Austria Schengen Visa Interview

If you are applying for an Austria Schengen visa, you will likely have to attend a visa interview at the final stage of your application process. This blog will present an overview of the Austria Schengen visa interview questions, including general Schengen visa frequently asked questions, and specific tourist visa interview questions and answers. Like most countries around the world, Austria entry restrictions in response to coronavirus have increased. At the moment, all foreign travelers to Austria will need to comply with mandatory testing and quarantine obligations. If you are thinking about applying for a Schengen visa from Austria, please keep in mind Austria entry restrictions in response to coronavirus and familiarize yourself with all the related Austria entry requirements. 

Schengen Visa Interview

• All Schengen visa applicants, regardless of where they are from or what country they are applying to, must fulfill the Schengen visa requirements in order to be eligible for a Schengen visa. 
• In addition to submitting all of the required documents and materials, paying the Schengen visa fee, and submitting their biometric information (fingerprints and photos), most applicants will be asked to attend a Schengen visa interview. 
• The purpose of the Schengen visa interview is for the consular authorities who are processing your application to meet you in person and ask you questions related to your upcoming trip to Austria/the Schengen area. 
• Most interviews last less than 20 minutes. 
• Schengen visa interviews take place at the embassy or consulate (or visa application center affiliated with the embassy/consulate) closest to you; if you are applying for an Austria Schengen visa, you will attend your Schengen visa interview at the Austrian Embassy or Austrian consulate (or visa application center affiliated with either entity) closest to you. 
• Ultimately, you will attend your Schengen visa interview at the place where you apply for your Schengen visa. 
• Your Schengen visa interview will likely be scheduled to coincide with your Schengen visa appointment, where you will formally submit your Schengen visa information, have your biometric information collected (unless you have recently submitted it on a previous Schengen visa application, in which case it’s already in the system), and pay your Schengen visa fee (unless you have already paid it online).
• Please note that while certain countries require all applicants to come in for an in-person visa interview, you may be exempt from this general requirement if you have previously been approved for a Schengen visa and make frequent trips to the Schengen area. 

Austria Embassy Interview Questions

• In addition to biographical questions, you will also be asked country-specific questions about your trip to Austria, which could include any of the following: 
  • What is your purpose for travelling to Austria?
  • Why do you want to go to Austria?
  • Why do you need to spend so much time in Austria?
  • What do you want to see in Austria?
  • Do you know anyone in Austria? 
  • Do you know where you will be staying in Austria once you arrive? 
• Keep in mind that the purpose of many of these questions is to determine whether you have a specific reason for traveling to the country, and that the reason matches the purpose for travelling that you provided on your written Schengen visa application. 
• In addition to the above, you will likely be asked specific questions relating to the specific purpose that you gave as your reason for traveling to Austria. 
• For example, if you are applying for a Tourist Schengen visa to Austria, there will be  specific Tourist visa interview questions and answers that you will be asked. These will naturally differ from what would be asked of an applicant who is applying, say, for a Medical Schengen visa. 
• Your Austria Schengen visa interview questions will likely be oriented around the cost of living in Austria. Because your interviewer has an idea of what things cost in Austria, they will be checking to see if your objectives match your salary; indeed, if you can afford your trip at all! Being able to afford your trip is one of the key factors in your being approved for an Austria Schengen visa. Be open about how much money you make. Try to demonstrate an awareness of what things cost in Austria, so you can integrate that information into answers about your budget. This will help the interviewer determine that your finances are secure and that you won’t run out of money in Austria and be stranded there. 

Biographical Questions 

• All applicants, regardless of where they are from, will likely be asked these basic biographical questions about themselves, which are not country-specific: 
  • Where are you from?
  • Where do you live currently? 
  • What do you do for a living?
  • What is your monthly salary?
  • What is the highest level of education that you have achieved?
  • Have you ever been affiliated with a terrorist organization?
  • Have you ever been arrested for a crime?
  • Do you live alone? With a partner? 
  • Are you married?
  • Do you have children?
  • Are your parents still alive?
• In asking these questions, the interviewer is firstly attempting to determine whether the information on your written application matches your verbal answers. Secondly, she is trying to determine whether or not you have significant ties that bind you to your home country. 
• Applicants who are considered to have strong social, financial, and/or educational ties to their country of residence will be considered less likely to try to overstay in Austria/seek asylum there. 
• Consequently, an applicant who is married with children, is close to his parents, has a significant job with a good salary, and owns his own house/apartment will be considered a “better” candidate than a single man who rents an apartment, lives alone, and does not seem to have a significant career or educational background.  
• Of course, if you are young and single you should not lie about this fact. However, whenever you respond to biographical questions, you can still make an effort to  highlight the importance of any relationships that you do have with friends, classmates, etc—and to your home country generally.
• If asked about any possible criminal/terrorist background, do not be alarmed. This is a standard question many applicants are asked for security purposes. Above all, your interviewer wants to make sure that you will not present a criminal/security threat to the Schengen area. In responding to this question, simply assure your interview of your lack of criminal history. 
• Finally, if you are applying for a Schengen visa as a minor (and especially if you are traveling to Austria unaccompanied), please note that Austrian visa requirements for minors are different from those for adults. If you are a minor, your Austria embassy interview questions will be more focused on who you will be staying with, who is financially supporting you, etc. (Keep in mind that Austrian visa requirements for minors mean that minors must present additional documents and materials not required of adults, such as the passport information of both their parents).  

Schengen Visa Frequently Asked Questions

• In addition being asked basic biographical questions about your background and country-specific questions about your trip to Austria, you will also likely be asked a number of questions related to the terms and conditions of your visa. These could include any of the following: 
  • Do you know how long your visa is valid for?
  • Do you know where you can go on your visa?
  • Do you know what happens if you overstay your time in Austria?
  • When are you entering the country?
• In asking the above questions, you interviewer is trying to determine whether or not you understand where you can go and how long you can stay in Austria/the Schengen area on your visa. 
• In responding to questions about your visa, you should attempt to highlight your awareness of the fact that all Schengen visas are valid for up to 90 days within a 180-day period, which means that your stay in Austria is limited to 90 days.  
• In addition, you should try to demonstrate your awareness of the fact that a Schengen visa allows you universal access to the entirety of the Schengen area—all 26 Member States (an exception to this is the Limited Territorial Visa, which if you receive one for Austria, will limit your access exclusively to that country). 
• Talk about how you are aware of the penalties for overstaying your time in the Schengen area (possible deportation, the threat of having subsequent Schengen applications rejected), and stress that you have no intention of overstaying in Austria.  
• Give specific reasons why you need to be back in your country of residence by a certain date. Talk about a wedding you must attend, an exam you have to take, etc. Even if you haven’t yet purchased a ticket home, talking about reasons why you need to ultimately return to the Schengen area will put your interviewer at ease about the fact that do not intend to overstay.