Austria spouse visa: the 2026 income requirement when an Austrian citizen sponsors an American spouse
Written by Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent · CA 4273294Short answer: The American spouse of an Austrian citizen living in Austria gets the residence title “Familienangehöriger” (family member, NAG § 47), and in 2026 the couple needs fixed, regular net income of €2,064.12 a month together (about $2,415 at $1.17 per euro), plus €201.88 per child; a single person’s rate is €1,308.39. Rent and loan payments above €386.43 a month raise the bar, German at A1 is required before the first title, and there is no quota. Both spouses’ income counts in a shared household and Vienna also counts savings divided by 12, so a lifetime annuity is not needed to qualify; it is a way to keep every renewal easy without drawing down capital.
Free guide: Moving abroad on a fixed income
Income rules and taxes by country: Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Malta and more, plus how a lifetime annuity fits.
If one of you is Austrian and the other American, you do not need Austria’s retiree settlement permit. That permit, covered on my Austria settlement permit page, uses double the income rates and a yearly quota. The spouse of an Austrian citizen gets a different title with half the bar and no quota. Here is the 2026 test from migration.gv.at, the City of Vienna and the Settlement and Residence Act (NAG), and an honest read on where an annuity helps.
Austria spouse visa versus the retiree settlement permit
| 2026 | Spouse of an Austrian (“Familienangehöriger”) | Retiree settlement permit (no Austrian spouse) |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | NAG § 47(2) | NAG § 44 |
| Couple, net a month | €2,064.12 (about $2,415) | €4,128.24 (twice the rate) |
| Quota | None | Yearly quota per state |
| German A1 before the first title | Yes | Yes |
| Where to apply | Consulate abroad, or in Austria after lawful visa-free entry (NAG § 21(2)) | Consulate abroad as a rule |
One condition is easy to miss: under § 47(1) the Austrian sponsor must be permanently living in Austria (“dauernd wohnhaft”). In practice the Austrian spouse moves and registers an address first, or you arrive together and the American applies in Austria during the lawful visa-free stay. Ask the authority for your address (MA 35 in Vienna) how it handles timing in your case.
Single or married: how much income you need
| Household (2026) | Net a month | About USD | Whose income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single person (reference rate) | €1,308.39 | $1,531 | Your own |
| Married couple or registered partners in one household | €2,064.12 | $2,415 | Combined: the Austrian’s and the American’s income both count |
| Each child, on top | €201.88 | $236 | Household |
| Rent, loans and similar costs above the free amount | Raise the bar by the excess over €386.43 (“freie Station”) | $452 free amount | Household |
FX assumption: €1 = $1.17, a planning rate; the ECB reference rate was $1.1225 on 2 October 2026, so the dollar figures carry about 4% of headroom. The rates are the ASVG § 293 reference rates (Richtsätze) under NAG § 11(5) and are reset every January.
Rent is where the bar really moves. A €1,100 Vienna flat is €713.57 above the free amount, so the couple then needs about €2,777.69 net, about $3,250. Social benefits you would only get after the permit, such as the equalization supplement (Ausgleichszulage), never count on a first application.
Why I write about this. My mom is Norwegian, my dad is American, and they’re planning the move from the US to Norway. My mom is the sponsor (the host, or “reference person” in UDI’s words), so Norway’s income test falls on her income, not my dad’s. UDI told us in writing that money in an account does not count as income, and only lifelong income does. Their savings were not the problem; the paperwork wanted a monthly number in the host’s name. The rules in Austria are different, but the problem is the same one many retirees hit: the income test, not the net worth. I’m writing this to help others in the same boat as my parents. Read how we worked through the Norway income requirement.
In the same boat? Let’s run your numbers
See roughly what a lifetime annuity would cost to close your income gap, then get my personal read by email. I can help while you still live in the US.
Estimates use the September 9, 2026 ImmediateAnnuities.com payout survey (life only) and a 15% cushion. Illustrative, not a quote.
What counts: both spouses, pensions, and savings
- Both spouses’ income. The City of Vienna says a spouse’s or registered partner’s income counts when you live in a shared household, and it accepts pension statements from the applicant or the sponsor. So the American’s own US Social Security or pension counts. That is the big difference from Belgium or Ireland, where only the citizen’s income is tested.
