General information

Who does not need a visa

Citizens of all countries of the European Union, Switzerland, Israel, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, most of the countries of North and South America, members of the Schengen Agreement, and some other countries do not need a visa but only a valid passport to enter Austria. In case of doubt please contact the Austrian Consulate or Embassy well in advance before departure.

The current member countries of the Schengen Agreement are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria (Schengen Air & Sea agreement), Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania (Schengen Air & Sea Agreement), Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Who needs a visa

Travellers from other regions are kindly asked to consult their respective Austrian or Schengen Partner representatives regarding their current status. Travellers in possession of a valid visa can travel freely within the Schengen Area for 3 months, which is enabled by a Schengen visa issued by any Schengen Agreement member country.

As a rule, the processing time of a valid Schengen visa application should not exceed 15 calendar days. If further checks are necessary, the processing time may increase to 45 calendar days. Applications should be submitted at your earliest convenience – a maximum of 6 months prior to arrival and at least 4 months prior to the conference.

Visa applications received later than this date might not be processed in time by the respective Austrian or Schengen Partner representatives.

Please find more detailed information here:

Letter of invitation

The Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs has been informed about the EGU General Assembly 2025 taking place in Vienna. Please note that invitation letters from the destination Vienna or the Vienna Convention Bureau cannot be provided.

A letter of invitation can only be provided by the organizer of the congress (Copernicus Meetings) by email as a PDF attachment, and only to registered participants. Letters for other persons, e.g., family members, cannot be issued.

It should be understood that the organizers can only issue an invitation which includes the time of the conference plus the Saturdays directly before and after the conference.

Participants who need to receive an official letter of invitation to obtain a visa, to raise travel funds, or for administrative purposes should ideally at the very latest apply for this document 6-4 months prior to the conference.

Any invitation letter request must be addressed during the conference registration process. This invitation letter is not a commitment on the part of the organizers to provide financial support but may serve as proof of the travel purpose of the visa applicant. The organizer cannot provide or sign any EVE documents or guarantee letters.