Study Law in Austria: A Guide for Foreigners and Expats Study law in Austria as a foreigner: admission requirements, the Jus degree, how to become a lawyer, citizenship limits, and lawyer salaries. Topics: Work, Career & Education, Residence Permits.

Yes, foreigners can study law in Austria and build a legal career — but the path looks different from what law graduates in other countries are used to. Anyone with a high-school diploma and German language skills can enrol in a law programme. Access to some professions (judge, notary, public prosecutor) is closed to non-citizens, yet the profession of lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) is open not only to Austrians but also to citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland.

This guide covers: how to get into a law faculty, what the programme looks like, what it costs and whether you need a residence permit, the mandatory court practice (Gerichtspraxis), how a foreigner reaches the bar exam, and which legal careers are available without an Austrian diploma. The article is based on official data from the Austrian Ministry of Justice, university admission rules and specialised resources on legal education.

Can foreigners study law in Austria

Foreigners are admitted to study law in Austria under the same conditions as local applicants — citizenship is not required for enrolment. The one hard requirement is German language proficiency sufficient for study, because the law programme (in German Jus or Rechtswissenschaften) is taught almost exclusively in German.

According to the Ministry of Justice, legal education in Austria is uniform for all legal professions: first a university degree, then mandatory court practice, and only then specialisation. This is convenient for foreigners — you get a universal foundation, and the choice of a specific career happens after graduation.

One important nuance: Austrian legal education focuses on Austrian law. As the studieren.at portal notes, the curriculum emphasises the national legal system, so if you want to work in another country you will have to have your qualification recognised there. For anyone planning a career in Austria or the EU this is not a problem — deep knowledge of local legislation is valued above all.

Admission requirements: language, Latin and the test

Enrolment in a law programme follows the standard Austrian university procedure described in our guide to university admission in Austria. The basic requirements for foreigners:

• Secondary school diploma — recognised as equivalent to the Austrian Matura (or the Studienberechtigungsprüfung entrance examination if your diploma is not automatically recognised).
• German language — a certificate at level B2–C1 (usually ÖSD, Goethe, TestDaF or telc).
• Latin — at least 10 weekly hours at school, or a supplementary exam passed before the end of the first study block.
• Entrance test (Aufnahmeverfahren) at some universities.

The University of Vienna runs a centralised admission test for law. Applications open from March to May, and the written test takes place in early July. As the University of Vienna reports, in 2026 the application window runs from 2 March to 4 May and the test is scheduled for 7 July — there are no alternative dates.

Latin is not a formality. Without it you cannot pass the key exams of the first block, because Roman law is part of the mandatory curriculum. Plan your Latin exam in advance or take a university Latin course.

Programme structure: Diplomstudium and LL.B./LL.M. degrees

Legal education in Austria exists in two formats. The classic one is the Diplomstudium (diploma programme) lasting 8 semesters (240 ECTS) and awarding the degree Mag. iur.. This format gives direct access to all legal professions, including the bar.

The modern format is bachelor and master programmes: LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) and LL.M. (Master of Laws). For example, the University of Vienna has offered the bilingual programme “International Legal Studies” since the winter semester 2021/2022. According to Wikipedia, only the LL.M. degree grants the right to practise the traditional legal professions — a bachelor’s degree alone is not sufficient.

The legal requirement for all programmes is identical: study must last at least 4 years and comprise at least 240 ECTS credits. The curriculum covers civil and civil-procedure law, criminal and criminal-procedure law, constitutional law, European law and international law. The law deliberately mandates teaching Austrian law — this makes recognition of foreign diplomas difficult, but it also protects the quality of local lawyers.

Where to study law: Austrian universities

Law is taught in Austria at five public universities: Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. All five follow the same standard, but each has its own admission specifics and reputation.

The University of Vienna has the largest law faculty in the country and is the most popular among foreigners. The universities of Graz and Innsbruck offer a more intimate atmosphere, while Salzburg is attractive for its European law programme. Linz has strong ties to business law.

All faculties are public, so tuition is subsidised. For a broader overview of the education system, our guides on education in Vienna and the expansion of the university of applied sciences network will help you navigate. For future lawyers, public universities matter more than Fachhochschulen — applied-science universities rarely offer law degrees.

