Portuguese in Austria

The presence of a Portuguese Legation in Vienna has been documented since the late 17th century, with the earliest diplomatic mission dating back to April 1696.

[1][4] Portuguese people have started migrating to Austria – mainly for economic reasons – only recently, with the first immigrants coming in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

[18][19] The two countries enjoy friendly relationships and mutual trust, witnessing increasing trade and linguistic cooperation as well.

[23][24][25] In recent years some Portuguese international footballers have moved to Austria to play for Austrian clubs.

[27] The Portuguese community in Austria retains strong ties with its homeland and, between 2000 and 2022, it has sent approximately 132.3 million euros (€) to Portugal in remittances.

[30] In fact, as of today, the Portuguese are part of a wider Portuguese-speaking community in Austria, comprising around 760 people from PALOP countries (the majority being from Angola), Timor-Leste or Macau and around 8,000 Brazilians.

In addition, in Austria there are several elderly individuals who possess a desire to acquire proficiency in the language, motivated by their fondness for it, frequent visits to Portugal, or a simple curiosity and interest in engaging in cognitive exercises.

The frequency of instruction is scheduled at either a once-weekly or twice-weekly interval, throughout the academic calendar running from September to June.