• People traveling with a US passport will need to apply for travel authorization online before their flight. Most approvals are expected within minutes.
• Cost: The fee is €20, but family members of EU citizens (including spouses of Austrian citizens) are typically exempt from this fee. The details of how to apply for an exemption are not clear yet.
• Validity: Once granted, it is linked to the passport and valid for three years or until the passport expires

To apply for ETIAS authorization or to find out if you are exempt, please visit https://travel-europe.europa.eu/en/etias.

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The Austrian Consulate was represented by Honorary Consul Christian Donner and his wife Pamela. Many new connections were made!

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Open Austria already has a presence on the West Coast in Silicon Valley. The Boston office opened on February 24, 2025 with an official kick-off celebration at the Cambridge Innovation Center.

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• Austria: Member since 1968
• USA: Member since 1981

Documents Covered by Apostille (no consular certification needed)

Under the Convention, public documents from one member state intended for official use in another member state only require an apostille, not consular legalization. These documents include:

• Birth, marriage, death certificates
• Court documents
• Academic diplomas from public universities
• Notarized documents
• Background checks (e.g., FBI or state police)

Exceptions: When Consular Certification May Still Be Required

While apostilles cover most standard documents, some cases may still require consular or embassy involvement — but typically not for authentication under the Hague Convention. Instead, the consulate may be involved for other purposes such as verification, translation, or special certifications.

United States documents that still require Austrian consular involvement:

• Private documents without notarization or certification by a public authority (not covered by apostille unless notarized first)
• Certified translations of English documents for Austrian authorities
• Documents for use in non-Apostille procedures, like visa, immigration, or residency processes, that are not about legal validity but format or content verification
• Academic degrees from private institutions that aren’t recognized by the issuing state’s education authority

Austrian documents that might still require U.S. consular involvement:

• Private agreements not certified by an Austrian notary
• Austrian documents translated to English, where a U.S. entity demands consular certification of the translation (rare)
• Documents for immigration to the U.S., where the U.S. embassy in Vienna may require verification or translation of supporting documentation, although this is more a procedural than a legal requirement

Summary

Document Type	Apostille Only?	Consular Involvement?
Birth/marriage/death certificates	Yes	No
Court documents	Yes	No
Diplomas (public universities)	Yes	No
Notarized private documents	Yes	No
Translations (unofficial)	No	Sometimes required
Private documents (not notarized)	No	May be required
Immigration or visa documentation	/ Depends	Often required

Final Notes

• Always check with the receiving authority (e.g., Standesamt, immigration office, university admissions) for their specific requirements.
• If a document isn’t considered a “public document” under the Convention, you may need to notarize it first and then obtain an apostille.
• Some authorities still ask for consular certification out of habit, especially for translations — in that case, it’s often possible to push back if the document already carries a valid apostille.

At the Consulate

This service is provided in-person. If you ask for an official document to be certified as an authentic original, or to have us certify a copy of an original official document, you provide the original document together with the applicable fees and a form of identification.

If it is your signature on a private document which is to be certified (such as a contract or power of attorney), this may be done by mail only if you have your signature first certified by a Notary and obtain an Apostille from the officer so authorized by your state government, usually the Secretary of State.

Please note that the Consulate does not provide translation services and cannot refer a translator to you. Neither the accuracy of a translation nor the content of a document is the responsibility of the Consulate. The person requesting authentication services must provide proper ID (e.g. passport).

For current and applicable fees please view the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs’ fee schedule.

For further information on the Hague Convention concerning international documentation click here.

To book an appointment, visit our Services page.

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