Austria is one of the most attractive countries for permanent residence. There is a very high standard of living there . Those who have not yet been to this Alpine country can apply for a visa to Austria and see for themselves.
Many people dream of becoming citizens of this rich state. However, the Austrian authorities have serious requirements for candidates.
Benefits of Austrian citizenship
Foreigners choose Austria not only because of the high standard of living, developed infrastructure and clean environment. The main advantages of obtaining Austrian citizenship are:
- the opportunity to study at a university at prices for Europeans;
- free education in public schools;
- free health insurance;
- free movement within the countries of the European Union;
- visa-free regime with more than 100 countries;
- the right to receive social benefits;
- the right to vote in elections ;
- high profit payment;
- political stability.
More details about salaries in Austria in the video:
Free movement and life in EU countries
With an Austrian passport, you can move freely throughout the EU countries, study, work and open a business in other countries without hindrance. For example, to move from Austria to Germany, you no longer need to wait 3 months for a residence permit to be issued. It is enough to come to the country, register at your place of residence, find a job and pay taxes.
Visa-free visits to foreign countries
Austrians can visit any EU country and 115 countries around the world. The list includes the USA, Canada, Australia, where obtaining a visa is not so easy. For 30 countries you do not need to apply for a visa in advance; it is issued upon arrival. And only 29 countries require entry permission.
Austrians can only come to Russia with a visa. Therefore, for some, the disadvantage will be the renunciation of previous citizenship. But compared to the advantages of an Austrian passport, this is only a small drawback.
Ways to obtain Austrian citizenship
You can obtain Austrian citizenship ( Österreichischen Staatsbürgerschaft ) in 2023:
- by birth;
- through marriage;
- by naturalization;
- through investments.
The grounds for obtaining citizenship are specified in Austrian law .
Austrian citizenship by birth
Children who have at least one parent is an Austrian citizen can obtain Austrian citizenship. If the child’s mother is Austrian, then there are no problems with obtaining citizenship.
If the mother is a foreigner and the father is Austrian, then he must recognize the child. A personal statement authorizing the father’s name to be included on the birth certificate is usually sufficient.
If the father does not recognize the child, then paternity can be forced to be recognized through the court. If the court approves the application, it will be entered on the birth certificate, and the child will be able to apply for citizenship.
Adopted children from abroad can also obtain Austrian citizenship. The main condition is that the child must be under 14 years old.
Through marriage
When marrying an Austrian man or an Austrian woman, a foreigner has the right to obtain citizenship. The main condition is that the married couple has lived in the same territory for at least 5 years. Even in this case, the immigrant will have to pass German language tests to obtain citizenship.
Financial investments and investments
Austria is not a country where you can obtain a residence permit through investment. Investors are immediately given citizenship. True, this method will be unrealistic for many. To obtain an Austrian passport, you need to invest 3 million euros in the state treasury or 10 million euros in an existing business in Austria.
The embassy discusses obtaining Austrian citizenship through investment with the candidate individually. There are no clear requirements.
Naturalization
Obtaining Austrian citizenship through naturalization is the path of almost every emigrant. This method is chosen by students who received their education in Austria and remained to work, participants in emigration programs (Red-White-Red Card, EU Blue Card) and entrepreneurs operating in Austria.
The main requirements for obtaining citizenship: continuous residence in Austria for 10 years, knowledge of the language, culture, history and laws of the country, conducting income-generating activities (work, business).
Continuous residence means that the foreigner must have a valid residence permit all this time. You can safely travel from Austria on vacation or to your homeland.
Life under a temporary residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) is not fully counted towards this period. That is, if a foreigner studied in Austria for 5 years, only 2.5 years will be counted towards him. But for a permanent residence permit (Niederlassungsbewilligung), the years are counted in full.
Mandatory conditions for obtaining Austrian citizenship in 2023 by naturalization:
- 10 years of legal life (with a residence permit) in the country;
- absence of criminal records, lawsuits (in Austria and abroad), administrative offenses, debts;
- stable income (minimum 36 months of employment or other activity over the last 6 years. During this time, a minimum of 30,000 euros must be earned, which is not a problem with Austrian salaries);
- knowledge of German at level B1;
- knowledge of the history, culture and laws of Austria;
- renunciation of previous citizenship.
A candidate for citizenship should not pose a threat to society, be a member of extremist groups, etc.
Exceptional cases of obtaining citizenship
Other ways to obtain Austrian citizenship are available:
- Austrian women who lost their citizenship due to marriage before September 1, 1983;
- former citizens of Austria who voluntarily renounced citizenship due to immigration to another country;
- victims of Nazism;
- honored workers of science or art.
Reduced length of stay
In some cases, the period for obtaining citizenship can be reduced to 6 years:
- if you are married to a citizen of Austria (additional condition – cohabitation for 5 years);
- upon receipt of refugee status in Austria;
- if you have citizenship of another EU country;
- while affirming deep personal integration.
The latter method differs from “normal” naturalization by three additional conditions, at least one of which must be met:
- 3 years of volunteer work in a non-profit organization;
- 3 years of work in health, education or social services;
- 3 years of work as an activist in unions.
