Year abroad in Austria....advice needed

[Goingincirclesstill]

So DC is off to Austria soon for year abroad as part of their degree. Going round and round in circles to identify how to prove a couple of things. Re the financial situation, do they accept student loan letter / proof as part of proving the financial aid? Everyone seems to be either unclear or to give different opinions. Know that need to get a couple of things like birth certificate and police certificate certified as official, but if they are in English, do they need translating into German...again getting different answers!

I left Austria decades ago and commenting mostly to bump the thread for you but the certification of official documents in Austria can be quite involved. Will the university your DC is attending not be able to provide accurate and reliable information on what is required?

I learned a long time ago to err on the side of caution - Kafka's bureaucratic nightmare was Austrian after all.

Basically Austria is a member of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. This means that documents from other countries that also signed the convention (such as the UK, I believe) can be certified with an Apostille. In Austria, you would go to a notary public for the verification of a document's authenticity.

I hope your DC has a wonderful time in Austria - it is a wonderful country despite the bureaucracy.

What about Brexit rules ?

@UmCachorroVerde
Thanks, to be fair he has been really impressed so far with the Austrian bureaucracy. But they don't seem to have student loans paid in stages over there and no-one, including the Uni or Embassies etc can give a straight answer. He knows how much to prove, but they can't guarantee how. Likewise we know which forms need to have an apostille, but not whether they need to be translated as again getting different info. :(

@Gauge0frainfall25
I'm not sure what you mean specifically about Brexit rules....

I’m afraid you need to try and get a definitive written answer from the uni - try the International Office. There probably isn’t a law or official rule about whether a translation is necessary or not, often these things are at the official’s or uni’s discretion, ie if they feel confident enough that they know the language . When we were getting German citizenship (slightly different to Austria, admittedly) we didn’t need to get documents translated from English, but friends in different districts of the same city did. Write to the International Office and attach all the proof you have and ask what else has to be done or obtained.

My dd studied elsewhere in Europe but her friend tried to use her student loan account/ confirmation as proof of financial viability and it wasn’t sufficient. We have a savings account for dd so we sent that

@LadyGreySpillsTheTea We've tried the Uni here, the Uni in Vienna, the Embassy /legal departments here and in Vienna....and all gave differing answers or wouldn't commit....it all "should" be ok. Trouble is he has to apply for a residence permit once there rather than a Visa, so he ....and us!....could do with knowing.

I would also try the international office of the actual university - I'm not sure whether you mean financial proof for living there for a year, or paying the overseas student fees?

I can't help on the finances, but it's worth noting that fees are virtually non-existent, plus there are some grants and scholarships. So although you can get student loans I don't think they're as commonly taken as in the UK.

Quite a few years ago now I did have to get my qualifications etc translated to study abroad, however I would assume that with Google translate etc that is less necessary now. If you do need them translated you probably know that it has to be by a certified translator - it might be worth asking advice from the notary you intend to use. I just used my parents' solicitor, but I think there are companies who specialise in notarising documents for specific countries.

@Treviarpelli
Wasn't sufficient amount or Wasn't accepted at all? We will have to top up the student loan anyway, but obviously the amount depends upon whether they accept the loan as part of it

@Litany202 It's to prove income to cover the costs of living there.. fees are as you saymuch less than a year here, and added onto student loan growing debt. Needs to show arpund £10,000 something.....now if £6500 can be covered by student loan, that will be much easier. Either way he will actually have the money over the year....just need to show it at the point of application

Brexit
Can stay in Europe for maximum 180 days in 1 year at a time

OP has mentioned re the residency permit already.

This is part of a degree so they should be able to get a student visa.

Is he eligible for the Turing scheme (formerly Erasmus) his home university would be able to sort that out

@Gauge0frainfall25
That's why I was puzzled.....residency permit allows them to study for up to a year but no working....like a visa but slightly different

@Annoyeddd That's just to do with some additional funding to support the extra costs......and annoyingly despite the Uni here telling them they all were.....essentially no-one was allocated any additional funds