Terms of use

Migrada is run by Noah Rodman, BSc, sole trader in Vienna (Donau-City-Straße 3/08.05, 1220 Wien, Austria, GISA-Zahl 40007304). Contact: [email protected]. Full details are in the Impressum.

Migrada helps students from outside the EU organise a move to Austria for their studies: a written plan on request, a case in your account with the steps in order, pre-checks of documents you upload, guides with figures from official sources and a community where questions are answered.

Migrada gives information and organisational help, not legal advice. We are not a law firm, we do not represent anyone before an authority and we do not submit applications or documents for you. Your plan, the steps in your case, document pre-checks and answers in the community are general information for your situation, based on the rules we know at the time. Only the universities and the Austrian authorities decide and nobody can guarantee a university place or a residence permit. Where your situation is complicated, ask the authority or a lawyer.

Your timeline and dates. The months and dates in your case, including the ones Noah sets for you, are there to help you plan. We work them out from what you tell us and from the dates universities and authorities publish at the time. Those dates can change, so the date that counts is always the one your university or the authority gives you.

The plan, your case, the document pre-checks, the community and the guides are free for students and their families. Because they are free, there is no claim to a plan, an answer or a check within a set time, although we aim for 48 hours.

Some links may lead to partners, for example a bank or an insurer. We may be paid if you use them and we say so next to the link. Using a partner is always your choice; their own terms apply and they alone are responsible for their service.

Paid help that a buddy offers on their own is not a Migrada service and does not change what Migrada offers you (see Buddies).

• Giving us correct and complete answers. A plan built on wrong answers can be wrong.
• Your application, your documents and your deadlines. Check every figure and deadline with the official source we name before you act on it.
• Telling us when something changes, such as your semester start or your appointment, so your timeline can follow.
• Keeping your own copies of your documents. Migrada is a place to have them checked, not an archive.
• Uploading only documents that are yours, or that you are allowed to share.

For some documents an automatic check reads dates, names and amounts and compares them with the official rules; a person at Migrada looks at anything unclear and at all other documents. A pre-check is a second pair of eyes, not an approval: it can miss things and an authority can still ask for more or decide differently. "Looks good" means we found nothing wrong, not that the document will be accepted.

To post, reply or mark answers as helpful you need a free account. When you post, you agree to these rules:

• No selling in the community. Nobody, buddies included, may offer or ask for money, visas, documents or university places in posts or replies.
• Nobody can guarantee a visa. Do not promise one and report anyone who does.
• Never post documents, passport numbers or anyone's personal details.
• Be kind, stay on topic and post only what you are allowed to share.

Answers from members and buddies are their own experience, not checked advice. Only answers marked "Checked answer" were checked by us against official sources.

You keep the rights to what you write. You allow us to publish it, shorten it for length and keep it on Migrada, also after you leave, then without your name. We do not check posts before they appear and are not responsible for what members write, but we act quickly once we know about something unlawful.

Reporting and removal. Report a post with the Report button or by writing to [email protected]. We may hide or remove posts and limit or close accounts that break these rules or the law. When we do, we tell you why and you can reply to object.

Buddies are people who already moved to Austria and help students as volunteers on the Migrada team. They are not lawyers and give no legal advice. Every buddy accepts our Buddy Agreement before they can help: no promises of a visa, confidentiality and special care for students under 18.

What a buddy can see. Only if you share your case with their buddy code under Account, or we introduce a buddy to you: your answers, steps and dates and the status of your documents, never the documents themselves. You can stop sharing at any time under Account. Buddies also see an overview of students without names or contact details, so they can offer to help; we decide who helps you.

Independent paid help. Some buddies also offer paid one-to-one help as independent providers. That is a separate agreement between you and the buddy. Migrada is not a party to it, does not recommend or check it, takes no commission and is not responsible for it. Migrada itself stays free for students. Before you pay anyone, ask for a written offer with their full name, the price and what is included. If you are under 18, a parent must agree and pay.

Tell us. Report it if anyone asks you for money in Migrada's name, promises you a visa, pressures you or wants payment before giving you a written offer: with "Tell Noah privately" under Account or at [email protected]. We look into every report and may pause or remove a buddy.

Outside Migrada. We cannot see or control messages, calls, meetings or payments outside Migrada, for example on WhatsApp. Keep important agreements in writing.

You need to be at least 14 to create an account; under 14, a parent creates it with you. Give us correct details and keep your password to yourself. You can delete your account and everything in it at any time under Account in the app, or by writing to [email protected].

We keep improving Migrada and may change, pause or end parts of it. If we end something that holds your data, we tell you early enough to save what you need.

Migrada's help is free for students today. If we ever offer something paid, we show the price and what it includes before you buy and your statutory rights, including the right of withdrawal for consumers, apply.

We take care to keep our information correct and up to date, but we cannot guarantee it is complete or current. We are liable for damage caused intentionally or with gross negligence and always for injury to life, body or health.

Beyond that and as far as the law allows, we are not liable for slight negligence and in particular not for decisions of universities or authorities, refused or delayed permits, fees, travel or other costs, missed deadlines, dates that universities or authorities change, the services of partners, the independent paid help of buddies, or what other members post. Mandatory consumer protection rules are not affected.

Austrian law applies, without its conflict-of-law rules and without the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. If you are a consumer, you keep the protection that the mandatory law of the country where you live gives you. Courts in Vienna have jurisdiction; if you are a consumer in the EU, you can also bring claims before the courts where you live.

If we change these terms, we update this page and the date at the top. Changes that affect an existing account take effect only after we have told you.