A university comparison helps you set priorities:

University	Faculty highlight	Entrance test	Share of international students
Vienna	Largest faculty, International Legal Studies in English	Yes, centralised	Highest in the country
Graz	Classic curriculum, strong criminal law department	No	Moderate
Innsbruck	Intimate atmosphere, Alpine region	No	Moderate
Salzburg	Focus on European law	No	Below average
Linz	Business ties, economic law	No	Below average

Note: only Vienna runs a mandatory entrance test. The other four cities admit based on your diploma and language certificate, which simplifies planning for foreigners.

Tuition costs and a residence permit for students

The cost of legal education in Austria is among the lowest in Europe. EU citizens and students with a permanent residence permit pay only the student union fee (ÖH-Beitrag) of about 20–25 euros per semester. Citizens of third countries pay tuition of 726.72 euros per semester — the statutory rate for all public universities.

For study longer than 6 months, foreigners need a student visa or residence permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung für Studierende). You must submit the documents to the Austrian embassy or consulate in your home country before entering. The process is described in our practical guide to residence permits, and the financial-requirements rules apply to students as well.

Important: on a student residence permit you may work up to 20 hours per week during the semester and full-time during holidays. For third-country nationals this is often a way to partially cover living costs in Vienna, which are comparable to Munich.

Gerichtspraxis: mandatory court practice after graduation

After finishing university, every lawyer in Austria completes Gerichtspraxis — court practice. Graduates have a legal right to the position of Rechtspraktikant (court trainee), and for most professions this practice is mandatory. The minimum duration is 7 months, and almost all lawyers complete it in full.

During Gerichtspraxis you work at a court or public prosecutor’s office: drafting decisions, attending hearings, studying case files. This is your first real contact with the Austrian legal system and a “survival school” — according to the Ministry of Justice, court practice is part of mandatory professional training for all legal specialities.

Court practice is the foundation of the legal profession in Austria. Even the best university diploma without Gerichtspraxis will not open the doors to the bar or any other legal career.

— Rechtsberufe in Österreich, portal of the Austrian Ministry of Justice

The trainee salary is modest — around 1,800–2,200 euros gross per month — but the position provides invaluable experience and contacts. After Gerichtspraxis two paths open up: the bar or an alternative legal career.

How a foreigner becomes a lawyer: the Rechtsanwaltsanwärter path

The profession of lawyer is the most accessible legal career for foreigners in Austria. The road to your own licence takes 5–6 years after university and consists of several stages.

First you complete Gerichtspraxis (7 months). Then comes work as a Rechtsanwaltsanwärter — a trainee lawyer (Konzipient) in a law firm. This stage lasts at least 3 years working in the office of an Austrian lawyer, plus mandatory seminars of the bar association (at least 42 half-days of classes).

After that you take the Rechtsanwaltsprüfung — the state bar exam, consisting of written and oral parts before a commission. The result: entry on the list of lawyers (Liste der Rechtsanwälte) and the right to practise independently. As talentrocket explains, the Konzipient path is the only realistic route for foreigners, because competition for judge and prosecutor positions is closed to them.

The key point: under § 1 of the Lawyers’ Act (RAO), admission to the list of lawyers requires citizenship of Austria, an EEA state or Switzerland. Citizens of third countries (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan) cannot become full lawyers through the standard procedure — they have the alternatives described below.

Citizenship limits: judge, notary, public prosecutor

Not all legal professions in Austria are open to foreigners. Judges, notaries and public prosecutors must be Austrian citizens — a direct legal requirement linked to the exercise of state power. The same applies to most positions in public administration.

As Wikipedia on Austrian legal education notes, the path to the positions of judge (Richter), notary (Notar) and prosecutor (Staatsanwalt) is available only to Austrian citizens. For a foreigner these careers are excluded regardless of qualification and experience.

This is a fundamental difference from the bar: a lawyer is a free profession linked to protecting private interests, so admission is broader. But remember: even for the bar you need EU/EEA/Swiss citizenship. If you hold none of these, consider alternative legal roles — in business and consulting there are no citizenship restrictions.

Legal careers without an Austrian diploma: EIRAG and alternatives

For lawyers from third countries (and holders of foreign diplomas), Austria offers several legal routes. The main one is the EIRAG law (Europäisches Rechtsanwaltsgesetz), which regulates the work of European lawyers in Austria.

