Vienna has prolonged temporary passport checks at its land borders with Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary and Slovenia until 15 June 2026, according to a European Commission notice dated 7 January. The derogation from normal Schengen free-movement rules entered force on 16 December 2025 and can be renewed in six-month blocks. ([visahq.com](https://www.visahq.com/news/2026-01-08/at/austria-renews-internal-schengen-border-checks-until-15-june-2026/))
The Interior Ministry cites sustained irregular migration along the Western Balkan route, limited reception-centre capacity and heightened terror-threat levels linked to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Although Austria insists controls are “targeted and risk-based”, logistics firms report freight queues of up to 45 minutes at Nickelsdorf (HU) and Spielfeld (SI).
![Austria Extends Internal Schengen Border Controls to 15 June 2026]()
VisaHQ’s Austria portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) offers an easy way for travellers and corporate mobility teams to check the latest entry requirements, order frontier-worker cards and set up renewal reminders; using the same dashboard, you can arrange document pickups and receive live alerts whenever Vienna extends these temporary border controls.
Business travellers should budget extra time when driving or taking cross-border trains. Officers increasingly ask for hotel bookings or proof of employment in addition to passports. EU citizens may still use e-gates at airports, but spot checks on Vienna–Bratislava and Vienna–Prague routes have intensified.
Employers with frontier-worker populations must remember Austria’s new Frontier-Worker Permit, launched in December 2025: commuters need to carry the permit card *and* proof of foreign residence or risk on-the-spot fines. HR departments are advised to circulate updated travel protocols and store A1 certificates digitally.
The Interior Ministry cites sustained irregular migration along the Western Balkan route, limited reception-centre capacity and heightened terror-threat levels linked to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Although Austria insists controls are “targeted and risk-based”, logistics firms report freight queues of up to 45 minutes at Nickelsdorf (HU) and Spielfeld (SI).
VisaHQ’s Austria portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) offers an easy way for travellers and corporate mobility teams to check the latest entry requirements, order frontier-worker cards and set up renewal reminders; using the same dashboard, you can arrange document pickups and receive live alerts whenever Vienna extends these temporary border controls.
Business travellers should budget extra time when driving or taking cross-border trains. Officers increasingly ask for hotel bookings or proof of employment in addition to passports. EU citizens may still use e-gates at airports, but spot checks on Vienna–Bratislava and Vienna–Prague routes have intensified.
Employers with frontier-worker populations must remember Austria’s new Frontier-Worker Permit, launched in December 2025: commuters need to carry the permit card *and* proof of foreign residence or risk on-the-spot fines. HR departments are advised to circulate updated travel protocols and store A1 certificates digitally.
