Legitimized

When I am nervous about something, I comfort myself by researching the details.  When we decided that I would join M in Vienna for an undetermined amount of time, I immediately began to research the residency requirements.

I started here: Just Landed in Austria

and it told me this:

Like visas, applications for all residence permits have to be processed before coming to Austria. It is highly recommended to hand personally in the application documents at the Austrian embassy or consulate in your home country. If you are already in Austria, for example using a class C Tourist visa, you will NOT be able to get any other permits, so start the application paperwork early and from your home country.

There are three types of residence permits:

• Visa (for short stays or visits)
  
• stay permit ( Aufenthaltserlaubnis: for working or studying but not settling in Austria)
  
• residence permit ( Niederlassungsnachweis: for settling in Austria)
  

Remember to apply for your permit before entering Austria. There are some exceptions to this rule for US citizens and highly qualified individuals. If you are lucky and belong to this group, you are also able to make your application in Austria.

Aaaaagh! "Start the application early!"  Okay, so this says that there are some exceptions for US citizens. So, I went here: Do you need a Visa or Residence Permit to enter Austria?

and it told me this:

U.S. citizens do not need an entry permit (visa) to stay in Austria as either tourists or on a business trip for a period of up to three months. (If you enter Austria under the Visa Waiver Program, you are not allowed to take up any employment there.)

Since we hadn't determined how long I would be in Austria, I clicked here:  Well, good grief, do I need a Visa or what??

If you come to Austria as a tourist, pass through Austria in transit, visit friends and/or relatives in Austria, or if you are on a business trip AND are a citizen of one of the visa-exempt countries (see below) you do NOT need to apply for a visa to enter Austria (and the Schengen zone) for a stay up to 90 days. Please note that you are generally NOT allowed to take up any employment during you visafree stay.

However, while a visa is not automatically a work permit, there are specific and clearly defined circumstances under which the holder of a valid D visa may temporarily work in Austria.

In any case, your passport must be valid for three more months after the departure date when leaving Austria (and the Schengen zone).

Please note that both your nationality (= citizenship) and the passport you hold determine whether or not you must apply for a visa.

• Holders of Alien Passports, issued by the United States (USA), need a visa for Austria.
• Refugees' Travel Documents, issued by the United States (USA), cannot be accepted for travelling to Austria

Due to bi- and multilateral agreements, individuals who hold a valid regular passport of one of the following countries are visa-exempt and do NOT need to apply for a visa to enter Austria for stays of up to 90 days. The possibility of entering Austria without a visa does not grant you the right to work there.

All EU member countries and the following countries are exempt from the obligation of obtaining a visa: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore, St. Christoph and Nevis, Switzerland, South Korea, United States (USA), Uruguay, Venezuela.

Okay, so I determined that I could go to Austria for up to 90 days without a visa, but that I wouldn't be able to work.  But what if I stayed longer?  I read on:

Visitor Visa (Visa D)

If you intend to stay in Austria for more than 90 but less than 180 days as a tourist, student, on a business trip, to visit friends or relatives, or you intend to take up short-term employment (less than 6 months) AND you are neither an EU nor an EFTA citizen, you need a national Austrian visitor visa (Visa D). The Visa D entitles you to stay up to 90 days within 6 months in the other Schengen countries.  A Visa D will allow you to work temporarily under clearly specified circumstances (e.g. if you are an artist or entertainer on a short-term employent/contractor) in Austria. It is not a work permit per se and, as such, does not allow you to take up any employment you like. Please note that you need the visa D to legally take up your temporary employment (as outlined above) even if you are allowed to enter Austria without a visa and your stay does not exceed three months.

You must provide the Embassy or Consulate with all documents and additional authorizations required; otherwise, the visa will not be issued.

Oh boy.  Well, I am not an EU citizen, nor am I an EFTA citizen (after looking here: What the heck is EFTA?) 

and I probably intended to stay in Austria for more than 90 days, but we didn't know how long.  It also says to make sure you don't need a residence permit. 

So I clicked here:  Maybe I need Residence Permit instead, if I don't go crazy before arriving

If you intend to stay in Austria for a period longer than 6 months, you must apply for a residence permit and not for an entry permit (visa). Residence permits are issued by the authorities in Austria. They are solely issued for stays that exceed six months.

PLEASE NOTE that you must file your application for a residence permit with the Austrian Embassy or Consulate General before you actually leave for Austria. In general, you are not allowed to go to Austria as long as your application has not been approved.

Oh no!  Panic!  But wait - 

Yet, spouses and minor children of EU & EFTA citizens who reside in Austria permanently may file their application after their arrival in Austria. The same is true for all foreign nationals who may enter Austria under the visa waiver-program (e.g. U.S. citizens, Canadians, Mexicans, Brazilians).

Okay, calm down. I would be a "foreign national who may enter Austria under the visa waiver program."  

I did all of this crazy research, working myself into a frenzy, before talking to M about any of it.  I called him in a panic, inundating him with questions and citing rules.  He calmly told me not to worry about it, because his employer could get me my papers once I arrived. ONCE I ARRIVED?!?!?  I am a Rule-Follower; I am Planner. Once I arrived?!?!?


Once I arrived, M and I met at his office. I brought: my passport, my birth certificate, our marriage certificate, my driver's license.... I sat for a passport photo, multiple copies of that photo were handed to us, we went to another floor, met with someone else who said she had everything she needed but that we needed to go down the hall to see someone else. We met with that person who said everything was all set, but we should check with someone else on another floor. We did. We were "all set."  It all seemed so... bureaucratic and casual at the same time. A strange combination.  


A few days later, M came home with this:

My presence in Austria has been legitimized. We giggled about the section in which it says my function here in the Republic of Austria is "Gattin von Herrn M" - "Wife of Mr. M."  

Indeed.