Gun law in Austria

Austrian law allows firearm possession on shall-issue basis with certain classes of shotguns and rifles available without permit.

Austrian law divides firearms into three categories: Any non-prohibited Austrian citizen, EU national with residence in Austria or a third-country national with permanent residence in Austria (with a special background check) over 18 can buy firearms from Category C without a permit after a three-day background check (people with a valid category B license or hunting permit are exempt).

War material like automatic firearms requires a further special federal permit, which is in practice only granted to approved collectors and experts.

[5] Third-country nationals are eligible for a firearms license as long as they fulfil all the necessary requirements to obtain a Waffenbesitzkarte and have permanent residence (Daueraufenthaltstitel) in Austria.

When selling privately, the persons are required to sign a sale agreement with details such as; legal names, residence address, serial number of the weapon, etc...

[10] Firearms and ammunition have to be stored securely in a reasonable manner to prevent unauthorized access.

Such a notification is required again when the number of firearms stored in a close area has doubled since the last communication to the Authority.