Language courses in Austria
For children
All children between 6 and 15 years old have to go to school in Austria. Refugee children are admitted as extraordinary students in the school. The extraordinary status can take a maximum of two years. During this time, all students have the opportunity to attend a language startup group or a language development course of eleven hours per week.
Apart from the school offer there are in the federal states different, partly free courses of clubs and organizations for children and young people who want to learn German (for example in the afternoon or also during the holidays). A link to the language courses for children and adolescents can be found below.
For adults
The integration of asylum seekers and persons entitled to asylum in Austria is to a large extent the responsibility of the individual states that cooperate among others with the relevant ministries and the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) and the Labor Market Service (AMS). There are great differences between the courses offered in the various federal states and there is no uniform approach. Not everywhere there are enough German courses for adults. Some courses are free, some you have to co-finance others cost a few hundred euros
Asylum seekers
If you have applied for asylum and have not received an interview or an answer, you are not entitled to a state-funded German language course. Here, civil society assumes the role of the state and organizes German courses, but the waiting time for a place in a German course organized by a NGO is often very long.
People with refugee status
If you have a residence permit, you need to contact the nearest ÖIF location. A link to the location list of the ÖIF can be found below. After a consultation you sign the so-called integration declaration. It obliges you to attend a workshop on values and orientation of the ÖIF and German courses at level A1 and A2 focusing on values and orientation and to recognize and comply with Austrian law. If you do not sign the integration statement or you are not attending the courses, you must expect your unemployment benefits or minimum benefits to be cut.
Other language learning opportunities
Especially in larger cities, there are a large number of course providers for German courses. These include, for example, the WIFI, the BFI and the adult education centers (Volkshochschulen).
The universities in Vienna, Graz, Linz, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt also offer language courses.
Further information & links
Nationwide information:
Language portal of the Austrian Integration Fund:https://sprachportal.integrationsfonds.at/
Locations list of the Austrian Integration Fund: https://www.integrationsfonds.at/oeif-standorte/
German courses especially for women: https://bibwiki.at/index.php?title=Public:Deutschkurse_f%C3%BCr_Frauen
German courses for pupils and teenagers: https://bibwiki.at/index.php?title=Public:Deutschkurse%2C_Lernclubs_und_Sprachcamps_f%C3%BCr_Sch%C3%BClerInnen_und_Jugendliche
Links to providers of language courses in the different federal states:
Burgenland
VHS-Burgenland: http://www.vhs-burgenland.at/home/Deutsch_als_Fremdsprache.html
BFI-Burgenland: http://www.bfi-burgenland.at/unser-angebot/sprachen/
WIFI-Burgenland: https://www.bgld.wifi.at/kategorie/c-sprachen/ce-deutsch
https://www.caritas-burgenland.at/aktuell/news/detail/news/77341-deutsch-sprechen-lesen-schreiben/
http://www.auslaender.at/auslaender/sprache/sprachschulen/sprachschulen-in-burgenland
Kärnten/Carinthia:
http://www.auslaender.at/sprachschulen-in-karnten
http://www.plattform-migration.at/index.php?id=366&L=0
Niederösterreich/Lower Austria:
http://www.auslaender.at/sprachschulen-in-niederosterreich
https://bildungsangebote-at.riskommunal.net/Bildungsangebote_-_Sprache_und_Werte
Oberösterreich/Upper Austria:
http://www.integrationsstelle-ooe.at/5947_DEU_HTML.htm
Salzburg:
https://deutschlernen-salzburg.at/
http://www.auslaender.at/sprachschulen-in-salzburg
https://www.salzburg.gv.at/themen/soziales/asyl/grundversorgung/deutschkurs-fuer-asylwerberinnen
Steiermark/Styria:
http://www.auslaender.at/sprachschulen-in-der-steiermark
http://www.isop.at/tatigkeitsfelder/qualifizierung-bildung/deutschkurse-fur-migrantinnen/
Tirol/The Tyrol:
http://www.auslaender.at/sprachschulen-in-tirol
https://www.tirol.gv.at/gesellschaft-soziales/familie/tiroler-familienratgeber/d/deutschkurse/
Vorarlberg
http://www.auslaender.at/sprachschulen-in-vorarlberg
https://www.okay-line.at/Informationen/deutsch-lernen/Sprachkursanbieter.html
Wien/Vienna:
VHS-Vienna: https://www.vhs.at/de/k/sprachen/deutschkurse-daz
WIFI- Vienna: https://www.wifiwien.at/kategorie/c-sprachen/cb-allgemeine-sprachkompetenz/cba-deutsch
BFI-Wi Vienna en: https://www.bfi.wien/sprachen/?subcategories%5B%5D=1000118&isProduct=1&productType=&isAk=&dayTime=&startDate=&endDate=&minPrice=&maxPrice=&sort=&page=1
https://sprachenzentrum.univie.ac.at/deutschkurse/
https://www.wienxtra.at/jugendinfo/infos-von-a-z/deutsch-lernen-fuer-migrant-innen/#c11890
List of language schools in Vienna: http://www.auslaender.at/sprachschulen-in-wien
http://www.asyl.at/de/adressen/bildungsangebote/wien/#Deutschkurse