The Embassy of South Korea in Vienna announces the following changes, valid from January 8th, 2021:
- A medical certificate is no longer required to apply for a visa
- A negative PCR test that is not older than 72 hours must be available upon entry
- there is no longer any Isoaltion Exemption Certificate to be issued (in Austria: 08.01 - 28.01, provisional, renewable)
Opening hours from Dec 24th 2020 till Jan 6th,2021:
24.12 und 25.12.2020 closed
28.12, 29.12 sowie 30.12.2020 open
31.12.2020 sowie 1.1.2021 closed
4.1 sowie 5.1.2021 open
6.1.2021 closed
7.1 und 8.1.2021 open
The Embassy of India announced that from now on all visa application forms must be made online. Visa applications that have been filled out by hand will no longer be accepted with immediate effect. The visa application form must be created under the following link: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/index.html
An NIE is valid for 30 days and one entry only. The NIE is valid from interview day and cannot be delayed or moved into to future.
If an NIE expires or has been used for one entry, a new NIE can be requested by the traveler – by email, no new interview is usually required.
August 5th, 2020
Current information on the most common embassies in Vienna
We would like to inform you that the Russian consular provider will reopen 2 days a week (Monday and Thursday) from Monday, July 6, 2020.
The following visas can be applied for:
Important: Applications for regular business or tourist visas will not be accepted or processed by the embassy until further notice.
Please allow enough time to prepare / order the invitation and to process it. In urgent cases, EXPRESS or SAMEDAY processing is possible. Please ask our ÖVKG team for more information
Unfortunately, the issuance of regular business and tourist visa is not possible until further notice. Visas are issued ONLY in exceptional cases and with an official invitation (e.g. medical flights, return flights, high economic priority for China).
Source: WKO Beijing and Chinese Embassy in Vienna
BUSINESS TRIPS TO CHINA
Entry into mainland China is still permitted to Chinese citizens only– with few exceptions.
Exceptions:
However, in urgent and justified cases, visas for key personnel may be requested. There is no guarantee that a derogation will be granted. In addition to the usually required documents, an informal letter from the sending company is needed, indicating the necessity and urgency of the journey.
In addition, an invitation from the Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) must be submitted to the province, which is usually issued on an official form. The contact with the local FAO is carried out by the Chinese business partner or the local branch.
For persons entering from abroad, a two-week quarantine obligation applies in China without exception. Coronavirus tests are performed on arrival. The cost of quarantine shall be borne by the company/traveler. After quarantine, it is possible to continue travelling within the country under certain conditions, but these vary greatly from one region to another. Conditions and travel restrictions may change at any time at short notice.
In Hong Kong, only persons resident in Hong Kong are allowed to enter Hong Kong until further notice. Transit at Hong Kong airport is possible under certain conditions, but transit to and from mainland China is still not permitted.
WKO is happy to assist you in communicating with the local authorities.
Important: If there is a corresponding invitation, the ÖVKG will gladly assist you in obtaining the visa in the usual way.
CHINA- Covid 19 PCR test
In recent days, the following information has been published on the website of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
Source BMEIA: Https://www.bmeia.gv.at/reise-aufenthalt/reiseinformation/land/china/
Text/passage: “Before leaving for China, proof of a negative PCR Covid-19 test (not older than 5 days) and a health certificate issued by the Chinese embassy abroad is required. The Chinese Embassy in Vienna will provide more detailed information on the implementation of the regulations adopted by the Chinese Aviation Authority on 20 July 2020.
We asked for you at the Chinese Embassy in Vienna and received the following information.
Please read the complete article at http://www.chinaembassy.at/det/xwdt/t1801953.htm
Source: Chinese Embassy in Vienna
Extract/passage:
“As soon as the preconditions mature and concrete in concrete measures, we will inform you about this in good time on the website of the Chinese Embassy.
