind of certificate. This will get you the QR code.

Supermarkets have different sim-cards like lycamobile, Drei, Hot many more. (Also is mobile-shops)

Get your E-Card (A paper with your social security number is needed for residence permit). You need to get a passport picture done in Austria, for example in a photobooth, then take it to a police station.

Accomodation

You will most likely need an employment contract to be able to rent an accomodation. The university can (will) be slow with this. Solutions include flat-sharing, Airbnb or student accomodation. In the middle of the first month you’ll get a salary statement that can help circumvent the contract.

For accommodation easily accessible for students.

Online ads (craiglist style) for housing, second hand items, etc.: willhaben.at.

Flat sharing: willhaben or wg-gesucht.de or facebook groups: group 1, group 2.

Online comparator for electricity/internet/insurance contracts: durchblicker.at

Note that if you want a private apartment, you’ll need up to 3 monthly rent worth of security deposit, and up to 2 monthly rent worth of broker’s commission.

Moving around

How to get to Vienna. Scroll down to the “Arrival in Vienna – Where” section.

Get the metro card,  they have offices in different metro station. If you are Under 26 and student they have cheaper semester card, with your proof of admission. (You can apply for ucard from uspace website).

5-month viennese Public transport ticket for students.

Viennese Annual pass for non-students or students above 26.

Annual pass for all trains in Austria: www.klimaticket.at

Bike rental (in german), bike fleamarket.