Austria

Possessing even small amounts of illegal drugs in Austria can lead to prison; expect long jail sentences and heavy fines for possession, use, or trafficking.

Long jail sentences and heavy fines.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

Cannabis is illegal in Austria - possessing even a small amount for your own use is a crime under section 27 of the Narcotic Substances Act (Suchtmittelgesetz), punishable by up to six months in prison or a fine. First-time personal-use cases are usually not brought to trial: the prosecutor must provisionally drop the case for a probation period of one to two years, and for cannabis this normally happens without a health assessment - but that is a conditional reprieve, not legalisation, and it can be made conditional on agreeing to treatment. Cannabis herb and resin may not be brought into Austria at all, even with a foreign prescription and a Schengen certificate.

Possession solely for personal use: up to six months in prison or a fine of up to 360 daily rates (section 27(2) SMG). Other unlawful handling, including acquiring, importing or passing it on: up to one year (section 27(1)). Supplying for payment in a public place or on public transport: up to two years (section 27(2a)). Commercial dealing: up to three years (section 27(3)). Above the statutory threshold quantity of 20 g of pure THC, trafficking offences under section 28a start at up to five years, rising to one to ten years at fifteen times the threshold and one to fifteen years at twenty-five times. Prosecutors must provisionally drop personal-use cases for a probation period of one to two years (section 35 SMG), and the court does the same after indictment (section 37).

Verified Sep 25, 2026

Austria bans importing any pharmaceuticals containing narcotic or psychotropic substances; many US-common medications are illegal even with a prescription, and non-EU residents may carry only personal-use quantities for their stay.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

Pepper spray is legal in Austria for adults but it counts as a WEAPON: under-18s may not possess or carry it, and you may only use it in genuine self-defence. Disguised blades - credit-card knives, pen or lipstick knives - are banned outright. Vienna and other cities can also declare weapon-prohibition zones where police may search you.

Possession or carrying of pepper spray by a person under 18 is prohibited. Deploying pepper spray outside a genuine self-defence situation, or exceeding the necessary degree of defence, can be a criminal offence under the Strafgesetzbuch. Dealing in the s.17(1) prohibited categories - including disguised blades - is punishable under WaffG s.50(1) no.2. Inside a declared weapon-prohibition zone under Sicherheitspolizeigesetz s.36b, police may search clothing, vehicles and containers and seize prohibited items.

Verified Sep 6, 2026

Declare funds over EUR 10,000 (or equivalent, all forms) when traveling between Austria and a non-EU country; no declaration needed between EU countries.

Failure to declare brings fines.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

Fireworks and flares you bought abroad can be seized on arrival in Austria, and the rule bites coming from other EU countries too, not just from outside the EU. Without a permit you may only bring in category F1 (age 12+), F2 (16+), T1 and P1 (18+) and loose S1 powders (16+), and only if each item carries a CE mark and a label in German. No German label means possession and use are illegal. Bigger fireworks - F3, F4, T2, P2 and S2 - need a permit obtained in advance from the police or the district authority.

BMF states that possession and use without the required marking, and possession and use of the permit-classes without a permit, are prohibited ("verboten"). No monetary penalty is published on this page and the penalty provisions of the Pyrotechnikgesetz were not read this run, so no fine figure is stated.

Verified Sep 7, 2026

Austria gives you 4 liters of still wine and 16 liters of beer duty-free coming from outside the EU, plus EITHER 1 liter of spirits over 22% ABV OR 2 liters of anything up to 22% - and you may split that last pair pro-rata (0.5 L spirits + 1 L sparkling = your full limit). If you are under 17 you get ZERO alcohol allowance. Your alcohol does not eat into the EUR 430 general-goods limit; it sits on top of it.

Not declaring goods above the allowance is smuggling under section 35 of the Finanzstrafgesetz: a fine of up to DOUBLE the duties owed if intentional, up to 100% of the duties if grossly negligent, plus forfeiture of the alcohol itself to the State - and the Act also provides for imprisonment.

