��Pregnancy and maternity for the self-employed parents in Austria– legal and practical aspects

Mutter-Kind-Pass�

• Issued after baby’s heartbeat is confirmed

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• It keeps a record of all mandatory examinations and tests during the pregnancy and till the child’s 5^th birthday

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• Carrying out and documenting the mandatory examinations is a prerequisite for receiving childcare allowance

Registering for a hospital birth

Public insurance

• At geburtsinfo.wien
• Krankenhaus Nord
• Allgemeines Krankenhaus
• Krankenhaus Hietzing
• Krankenanstalt Rudolfstiftung
• St. Josef Krankenhaus
• SMZ Süd – Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Spital
• SMZ Ost – Donauspital
• Wilhelminenspital

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Private insurance

• Goldenes Kreuz
• Privatklinik Döbling
• Rudolfiner Haus

Costs during the pregnancy, delivery, hospital stay and postpartum recovery�

Doctor’s examinations and tests during the pregnancy�

• Ultrasound (Ultraschall)

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• Pregnancy screenings

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• Consultation with a midwife

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• Medical tests

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Delivery and hospital stay, postpartum recovery�

• Depending on the hospital type

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• Depending on the type of the birth

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• Depending on the midwife

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Insurance types in Austria�

• insurance based on employments
• insurance for self-employed people
• insurance provided by AMS or MA40
• Mitversicherung - if they are not married, they have to have lived for 10 months at the same address in Austria; the cost of the insurance is 3,4% od the partner’s salary
• Free insurance at WGKK – aprox. 500 euros monthly. The amount can be reduced if the individual has no or low income
• students’ insurance
• insurance for “geringfühgig” employment
• private insurance
• insurance from another EU member state
• European health insurance card
• Transfer of health insurance rights for expats and their spouses

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Legal aspects of the pregnancy for employed women�

For employees

• Notifying the employer
• Protection against dismissal and contract termination
• Working restrictions

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For self-employed women

• Working restrictions

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Work restrictions�

General work restrictions (Mutterschutz)

• 8 weeks before the due date

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• 8/12 weeks after the delivery

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Doctor’s recommendations

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Administrative steps after the baby arrives

Registration of the birth (Anzeige der Geburt)

• Hospital birth

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• Home birth or at midwife’s practice

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• Birth without a medical professional present

Choosing a name

Birth certificate – required documents�Austrian/International birth certificate

Registration of the Newborn with the Social Insurance �

• Notification by the Standesamt

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• Obtaining social security number (Sozialverscherungsnummer)

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• Registration by the parents

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• Obtaining e-card

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Residence permit of the child

• Just because the parents reside legally in Austria, it does NOT mean the child is after the birth! A residence permit for the child must be obtained!
• Third-country nationals have to apply for residence permit for the child within 6 months of the birth
• You need to bring MA35 a letter from your embassy or consulate confirming the fact that you’ve already applied for the child’s passport

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Custody of the child when the parents are not married

• When the parents live in the same household

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• When the parents live in different households

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Acknowledgment of paternity�(Vaterschaftsanerkenntnis)

• Moment and effect of the acknowledgment

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• Required documents
• Personal identification
• Birth certificates of the parents
• Citizenship certificate (if one of the parents is Austrian)
• Mutter-Kind-Pass

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Wochengeld�

• For employees

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• Part time working geringfühgig

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• Women receiving unemployment compensation

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• Women receiving childcare allowance for another child

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• Self-employed
• NOTE: Receiving Wochengeld is NOT a guarantee you will also receive maternity allowance

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Specifics for self-employed mothers:�Wochengeld�

• Duration:
• 8 weeks before the birth and 8 weeks after the birth (by natural birth)
• 8 weeks before the birth and 12 weeks after the birth by premature birth, c-section or multiple birth.
• Requirements:
• The mother hires a replacement for herself for at least 20 hours/week or 4 days per week
• Or makes her business dormant for the duration of the allowance period
• Exception: when the nature of the work or the place of operation make it impossible someone else to replace the self-employed mother, she is entitled to receive the allowance even without putting her operation on hold or hiring someone.
• Amount:  70,28/day (for 2025)

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Specifics for mothers who are business license owners: �Operational assistance (Betriebshilfe)

• support can be used either as a benefit in kind or as a subsidy towards the costs of hiring an assistant

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• Requirements:
• there is a medically justified incapacity for work of more than 14 days
• the mother is part of the compulsory insurance, i.e. she does not use the exemption from social security contributions
• business license, i.e. membership of WKO
• the business assistance is necessary for the maintenance of the business

Child’s benefits (Familienbeihilfe)�

• Who is entitled to child’s benefits?*

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• Amount

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• Requirements

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• Competent authority

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* Those conditions do NOT apply to the families of diplomats and representatives in the international organizations in Vienna

Amount

• + 58,40 euros deductible negative tax a month for each child

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• + 8,60 euros after a 2^nd child for every kid
• + 21,10 euros after a 3^rd child for each kid
• + 32,10 euros after a 4^th child for each kid
• + 38,90 euros after a 5^th kid for each kid
• + 43,40, euros after a 6^th child for each kid
• + 63,10 euros after a 7^th child for each kid

Maternity and child allowance �

• Who has the right to receive child allowance from an Austrian insurance company?

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• Requirements

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• Competent authority

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• Application deadline

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• Allowance systems

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Required documents

• Birth certificate of the child

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• Copy of Mutter-Kind-Pass

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• Residence permit of both – the mother and the child

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Income-Related Childcare Allowance

• Requirements.

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• Amount – max EUR 80,12/day for maximum of 365 days

Or 80% from your last income (gross income) – Wochengeld or based on the tax declaration from the year prior to the birth.

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Sum of the relevant income x 0.62 + 4000 = daily ammount of the allowance

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365

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• Limit of additional earnings – EUR 8,600 (Zuverdienst).

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Flat-Rated Childcare Allowance

• If only one parent stays at home:
• Min 365 days – EUR 41,14/day
• Max 851 days – EUR 17,65/day

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• If the parents share the time at home:
• Min. 456 days – max 1 063 days

• Limit of additional earnings: EUR 18 000/year or 60% from the relevant income (gross income) for year prior to the birth

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Familienzeitbonus (old Papamonat)

• Since September.2019 available for ALL fathers
• The employer doesn’t have to consent to it
• Does not depend on a paternity leave
• Duration: 28, 29, 30 or 31 days
• 54,87 Euro/day, max 700 Euro in total
• If the father takes a paternity leave, the amount he received during the Papamonat will be deducted from the paternity leave payments

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Familienzeitbonus - requirements

• For employed fathers:
• Uninterrupted contributions to the health-and pension systems in last 182 days prior to the starting day
• No benefits from the unemployment fund were used within the 182 day period
• After the end of the period the parent must return to work.
• Application submission : earliest on the day of the birth, latest – within 91 days of the birth
• The applying parent and the child live in the same household
• The parent’s center of living is in Austria
• The child is entitled to receive child’s benefits
• If the parent is not Austrian citizen, he is residing legally in Austria

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Papamonat - requirements

• For self-employed fathers
• Same as the ones for employed parents AND

The commerce license must be discontinued for the time of the Papamonat

Thank you!