Separate the decision and the remedy track
Secure the service record, operative part, reasons and legal-remedy information of the decision. The article on NAG refusal and appeal concerns the procedural phase after the decision.
Suspected marriage of convenience: how the investigation under section 37(4) NAG affects the procedure
A suspected marriage of convenience under section 37(4) NAG: the police inquiry, the three-month period, the single extension and the effect on a complaint for delay.
2 October 2026
Proceedings
Mag. Mirela Saric, Attorney at Law
Section 37(4) NAG regulates a specific investigative step. If the authority has a justified suspicion during an act under the NAG that a particular person is involved in a marriage of convenience, registered partnership of convenience or adoption of convenience, it notifies the competent Regional Police Directorate.
That notification suspends the running of the period under section 8 VwGVG until the notification under section 110 FPG arrives. The start of the inquiry, the three-month period and a possible single extension therefore matter for the person concerned.
The notification of suspicion is not yet a refusal of the residence permit. It must be kept separate from the general conditions for the title and from a later remedy against a decision.
Procedural position
What information is available about the inquiry?
The check classifies the notification of suspicion, the Regional Police Directorate's result and a refusal that has already been served.
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What is currently known in the NAG procedure?
All paths at a glance
Overview of all answers.
Classify the letter and the state of the file
Record whether the letter is a summons, a request for a statement or a formal notification of an inquiry. The exact procedural step determines which response and documents are useful.
Compare the inquiry result with the NAG application
A notification that no marriage of convenience, registered partnership of convenience or adoption of convenience exists ends this special inquiry step. The authority must still assess the application under the remaining statutory conditions.
Document the three-month period and the file status
Check when the notification reached the Regional Police Directorate and whether a reasoned extension was announced within three months. Without such a notification, section 37(4) NAG provides the statutory consequence for the authority.
Classify the single extension of up to two months
An extension requires the Regional Police Directorate to state within the first three months, with reasons, that the inquiry has not been completed. Secure the date, reasons and further period in the file.
When section 37(4) NAG applies
The provision requires the authority to be carrying out an act under the NAG and to have a justified suspicion relating to a particular person. The suspicion must concern a marriage of convenience, a registered partnership of convenience or an adoption of convenience.
Section 30 NAG sets out the substantive boundary for relying on a marriage or registered partnership. Spouses or registered partners who do not lead a family life within the meaning of Article 8 ECHR may not rely on that relationship for the grant or retention of a residence title. The guide to bringing a spouse to Austria addresses preparation of the family application.
Section 37(4) NAG therefore creates a separate procedural track for clarification by the police authority. It does not answer whether accommodation, health insurance, means of support and the remaining title conditions are satisfied.
What the notification does to the period
The notification to the Regional Police Directorate suspends the running of the period under section 8 VwGVG until the notification under section 110 FPG arrives. Section 8 VwGVG concerns a complaint for delay and generally refers to six months unless a shorter or longer decision period is provided by law.
The suspension therefore concerns the time calculation relevant to a complaint for delay. It does not automatically extend every period in the NAG procedure and does not replace a response to a request from the authority.
Anyone checking the procedural position should review the suspicion notification, its receipt by the Regional Police Directorate and later notices together with the NAG file. The topic page on refusal and appeal sets out the remedy track after a decision.
Three months and one single extension
Under section 110 FPG, the Regional Police Directorate generally reports the result of its inquiry within three months. If it states with reasons within that period that the inquiry is not yet complete, the period for the report is extended once by a further two months.
If the Regional Police Directorate reports that no marriage of convenience, registered partnership of convenience or adoption of convenience exists, or if no report arrives within three months, section 37(4) NAG provides a statutory consequence for the authority. It must assume that a marriage, registered partnership or adoption exists unless a reasoned extension notice was given in time.
That assumption concerns the existence of the relationship. It does not grant the residence title automatically. The authority must continue to assess the entire application and any bars to issuance.
Which documents should now be placed in the file
For the timeline, keep the complete application, authority letters, summonses, minutes and all evidence about the family relationship together. Mark the date of every service and every reply from the authority or the Regional Police Directorate.
Section 19(2) NAG requires the documents and evidence needed to establish identity and the facts without doubt. The file should therefore show which explanation belongs to which document and which question the evidence answers.
Check whether the file records when the authority notified the Regional Police Directorate and whether an extension notice was issued. The family reunification checklist helps organise the general evidence.
Keep suspicion, decision and remedy separate
The inquiry under section 37(4) NAG is an intermediate step in the pending procedure. A later decision must identify its material facts and legal grounds independently. Section 11(1)(4) NAG names a marriage of convenience, registered partnership of convenience or adoption of convenience under section 30(1) or (2) as a bar to issuance.
Once a decision has been served, follow its legal-remedy information. The suspension ordered by section 37(4) NAG concerns the period under section 8 VwGVG and must be kept separate from the time limit for an appeal against a decision. The guide to NAG refusal, appeal and deadlines explains that next procedural phase.
The sequence is therefore: establish the inquiry and notices, review the complete file, assess any decision after service and then classify the appropriate remedy.
Frequently asked questions about a suspected marriage of convenience
Is a notification of suspicion already a refusal of the residence permit?
No. It opens a specific inquiry. The authority must still decide the application under the remaining legal conditions.
How long does the Regional Police Directorate have for its inquiry?
Section 110 FPG generally provides three months for reporting the result. A single two-month extension is possible if the Regional Police Directorate gives reasons within the first three months that the inquiry has not been completed.
What does the suspension under section 37(4) NAG mean?
The notification suspends the running of the period under section 8 VwGVG until the notification under section 110 FPG arrives. Section 8 VwGVG concerns a complaint for delay. Other deadlines must be assessed separately.
Does no notification mean that the residence permit must be granted?
No. Section 37(4) NAG governs the assumption that a marriage, registered partnership or adoption exists for this inquiry step. The remaining conditions and possible bars to issuance remain open.
What should be done after a refusal has been served?
Secure the complete decision and proof of service and read the legal-remedy information. An appeal against the decision follows its own time limit and must not be confused with the suspended period for a complaint for delay under section 8 VwGVG.