China has already introduced Corona testing requirements for passengers to China in Russia, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia. (The country list is constantly updated https://hr.cs.mfa.gov.cn/help_two/help-two/gj.html)
All passengers travelling to China from Austria with a stopover in the above countries are subject to the test obligation from now on. Passengers should contact the Chinese Embassy with the negative Corona test results and issue a certificate. Airlines will ask passengers to present this certificate before going on board after stopover.
All other passengers who do not stop at one of the airports listed in the list do not need a PCR Covid-19 test until further notice.
The Corona tests must be carried out within the 5 calendar days prior to your departure to China. At the moment, no test sites are determined by the Chinese Embassy in Austria. Test results from all test sites recognised or recommended by the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, Austrian Economic Chamber or other governmental authority are accepted.
Please find out directly on the respective website.
The tests must be sent to the Chinese Embassy via email (pcrtest.aut@gmail.com) together with the accompanying document “Health_Declaration_Form_China_in case_of_PCR_Test”. The Chinese Embassy in Austria can only check test results issued by the Austrian test centre. After a checking procedure, the recognised health declarations are returned to the passengers. The passengers should print out the health declarations sent back and take them to the airport. Please pay attention to the validity of the health declarations for the flight. Show the health declarations before boarding unsolicited.”
IMPORTANT NOTE: Regardless of the above information, the accompanying document (Health_Declaration_Form_China) must be completed and signed by the traveller when submitting the visa documents. One copy is sufficient.
The Indian consulate in Vienna announced that applications for business visas and work visas can now be submitted to the consulate in Vienna. Instead of the previous online visa application, an offline application is now accepted, see LINK (unfortunately we could not get any better quality). All other necessary documents for the submission of the visa remain unchanged. Electronic visas and tourist visas will not be issued until further notice.
Visa applications are currently possible. However, you have to expect long waiting times for the appointment for the personal interview at the US Consulate. It may also be that the US Consulate, depending on the current situation in the USA, cancels already booked interview dates and moves them further back in time.
In general, unfortunately, there is still a ban on entry for Europeans, with few exceptions.
Since 15.07.2020 the US Consulate in Vienna can grant so-called National Interest Exceptions (NIE) – exceptions for entry into the USA if the entry is in the national economic interest of the USA. With these exceptions, business travellers can enter the USA with a valid visa despite the still valid presidential decrees of 11 March 2020 (no entry from the Schengen area) and 22 June 2020 (no entry ban to protect the US labour market). Holders of a valid business visa (B visa) must personally send a message by e-mail to consulatevienna@state.gov in order to arrange an interview meeting to discuss the urgency of entry and to decide on the receipt of the NIE exception. Please add in the e-mail to the US Consulate your passport copy, a scan of the valid visa and, if available, the DS160 confirmation of the original visa application.
Visa can be issued, but entry into Saudi Arabia is currently not possible.
Austrian citizens are currently not issued any electronic visa or tourist visa. There are exceptions in principle for business travelers, but it cannot be guaranteed that a visa will be issued for business travelers or that it will allow entry into Vietnam. Vietnam currently generally prohibits foreigners from entering Vietnam. This also applies to travelers who are in possession of a valid visa. An exception can be made for business travelers, but the border authorities tend to interpret the applicable regulations very restrictively.
Please note that South Korea has canceled its visa-free entry for up to 30 days. At the moment every traveler has to acquire a visa, issued by the embassy, BEFORE departure - the application can be done by OEVKG.
The issuance of the visa through the embassy currently takes 2 weeks. A medical certificate must be presented upon submission and must not be older than 48 hours.
Iraq:
The Embassy of Iraq announces that visa applications for business visas will be accepted again. .. The invitation, with confirmed urgency, is sent by the Consulate in Vienna to the Ministry of Iraq. It will examine whether the visa can be issued. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee for the exhibition. Please plan enough time for processing by the consulate. Tourist visas cannot be applied for.
Nigeria:
Unfortunately, the embassy of Nigeria is closed until further notice, no visas are issued.
Our team will be happy to provide you with up-to-date information for other countries. You can reach our team by phone at 01/3615520 or by email at wien@oevkg.at
