Every pet entering Austria from the EU needs a microchip implanted before or at the same time as the rabies vaccination; a vaccine given before the chip is in place doesn't count toward meeting the entry requirement, since the rabies record has to be traceable back to that specific animal's chip number from the start. Austria's Sozialministerium guidance is explicit that the vaccination date on the passport can't predate the microchip implantation date.

The minimum age for a first rabies vaccination is 12 weeks, and the vaccination only becomes valid for travel 21 days after a primary course is completed, using an inactivated or recombinant vaccine that meets WOAH (World Organisation for Animal Health) standards and is followed by the correct booster schedule. There's no mechanism to shorten either the age floor or the 21-day wait, which is the detail that most often catches out owners travelling with a young puppy or kitten on a tight timeline.

Keep the microchip number consistent across the pet passport, any veterinary records, and (if your dog is one of the breeds covered in the Listenhunde article) any state-level registration paperwork. A mismatched chip number is one of the most common, entirely avoidable reasons a pet's documents get questioned at any point in the trip.