- Net, not gross. Austria measures what lands after tax and social security.
- Savings. Vienna adds quickly available money (bank and savings balances, securities accounts, building-society contracts, life insurance), divides it by 12 and adds that to monthly income. Money abroad counts if you can show access from Austria. A balance of about €24,770 covers the couple rate for one permit year before rent.
- Proof. Pension statements, bank statements, the lease, and for savings a statement of where the money came from.
So for most American couples with Social Security and some savings, the first Austrian spouse visa is about paperwork, German A1 and housing, not about income.
Where a lifetime annuity still helps
The first title usually runs 12 months (NAG § 20), and every renewal repeats the test. Savings divided by 12 shrink as you live on them, and rent tends to rise. A life-only SPIA (single premium immediate annuity) gives the “fixed and regular own income” the law asks for in its own words, the same amount every month for life, so each renewal looks like the first. Because the household is tested, the annuity can be on either spouse’s life, which usually means the American, who holds the savings, and no gift between spouses is needed.
Which annuity counts. A life-only SPIA, a joint and survivor SPIA, or an existing deferred annuity or MYGA converted to lifetime payments is fixed, regular income. A period-certain annuity, an income rider (GLWB) where an account value can still be cashed out, or an annuity still accumulating reads as savings. Austria counts savings divided by 12 anyway, so an accumulating contract is not useless; it simply has to be re-proved every year.
Example: a 62-year-old American couple, one spouse Austrian
Bar: €2,064.12, about $2,415, plus 15% headroom for the yearly rate change and the exchange rate, so about $2,777 a month before rent above €386.43. Payout at 62: ImmediateAnnuities.com survey of September 9, 2026, life-only, per $100,000 a month: man $603 average ($660 best), woman $582 ($637 best). Illustrative, not a quote.
| Couple, both 62 | Monthly gap | Premium at average rate | Premium at best rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| No other income, annuity on the husband | $2,777 | about $461,000 | about $421,000 |
| No other income, annuity on the wife | $2,777 | about $477,000 | about $436,000 |
| American husband with $2,000 a month net Social Security, annuity on him | $777 | about $129,000 | about $118,000 |
Premium equals the monthly gap divided by the payout per $100,000, times $100,000. With $2,000 of Social Security the remaining gap could also be covered for a year by about €9,000 of savings, so the annuity is a choice, not a requirement. Add rent above €386.43 to the gap if you will rent, and size on net deposits after any US withholding. A joint and survivor annuity pays less per dollar than single life, so get a quote.
How the annuity is taxed: Austria and the US
US side. A US citizen stays taxable on worldwide income wherever he or she lives. A US single premium immediate annuity bought with after-tax savings is taxed under IRC 72: an exclusion ratio makes part of each payment a non-taxable return of the premium until the premium is recovered. If it was bought with IRA money, every payment is taxable. The foreign earned income exclusion does not cover annuities (IRC 911(b)(1)(B)(i)). Foreign tax on the payments can be credited on Form 1116, through the treaty’s relief article. Since January 1, 2026, a US citizen with a foreign residence address cannot opt out of federal withholding, even if payments go to a US account (IRC 3405(e)(13), Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1). Withholding is a prepayment, not extra tax. An annuity from a US insurer is not reported on FBAR or Form 8938, and it is not a PFIC.
Treaty. The US-Austria treaty’s annuity clause (Article 18(2)) covers payments “during a specified number of years” and does not mention life, so a life annuity most likely falls under the other-income article (Article 21(1)), which also gives the country of residence the right to tax. Either way Austria taxes first. The saving clause (Article 1(4)) lets the US tax its citizens, and Article 22(2)(c) treats the income as arising in Austria to the extent needed to avoid double tax, so Austrian tax can be credited on Form 1116. US Social Security paid to an Austrian resident is taxable only in the US (Article 18(1)(b)).