Established European lawyers (niedergelassene europäische Rechtsanwälte) may practise permanently in Austria under the professional title of their home country. As the Austrian Bar Association reports, this requires: EU/EEA citizenship, a certificate of membership in the home bar and professional liability insurance. After 3 years of practice in Austria you can apply for full entry on the Austrian list of lawyers by passing the Eignungsprüfung — an exam in Austrian law.

For lawyers without European citizenship, corporate legal positions remain: in-house counsel (Syndikus), legal adviser at a bank or insurer, work in consulting, auditing, compliance and tax law. These roles require no bar licence and are open to foreigners of any citizenship with a residence or work permit.

A summary table by citizenship makes strategy selection easier:

Profession	Citizenship requirement	Open to foreigners
Lawyer (Rechtsanwalt)	Austria, EEA or Switzerland	Only with EU/EEA/CH citizenship
European lawyer (EIRAG)	EU/EEA citizenship + home bar membership	Only with EU/EEA citizenship
Judge (Richter)	Austria only	No
Notary (Notar)	Austria only	No
Public prosecutor (Staatsanwalt)	Austria only	No
In-house counsel (Syndikus)	No restriction	Yes, with residence permit
Compliance, tax, consulting	No restriction	Yes, with residence permit

The table shows the core rule: the closer a profession is to state power, the stricter the citizenship requirement. The closer to business, the wider the access. The practical takeaway for an immigrant: without EU citizenship, the corporate track is the only fully open door — and it requires no bar licence.

How much lawyers earn in Austria

Lawyer salaries in Austria depend on the career stage and sector. A court trainee (Rechtspraktikant) earns about 2,000 euros gross. A trainee in a firm (Rechtsanwaltsanwärter) earns 2,400 to 3,000 euros per month depending on the city and firm; in large international Vienna offices the starting salary is higher — from 3,500 euros.

A lawyer on the official list with 3–5 years of experience earns on average 70,000–100,000 euros per year. In the corporate sector, specialist lawyers (compliance, tax, M&A) earn from 80,000 euros and up; at Big Four audit firms law masters start at about 65,000 euros. Exact figures by profession and industry are collected in our salary overview for Austria.

For comparison: a corporate lawyer in Vienna earns comparably to a colleague in Frankfurt, but with significantly lower education costs. Given that teacher salaries in Austria start at 3,000 euros, a legal career consistently sits in the upper segment of the labour market — provided you pass the exams.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Russian or Ukrainian citizen become a lawyer in Austria?

Not through the standard procedure. The Lawyers’ Act (§ 1 RAO) requires citizenship of Austria, the EEA or Switzerland. Third-country citizens can pursue corporate legal positions, work in consulting, or obtain EU citizenship through naturalisation — after which the path to the bar opens.

Do I need Latin for a law faculty in Austria?

Yes. You need 10 weekly hours of Latin at school, or you must pass a supplementary exam before the end of the first study block. Without Latin you cannot pass the mandatory Roman law courses.

How long does it take to become a lawyer in Austria?

The Jus programme lasts 4 years (240 ECTS): either the classic Diplomstudium with the Mag. iur. degree, or a bachelor’s LL.B. followed by an LL.M. master’s. Only the master’s degree grants access to the legal professions.

How much does legal education cost in Austria?

For EU citizens about 25 euros per semester (student union fee). For third-country citizens 726.72 euros per semester. That is tens of times cheaper than in the US or the UK.

Can I study law in English?

Yes, to a limited extent. The University of Vienna offers the English-language International Legal Studies programme (LL.B., then LL.M.). But classic Jus programmes are taught in German, and German is mandatory for practising in Austria.

Next steps: what to do today

Legal education in Austria is a realistic and affordable project for a foreigner, provided you consider all the limits in advance. Here is a checklist:

• Define your goal: the bar (requires EU/EEA/Swiss citizenship) or a corporate career (open to everyone).
• Learn German to B2–C1 and prove it with a certificate — this is the main filter at the entrance.
• Sort out Latin — pass the exam before the programme starts so it does not block the first block.
• Check recognition of your diploma and register for the Studienberechtigungsprüfung if needed.
• Apply for the student residence permit before entry — the process takes several weeks.
• Check the admission procedures of your target university: Vienna has an entrance test, other cities do not.

A legal career in Austria requires patience: study, practice, exams — a 6-to-8-year journey. But at the end you get one of the most respected and best-paid professions in the country. Start by checking the requirements of your chosen university and your German level — these two steps determine everything else. If questions come up, subscribe to our newsletter, where we break down career paths in Austria for immigrants.