• Passport or a personal ID card (the new model) are travel documents authorising visitors to non-visa entry and residence in the territory of Austria is. Prior to the entry, the visitors are to make sure that the document is in a sufficiently good technical condition and whether it allows to identify the holders identity. Also, the passport should be checked as to whether it will be valid for the period of three months after the planned period of stay in Austria. If you have a passport or an ID take both documents and keep them separately. If one is lost, the other will still make the return to the homeland possible. Caution: If the ID document is lost, Polish residents have the possibility of obtaining a temporary travel document only at the Consular Department of the Polish Embassy in Vienna.
• Keep the money and the documents in separate places.
• In the passport, in the place envisaged for this purpose, write in your residential address and the contact data of the person to be informed in case of emergency situation.
• If you travel individually by train, bus or plane find out from the carrier what to do if the ticket is lost to avoid problems on the way back (if it is possible to re-issue the ticket). Ask the carrier to provide the contact telephone number in the event of an unforeseen situation.
• Apart from cash, it is recommended to take credits or ATM card acceptable in the territory of Austria (majority of popular cards are accepted here, e.g. VISA, MasterCard). In the case of ATM cards, the most widely accepted card is MAESTRO. VISA Electron, which is so popular in Poland, is not accepted in majority of shops – it can be used only in some ATMs, which in the event of loss of money, will make payment of the most urgent amounts possible.
• In Austria, the customs control may be conducted in the territory of the entire country. The customs regulations are compliant with the EU standards. Tourists are expected to comply with the limits concerning import of the purchased and transferred good of personal use, which are not subject to resale. The phrase for “personal use” includes presents but their sale in breach of the law may result in confiscation and additional penalty. Commodities are regarded as for “personal use” if they do not exceed the specified quantities, e.g. cigarettes – 200 pieces, mini-cigars – 400 pieces, cigars – 200 pieces, tobacco – 1 kg, spirit – 10 l, wine with the increase alcohol level (e.g. sherry, port) – 20 l, wine – 90 l (including up to maximum 60 l sparkling wine), beer – 110 l. Persons under 17 are not allowed to carry alcoholic beverages or tobacco products.
• Be sure to have the European Health Insurance Card (former E111 form) issued by the branches of the National Health Fund.
  Caution: As the National Health Fund does not cover the costs of the long term hospital and the specialist care treatment, the international medical transport, visitors are asked to make sure that they have purchased appropriate, additional individual ADB and medical treatment bundled insurance.
• In Austria, if treated at hospital one has to be aware of the requirement to pay a cash fee of 10–15 Euros for each day at hospital. In the case of lack of medical insurance, the medical consultation or hospital treatment expenses have to be paid on site. The estimated cost of the standard medical consultation is ca. 40–50 EUR; the price of one day at hospital (exclusive of the costs of tests, surgeries and treatment) – is from 750 EUR.
  In the case of persons who have the European Health Insurance Card the costs of medical consultation or hospitalisation are settled by the doctor or hospital through the Austrian Health Care Fund with the Polish Health Care Fund. It has to be remembered that medicine may have to be purchased which is not refundable under the European health Insurance Card (for more information please visit: www.nfz.gov.pl).
• Family or friends in Poland should be given sufficient amount of money which they will be able to send over to you, if necessary, through the companies rendering quick international money transfer services (such as for example Western Union). Take addresses and phone numbers of your family and friends and Polish consulates in the transit countries and in Austria. If your travel within an organized group, ask for the mobile phone number of your guide or the organizer of the trip at home.

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While in Austria

• If you are a victim of a crime – call the Police (Tel. 133) or go to the nearest Police Station. Make sure the report is made and ask for its copy.
• If it is necessary to obtain medical help a - call the emergency line (Tel. 144).
• A foreigner in Austria is subjected to the registration requirement which should be satisfied within 3 days of arrival at the office with the jurisdiction over the place of residence.
• Do not leave unattended and do not entrust documents, baggage or personal belongings to strangers.
• If the documents are lost, report this fact at the nearest Police Station.
• If the documents are stolen, you will be given a written confirmation of the report. The document issued by the Police can be used to make new documents. If the driving licence or a registration document are stolen, ask for an extended report which can be also used as a replacement registration document or a driving licence in the territory of Austria (usually it costs a dozen or so Euros).
• If loss of the documents or money renders your return homeland impossible, contact the nearest Polish consulate.
• If you lost your mobile, ATM or credit cards, contact your operator/bank to restrict their use.
• If you change the date of your return, make sure your family and friends in Poland are informed.
• If a person who went to watch the Championship games in Austria is missing, the closest relatives should report this fact at the Police Headquarters in Poland with the jurisdiction over the place of residence.

