Austria: serving expat and cross-border buyers

Austria is one of the few European markets where the buyer's passport decides whether a purchase can happen at all, and where even an EU citizen can be stopped by a municipal rule. Agencies that meet buyers who live in one country, hold a second citizenship and move money from a third need to settle those questions before they take instructions. This briefing is for agencies and developers.

Start with citizenship, not residence

Austria does not regulate foreign ownership at federal level. Each of the nine federal states has its own land-transfer law, called the Grundverkehrsgesetz. Two groups follow from that.

• Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland are treated as Austrian nationals for this purpose and, according to the secondary summaries we read, do not need a provincial permit. See a summary of the regional rules.
• Citizens of other countries need approval from the provincial authority, the Grundverkehrsbehörde, before the transfer can be registered. The contract is usually signed under a suspensive condition, so it only takes effect once the approval is granted.

Ask for the buyer's citizenship in the first conversation, not only the country where they live. A non-EU passport holder who lives and works in an EU country is, as we read it, still a third-country buyer. Confirm that with a lawyer.

What differs by state

One law-firm summary describes the picture as follows. Treat it as a generalisation of nine separate laws.

• In Vienna the permit is issued by the municipal authority where there is a social interest, which in practice usually means an Austrian residence permit, or an economic interest.
• Tyrol, Salzburg and Vorarlberg are described as practically closed to buyers from third countries.
• Styria, Carinthia and Lower Austria are described as moderate, with realistic chances where the buyer will live in the home.

Approval times are reported differently. One source says six to twelve weeks or longer. Another says from a couple of months to three quarters of a year. Plan for months, tell the seller before you reserve the property, and put the timing into the contract.

Leisure residences: a rule that also catches EU buyers

Buyers often want a second home. Austria restricts leisure residences, called Freizeitwohnsitze, through municipal and state planning rules, and EU citizens are not exempt.

• In Tyrol, municipalities keep quotas and registers of leisure residences, inspect, and fine illegal use. One source says fines can reach tens of thousands of euros.
• Salzburg applies planning limits with municipal discretion, and some municipalities have used up their quotas.
• Vorarlberg relies mainly on zoning in local development plans.
• A sale of a property that has always been a leisure residence may sometimes continue, but the sources call such exceptions discretionary. Never promise one.

We did not find the rules for every other state. Ask the municipality and an Austrian lawyer for each property, and ask for the property's current registered use before you show it to a buyer who plans to use it as a holiday home.

What to collect from the buyer

• a valid passport or national ID, and the residence permit if the buyer lives outside the country of citizenship
• the purpose of the purchase, because a third-country application must justify it
• the tax identification number in the country of residence
• proof of funds and the source of funds, in a form a trustee or bank will accept
• for a company buyer, the register extract and the identity of every beneficial owner
• marital status and any co-buyer, since both need checking
• translations and legalisation for documents issued abroad, as the lawyer or notary asks

Your own anti-money-laundering duties

Sections 365m and following of the Trade Code apply to real estate agents. The Austrian Chamber of Commerce says an agent must identify and verify the customer and the beneficial owner before starting the business relationship or carrying out the transaction, and must repeat the checks if the circumstances change significantly (see the Chamber's page for estate agents). Suspicious transactions are reported to the financial intelligence unit through the goAML platform. A search summary of the Chamber's material says the rules cover both buyers and sellers. We did not find the record-keeping period or any buyer threshold, so ask your professional association.

Sanctions screening, done properly

Screen the buyer, any beneficial owner and any third party who pays against the EU consolidated sanctions list and the other lists your bank or lawyer requires. As we understand Commission guidance, an entity owned or controlled more than 50 percent by a listed person is treated as listed too, and an asset freeze reaches real estate. Keep a dated record of every check. If a red flag appears, stop, take legal advice and report as the rules require. Never advise a client how to avoid a check.

Russian-speaking and other expat buyers

Nationality is not a reason to refuse a file, and it is not a reason to skip a check. Treat every buyer with the same documents and the same screening, and expect the trustee and the bank to ask where the money comes from. A clear file at the start saves weeks later.

What to do with this

• ask for citizenship, residence and the purpose of the purchase before you reserve a property
• check the state's land-transfer rule and the property's leisure-residence status first
• tell sellers that approval can take months
• keep dated records of identification and sanctions checks
• tell the buyer which documents the trustee will want, before they transfer anything

For the money side of the same file, read our briefing on payments and remote closing in Austria.

Working with D.H. Realting

D.H. Realting is a trilingual (Russian, English, Polish) overseas-property platform. We introduce buyers, including expats and cross-border buyers, and support the process. Agencies that handle the deal locally and want to be introduced to such buyers can contact us through our partners page.

This briefing is informational only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Facts were checked on 12 October 2026 from the sources named in the text; rules change, so confirm with a local lawyer before relying on any point.