Austria’s lower house, the Nationalrat, devoted an extraordinary sitting on 20–21 November to a transport mega-package that will reshape how foreigners enter the country and how vehicles pay to use its highways. Centre-stage was enabling legislation for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), due to start mid-2026. Once enacted the Interior Ministry will build a dedicated ETIAS unit and integrate it with the Schengen Information System, EURODAC and the newly deployed Entry/Exit System. Visa-exempt travellers—from US executives to Singaporean ski tourists—will soon need online approval before boarding any plane, train or coach to Austria.
Lawmakers also voted to scrap Austria’s last paper motorway vignette from December 2026, replacing it with automatic number-plate recognition and a fully digital tolling backend. The paper sticker, long a pain point for rental-car fleets and cross-border commuters, will disappear just as the €11 billion Koralm high-speed rail line opens, potentially shifting more traffic to rail.
![Austrian Parliament Fast-Tracks ETIAS Bill and Digital Toll Overhaul]()
For corporates the combined measures demand urgent housekeeping. HR systems must be able to pull employee passport data into booking tools so that ETIAS applications—costing €7—can be filed automatically. Mobility managers running large commercial fleets will need to map the new toll API into fuel-card and telematics platforms. Trucking firms face a modest rise in LKW-Maut but zero-emission HGVs keep a 75 % discount until 2030.
Cross-party committee approval suggests the bill will clear the upper house (Bundesrat) in early December, giving businesses roughly 18 months to adjust before ETIAS enforcement. The government argues the changes will shorten border queues and cut vignette fraud, generating €120 million in additional annual revenue. Privacy groups, however, warn that ETIAS risk-profiling algorithms remain opaque and could produce false positives that bar legitimate travellers.
In practical terms, employers should update posted-worker checklists, add ETIAS fields to travel-approval workflows and brief drivers that physical stickers will no longer satisfy toll inspectors after 2026. Failure to adapt could mean denied boarding, carrier-liability fines or unexpected toll penalties—costs that dwarf the €7 authorisation fee.
Lawmakers also voted to scrap Austria’s last paper motorway vignette from December 2026, replacing it with automatic number-plate recognition and a fully digital tolling backend. The paper sticker, long a pain point for rental-car fleets and cross-border commuters, will disappear just as the €11 billion Koralm high-speed rail line opens, potentially shifting more traffic to rail.
For corporates the combined measures demand urgent housekeeping. HR systems must be able to pull employee passport data into booking tools so that ETIAS applications—costing €7—can be filed automatically. Mobility managers running large commercial fleets will need to map the new toll API into fuel-card and telematics platforms. Trucking firms face a modest rise in LKW-Maut but zero-emission HGVs keep a 75 % discount until 2030.
Cross-party committee approval suggests the bill will clear the upper house (Bundesrat) in early December, giving businesses roughly 18 months to adjust before ETIAS enforcement. The government argues the changes will shorten border queues and cut vignette fraud, generating €120 million in additional annual revenue. Privacy groups, however, warn that ETIAS risk-profiling algorithms remain opaque and could produce false positives that bar legitimate travellers.
In practical terms, employers should update posted-worker checklists, add ETIAS fields to travel-approval workflows and brief drivers that physical stickers will no longer satisfy toll inspectors after 2026. Failure to adapt could mean denied boarding, carrier-liability fines or unexpected toll penalties—costs that dwarf the €7 authorisation fee.