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Important for the drivers

• Polish driving licence is also an entitlement to drive in Austria. If appropriate marking is not placed on the registration plates, the vehicle should be marked with the sign of the country where it is registered distinguishing the vehicle  in international traffic (for Poland it is a PL mark). International driving licence is not mandatory. Persons under 18 may not drive mechanical vehicles, even though they have driving licence.
• If a borrowed used car is used, it is recommended to obtain from the owner a written authorisation for the use of the vehicle (officially certified and translated into German) or an authorization made on a proper form (available from PZMOT).
• On highways and express ways the vignette is a requirement, i.e. a sticker confirming payment of the toll for the use of paid roads. The prices in 2008 are the following:
  - For two-wheel vehicles (category A): annual fee is 29,50 EUR, 2-month – 11,10 EUR, 10-day – 4,40 EUR;
  - For the vehicles up to 3,5 t (category B): the annual fee is 73,80 EUR (valid for 14 months from 1 December 2007 through 31 January 2009), 2-month 22,20 EUR, 10-day – 7,70 EUR.
  Lac of the sticker in the appropriate place on the front pane may result in the mandatory purchase of a one-day toll-sticker amounting to 120 EUR. Failure to stop the car for control or manipulations with the tool-sticker may be subject to a fine of 3000 EUR. Toll-stickers can be purchased on Austrian petrol stations and at the PZM branches in Poland, on border crossing in the south of Poland and on some petrol stations. At some sections of the highways and express ways  there are additional fees required (e.g. for going under the tunnel).
• Vehicle drivers should be aware that there may be thorough checks of the technical condition of the vehicle (very important: the tyre, brakes and first aid kit, a triangle and vest and in winter also the tyre chains). Tickets may be given for bad technical condition of the vehicle or absence of the basic equipment or suspension of the registration plates or even a car.
• If a tourist does not have money to pay the ticket, the border guards or the police may take as a deposit an item whose value is similar to the amount of the ticket fine. The officer is then required to issue a certification and advise the person of how she/he may recover the item from the deposit. It has to be remembered that the Austrian police have the right to impose a fine, keep the driving licence or arrest a person.
• The police are very strict about the technical condition of the vehicle. If major defect of the vehicle are identified, the registration card may be taken and a high fine may be imposed (from half a dozen or so up), and also charging the driver with the costs of towing the vehicle to the garage, cost of technical check and other administration fees including the fee for the work of public services while alleviating the damages caused to natural environment arising in connection with the fuel leak. Similar consequence may be expected by the driver if he is trying to repair the vehicle in a place where it is forbidden (e.g. on the highway). Any repairs should be made in place designated for it, e.g. in garages. Due to limited possibilities of repairing the car and high costs of specialist repairs at the garages, it is recommended to purchase an insurance policy and the MPS book (International Auto Repair).
• Rigorously enforced requirement to comply with the prevailing speed limits on the roads (the speed allowed in the residential area is 50 km/h., and in other places – 100 km/h, on highways – 130 km/h.).
• The duty to keep the seat belts fastened on all seats is enforced.
• The maximum amount of alcohol in the driver’s blood is 0,1 per mille. The result from 0,1 to 0,49 per mille is a felony subject to the penalty depending on the evaluation of the ability to drive the vehicle (the evaluation is made by the police officer). The driver with the alcohol blood content above 0,5 per mille may be given a ticket (from 218 to 5813 EUR) and suspension of the driving licence or imprisonment even if there was no accident.
• Do not stop in desolate places. The best places for parking, especially at night, are big well lit petrol stations.
• Do not leave items of value, document sand money unattended in a vehicle – even in a trunk or compartment.
• Additional information for the drivers is available from: www.oeamtc.at.
• The Austrian law envisages a specified catalogue of road offences and penalties applicable for each of them. In many cases only lower and upper limits of the penalty are defined. Therefore, any argument wit the traffic police regarding the amount of the ticket is useless and has the reverse effect – police officer may increase the fine up to the maximum limit envisaged in the regulations. Refusal to accept the ticket on site is always equivalent to submitting the case of administrative procedure. A deposit may in this situation be required on account of the possible future fine (a few hundreds of Euro). In return the driver has the right to appeal the ticket decision to the nearest authority overseeing the work of the Police (most often it is a community office – Bezirks Hauptmannschaft). Acceptance of the ticket and payment of the fine excludes the possibility of an appeal. Within the framework of the road control, the driving licence and vehicle documents are thoroughly checked. If the documents are not clear, if they are damaged, changed or modified, the documents are in majority of cases kept together with the vehicle and the explanatory procedure is started; usually, the driver is charged with its costs (car towing, parking etc.).
• Polish citizens travelling by car are obliged to have a valid TPL insurance for the car (and a trailer if they travel by it). Therefore, for practical reasons, it is recommended to have a “green card” as an obvious evidence of the vehicle being insured homeland. The policies of the insurance companies with respect to the motor insurance are fully acceptable in Austria.
• Be careful with hitchhikers! Taking a hitchhiker both EU and non-EU resident may result in serious consequences for the driver (owner) of the vehicle and even the co-passengers, if for example during the border check or other check (e.g. customs check) it turns out that there is penal or other proceeding pending against such passenger or that he refrained from the execution of the penalty (e.g. a fine). It has to be remembered that transporting the passengers – e.g. the non-EU residents or non European Economic Zone who reside illegally in Austria is regarded as an offence. In such situations the driver (the owner) of the vehicle and co-passengers may be subjected to sanctions such as imprisonment of confiscation of the vehicle.

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