Procedure for obtaining Austrian citizenship
If a foreigner meets all the requirements, he should still consult the magistrate in his place of residence. They will explain what documents are needed in a particular case.
Where to apply
The migration police examines applications for citizenship. In Vienna this is the responsibility of the magistrate 35. In other federal states this may be handled by a separate service. It’s worth going or writing to the magistrate at your place of residence and finding out where they accept documents for citizenship.
Required documents
An approximate list of documents for obtaining Austrian citizenship in 2023:
- residence permit and registration at the place of residence;
- international passport;
- photographs according to EU standard (35*45 mm);
- certificate of income and its source (the applicant must be employed for 36 months over the last 6 years);
- rental agreement for an apartment or its property;
- a certificate of good conduct (from the home country and the country where the applicant lived for more than 6 months);
- proof of health insurance;
- certificate of marriage/divorce/change of name or surname/birth of a child (if available);
- an extract from the company of creditors confirming the absence of debts ;
- German language exam results.
There is no need to confirm that you have lived separately for 10 years in Austria. It is enough to bring a valid residence permit. Magistrate staff have access to history.
The list of documents is general. Magistrate employees have the right to demand additional papers.
Within 6 months the candidate will be contacted and informed of the result of the application. If it is negative, then the applicant will not be expelled from the country and the residence permit will not be taken away. A foreigner can submit documents again if there is a discrepancy with the requirements.
If the answer is yes, then you need to prepare for testing on the history and laws of the country and renounce your current citizenship.
German language exam
The ÖIF exam ( Österreichischer Integrationsfonds ) is suitable to confirm your language knowledge . Those who moved to Austria to get an education should not have any problems passing the test. If a foreigner studied in a German program, then in order to be admitted he had already passed the B1 level exam. If he graduated from an English-language program, then in 3 years of study and 5 years of living in the country, he definitely learned German to the required level.
To qualify, the level of knowledge of the German language must be B1.
Those who immigrated to Austria through employment (in particular to work in international companies where German is not required) or entrepreneurship will find it a little more difficult. No matter how much a language is needed in life, it is mandatory to take it for citizenship.
The German exam for obtaining Austrian citizenship takes place in a standard format: listening, reading, writing and speaking. You can find sample tests, take a practice exam and download preparation materials on the ÖIF website. There you can also find the dates of the upcoming exams (usually one exam per month).
In some cases, a German exam is not necessary. This applies to those whose higher education is closely related to the study of the German language.
Test of knowledge of Austrian culture and laws
To obtain Austrian citizenship, you need to pass an exam on your knowledge of the history and laws of the country. Trial testing can be completed on the state portal. This is not just a demo version: for each question there is a link to the training material . The test has easy questions (for example, what countries does Austria border with) and more difficult ones (the reasons for the revolution, or what important happened in the country in 1955).
Additional study materials are provided by the Vienna City Council. For each part there are questions for consolidation.
There are 27 questions in the test. To pass the exam, you must answer at least 18 questions correctly.
There is no need to take the exam if the foreigner studied at a primary or secondary school in Austria in German or received a diploma from an Austrian university in a similar field.
Terms of consideration
On average, the application review procedure takes from 6 months to one and a half years. If the application is approved, the candidate receives Austrian citizenship, after which he can immediately apply for a passport. The passport is valid for 10 years and can be renewed as usual. Citizenship can be revoked if the application contains false information or is fraudulent.
The timing is also affected by the place of residence. Vienna and Salzburg have a lot of immigrants. And if you submit documents in a small city, you can get an answer a little faster.
Application fee
The cost of applying in 2023 is 776 euros for a single person, 1,552 euros for couples (official marriage), 137 euros for each child. Children under two years old are issued citizenship free of charge. The assistance of a migration lawyer in collecting and processing documents will cost 2,000-3,000 euros.
Refusal to issue an Austrian passport
It would seem that obtaining citizenship is already the finish line of immigration. But here, too, you will have to be careful and collect all the documents correctly. The process of obtaining an Austrian passport is long and not cheap. Therefore, you need to protect yourself from refusal.
Reasons for refusal may be:
- false documents;
- entering into a fictitious marriage for the purpose of obtaining citizenship;
- fake invitation to work/study to enter the country;
- lack of reason to obtain refugee status;
- presence of debts (even unpaid Internet or a fine for traveling without a ticket are taken into account);
- wages below minimum;
- lack of grounds for obtaining citizenship.
If the applicant simply forgot about some document, he will be told about this during the application process and asked to report it. If a foreigner ignores this, then most likely there will be a refusal. In order not to miss anything, you must provide a valid phone number and email so that the migration service employee can contact the immigrant.
Those who followed the laws and lived legally in Austria have nothing to fear. But when applying for citizenship, all documents are raised. And if entry into the country was based on false papers, this fact may come to light and citizenship will be denied.
Loss of Austrian citizenship
Austrian citizenship may be lost in certain cases:
- accepting citizenship of another country (Austria does not allow dual citizenship);
- recruitment to military service in another state;
- if a person works for another state and his activities negatively affect the reputation of Austria;
- if the person has not renounced his previous citizenship within two years of receiving an Austrian passport.
Austrian citizenship can be renounced of one’s own free will.