Verified Aug 30, 2026

Vaping is banned everywhere smoking is banned in Austria - every bar, restaurant, cafe, indoor public building and shisha lounge, 24 hours a day, even when the place is closed or empty. You can bring your own device and liquid for personal use: Austria publishes no e-liquid quantity limit at all, so treat liquid as ordinary goods under the general allowance from outside the EU (EUR 430 arriving by air, EUR 300 otherwise) and declare if in doubt. Buying is 18+ and must be in person - Austria bans all mail-order and online sales of vapes and e-liquid to consumers, so you cannot have refills shipped to your hotel. Disposable vapes are still sold today but are banned from the end of 2026, and since 20 August 2026 dropping vape or cigarette waste on a public playground is a fineable offence.

Discarding cigarette butts or waste from related products, including vape waste, on a public playground carries an administrative fine of EUR 500, rising to EUR 2,000 for repeat offences, from 20 August 2026. No monetary penalty for an individual vaping in a no-smoking area was published on the pages read this run, so none is stated. The EUR 7,500 / EUR 15,000 fines in the ministry e-cigarette FAQ apply to MANUFACTURERS AND IMPORTERS under s.14 TNRSG, not to travellers - do not repurpose them.

Verified Aug 31, 2026

Arriving in Austria from outside the EU you must be at least 17, and you get ONE of: 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos (cigars up to 3 g each), 50 cigars, or 250 g of smoking tobacco - or a proportional mix. Watch this: heated-tobacco sticks are NOT in the tobacco allowance at all. Austria puts them under the general goods value limit (EUR 430 by air, EUR 300 otherwise), and within that value you may have at most 800 tobacco sticks or 250 g of contained tobacco.

Tobacco above the allowance must be declared to customs on entry and import duty and taxes paid. Travellers under 17 get no tobacco allowance at all. No fine figure is published on this page and none is invented here.

Verified Sep 4, 2026

A US license needs an International Driving Permit (or official translation) to drive in Austria; motorways require a vignette sticker, and winter tires are mandatory Nov 1–Apr 15 in winter conditions (driving without voids insurance).

EUR 120 on-the-spot for missing vignette; substantial fines for no winter tires; strict DUI penalties.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

In Austria the legal trap is usually POSTING the photo, not taking it. Anyone recognisable in a picture you publish can sue you if the publication harms their legitimate interests, and the caption and surrounding context count against you - so get consent before you put a stranger on Instagram. Separately, secretly recording someone''s intimate areas, or someone inside a home or a screened-off private space, is a crime carrying up to 6 months in prison, rising to 12 months if you pass the image on or publish it. Filming or photographing a court hearing is banned outright.

para 120a StGB: recording - up to 6 months'' imprisonment or a fine of up to 360 daily rates; sharing or publishing - up to 12 months'' imprisonment or up to 720 daily rates. Prosecution requires the victim''s authorisation (para 120a Abs. 3). The daily-rate value is set by the court on the offender''s means: para 19 Abs. 2 StGB - "Der Tagessatz ist jedoch mindestens mit 4 Euro und hoechstens mit 5 000 Euro festzusetzen"; para 19 Abs. 3 converts an unpayable fine to substitute imprisonment at one day per two daily rates. para 78 UrhG carries NO criminal penalty - enforcement is civil: an injunction under para 81 UrhG and damages under para 87 UrhG, whose Abs. 2 allows "eine angemessene Entschaedigung fuer die in keinem Vermoegensschaden bestehenden Nachteile" (compensation for non-pecuniary harm). No figure is fixed in that text and typical award levels were not verified. para 22 MedienG states a flat prohibition and no penalty is stated in that section; the sanctioning provision was not traced, so none is asserted.

Verified Sep 7, 2026

Austria never uses the word "jammer" in its telecom law, but any device whose purpose is to block radio communication legally counts as a radio installation, and only police, defence and state-security bodies may import, own or operate one. Simply having one in your bag is an offence carrying a fine of up to EUR 50,000.

Importing, distributing or possessing a signal blocker is an administrative offence under TKG 2021 s.188(4) no.4, with a fine of up to EUR 50,000. Erecting or operating any unauthorised radio transmitter is a separate offence under s.188(2) no.2, fine up to EUR 5,000.

Verified Sep 5, 2026

Same-sex relationships are legal in Austria, couples may marry, and anti-discrimination laws apply; the community is well-established in Vienna and other cities.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

It is illegal in Austria to cover your face in public places or buildings so you cannot be recognized — a general public-identity law that applies to tourists.

Fine or a requirement to attend a police station.

Verified Jul 5, 2026