Starting a Business · Austria
How to start a business in Austria as a foreigner (2026)
Austria shaded by its starting a business status
Starting a business in Austria as a foreigner: moderate.
FrameworkAustrian Limited Liability Company Act (GmbHG) and Flexible Company Act (FlexKapGG, in force since 1 Jan 2024); Trade Regulation Act (GewO); Commercial Code (UGB). Company registration is handled via the Commercial Register (Firmenbuch) at competent regional courts; trade licences via the district authority through the Business Service Portal (USP/GISA).
Austria places no restrictions on foreign ownership — non-residents may fully own and manage a GmbH or the new FlexCo (FlexKapG). However, incorporation is still notary-based, requires a German-language notarised deed of formation, bank-deposited capital, and both Commercial Register and trade-licence registrations, so the process typically runs 3–4 weeks (World Bank benchmark: ~21 days, 8 procedures). A key constraint is that at least one managing director must be resident in the EEA or Switzerland; non-EEA founders also need a residence title permitting self-employment.
Key points
100% foreign ownership is permitted for GmbH and FlexCo; there are no nationality or residency restrictions on shareholders, and foreigners may act as managing directors, though at least one managing director must be resident in the EEA/Switzerland to serve as legal representative.
Since 1 January 2024, the minimum share capital for a GmbH was reduced from €35,000 to €10,000, of which at least €5,000 must be paid up in cash at incorporation. The new FlexCo (FlexKapG) uses the same €10,000 threshold but allows share denominations as low as €1, easing employee/investor participation.
Core steps: (1) check company name uniqueness with Firmenbuch; (2) draft and notarise Articles of Association (Gesellschaftsvertrag) in German before an Austrian notary; (3) open a bank account and deposit the paid-in capital, obtaining bank confirmation; (4) register with the Commercial Register (Firmenbuch) at the competent regional court; (5) apply for a tax number at the tax office; (6) register the trade (Gewerbeanmeldung) via the district authority / USP-GISA portal; (7) register the company and employees with social security and municipality.
Typical GmbH incorporation takes about 3–4 weeks end-to-end. The World Bank Doing Business benchmark records 8 procedures and roughly 21 days for Austria — above the EU average of ~12.5 days — largely because of the mandatory notarisation and court registration steps.
A simplified electronic incorporation for single-shareholder standard GmbHs is available through the USP Business Service Portal, and remote/online notarial authentication of founding documents has been permitted since 2020, allowing foreign founders to complete signing and identification via video conference with an Austrian notary.
Most commercial activities require a trade licence (Gewerbeberechtigung) obtained through the GISA/USP system; regulated trades additionally demand proof of qualifications. Non-EEA/Swiss founders operating as sole proprietors or acting as managing directors generally need a valid Austrian residence title permitting self-employment (e.g., Red-White-Red Card for founders/self-employed key workers) and, if resident abroad or in Austria for under 5 years, a home-country police clearance certificate.
Timeline - major decisions & events
The Corporate Law Amendment Act 2023 (GesRÄG 2023, BGBl I 179/2023) introduced a startup-friendly new corporate form, the Flexible Kapitalgesellschaft (FlexCo/FlexKapG), and permanently reduced the ordinary GmbH minimum share capital from €35,000 to €10,000, abolishing the old foundation-privilege regime. It is the most significant modernization of Austrian business-formation law in over a century.
RIS (Austrian Federal Law Gazette) ↗The Gesellschaftsrechts-Änderungsgesetz 2023, containing the new FlexKapGG and the GmbH amendments, was promulgated in the Bundesgesetzblatt, completing the legislative process after parliamentary passage. Publication fixed the framework that governs new company formation today.
Parlament Österreich ↗Directive (EU) 2019/1151 on digital tools and processes in company law required member states, including Austria, to enable fully online formation of limited liability companies without physical presence before an authority. It locked in cross-border, online-first incorporation as an EU-wide standard.
EUR-Lex (EU) ↗The Elektronische Notariatsform-Gründungsgesetz enabled founding a GmbH by electronic notarial deed via video conference, with founders signing using their qualified mobile electronic signatures. Austrian notaries began offering the fully digital GmbH formation from autumn 2019.
Schoenherr ↗From 1 January 2018, a one-person GmbH founded by a natural person who is the sole shareholder and managing director could be set up in a simplified electronic procedure via the Business Service Portal (USP), without a notarial deed or certification. It marked the first low-cost digital route into incorporation.
USP (Unternehmensserviceportal) ↗The Austria-wide Gewerbeinformationssystem Austria (GISA) replaced 14 decentralized provincial trade registers, creating a single national online register for registering trades, location changes and managers. It standardized and digitized trade-licence procedures nationwide.
BMWET (Federal Ministry) ↗The Abgabenänderungsgesetz 2014 reversed the 2013 capital cut: the standard GmbH minimum capital returned to €35,000, but a 'Gründungsprivileg' allowed founders to start with €10,000 (€5,000 paid in cash) for up to ten years before topping up. The change responded to revenue concerns from the lower minimum tax.
Mondaq ↗A first reform reduced the GmbH minimum share capital from €35,000 to €10,000 to lower barriers to company formation. The measure proved short-lived, being scaled back the following year, but it began the long debate over startup-friendly capital rules that culminated in the FlexCo.
TPA Steuerberatung ↗The Gewerbeordnung 1994 consolidated Austria's rules on which commercial activities require a trade licence and on the qualification and registration requirements to start a regulated business. It remains the core statute governing the practical right to operate a business.
RIS (Austrian Federal Law) ↗Austria - other topics
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