Austrian side. Under § 29 Z 1 of the Income Tax Act (EStG 1988), recurring payments received as adequate consideration for transferred assets are taxable only once the total received exceeds the value of what was given. Until your payments add up to the premium, there is generally no Austrian income tax on them; after that they are taxed at normal progressive rates. Confirm with an Austrian tax adviser (Steuerberater) in writing how the tax office applies this to a SPIA from a US insurer.
Net result. In the early years the US tax on the taxable part of each payment is usually the binding tax, since Austria taxes little or nothing until the premium is recovered. Later you pay roughly the higher of the two, not both. Compared with drawing down savings, the annuity is close to tax-neutral at first.
Does Austria have a wealth tax?
No. PwC says there is no wealth tax in Austria (reviewed July 2026), so an annuity there is about steady income for the residence test and tax timing, not about a wealth tax bill.
Practical steps
- The Austrian spouse registers a home address in Austria; secure a lease or deed for housing that is customary for a couple.
- The American passes German A1 (certificate not older than one year) before the first application.
- Health insurance: family members of Austrians are usually co-insured through the sponsor once the sponsor is insured in Austria; otherwise arrange full-risk cover that pays in Austria.
- Add up net household income, savings divided by 12 and rent above €386.43. If you choose an annuity, buy it while you still have a US address and start it 3 to 12 months before applying.
- Apply at the consulate, or in Austria after lawful visa-free entry; the authority must decide within six months.
The trade-offs, stated once: a SPIA is irrevocable, level unless you add a cost-of-living rider, paid in dollars against a euro bar, and payouts are lower at younger ages. In Austria it is optional; buy it for steady income and easy renewals, sized to the gap, not your whole balance. The authority decides each file.
Married? Make the income outlive either of you. In Austria spouses may add their incomes together, so two smaller annuities, one on each spouse, can work as well as one larger one. If a single-life annuity is on one spouse and that spouse dies first, the payments stop, and the surviving spouse may have to show income of their own at the next renewal. A joint and survivor annuity, which keeps paying until the second death, or a separate annuity on each spouse closes that gap. Joint and survivor pays less per dollar than single life, so ask for both quotes and compare.
Frequently asked questions
Free annuity gap analysis for Austria. Tell me your ages, your Social Security or pension, and whether you are single or a couple. I will show how far your income is from the Austria requirement and what a lifetime annuity would cost to fill the gap, in the sponsor’s or main applicant’s name where that matters.
Related reading
- Moving abroad on a fixed income: hub
- Austria settlement permit for retirees
- Belgium family reunification with a Belgian spouse
- Germany residence permit for retirees
- How European countries tax a US annuity
- FBAR, FATCA and double taxation
- Immediate annuity calculator
Sources
- migration.gv.at: family reunification (Family Member title, 2026 reference rates, German A1, no quota)
- City of Vienna: secured livelihood (2026 rates, spouse income, savings divided by 12, freie Station)
- RIS: NAG section 47 (Familienangehoeriger, sponsor permanently resident)
- RIS: NAG section 11 (income test, rent, first-application benefits)
- RIS: NAG section 21 (where to apply, in-country filing for family of Austrians)
- RIS: NAG section 21a (German before immigration)
- RIS: NAG section 20 (validity of residence titles)
- RIS: EStG 1988 section 29 (recurring payments)
- US-Austria income tax treaty (IRS text), Articles 1, 18, 21 and 22
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Austria, other taxes (no wealth tax)
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 gift exclusion for a non-citizen spouse
- 26 U.S.C. 3405 (withholding on pensions and annuities)
- Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1 (withholding election, foreign address)
- IRS: Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements
- ImmediateAnnuities.com: annuity rates by age (survey September 9, 2026)
Goldstein & Co. LLC dba Goldstein Insurance Services · Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent, CA lic. #4273294 · NPN 20602398 · 213-414-2808 · hans@hansgoldstein.com
Education, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules, thresholds and exchange rates change; confirm with the consulate or immigration authority and a local tax adviser before you act, and get answers in writing. Hans Goldstein is a licensed insurance agent (CA 4273294) and can only offer annuities to residents of states where he is licensed. Annuity payments are guaranteed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability, not by any government. Payout figures are illustrations from a published survey, not quotes. Immediate annuities are generally irrevocable.