Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

AUSTRIAN CITIZENSHIP

IN NUMBERS: Who are the new Austrian citizens in 2024?

The number of people receiving Austrian citizenship through naturalisation processes is slowing down. Here's a look at some stats about the new citizens and where they are from originally.

Published: 16 February 2024 16:55 CET
IN NUMBERS: Who are the new Austrian citizens in 2024?
Austrian citizenship usually requires a ten-year mandatory residence period - but there are ways to shorten that. Photo by Ante Hamersmit on Unsplash

In 2023, Austrian citizenship was granted to 19,939 people, including more than 8,000 living abroad, according to Statistik Austria. The number was 3.2 percent lower in total than last year.

“The trend of rising naturalisation figures did not continue in 2023. The decline is mainly due to the fact that naturalisations of victims of National Socialism and their descendants fell by 17.7 percent”, said Tobias Thomas, Director General of Statistics Austria.

Austria’s naturalisation rate (ratio of naturalisations to the number of non-Austrian citizens living in Austria) is relatively low compared to the rest of Europe and continues at 0.7 percent. This is because the naturalisation process is not easy in the country – people generally need to be residents for ten years, pay high fees (around €2,000) and give up any other citizenship they hold.

READ ALSO: Will my children get an Austrian passport if born in Austria?

The hurdles are rarely worth it for EU citizens who can live and work in Austria. This is shown in the Statistik Austria data.

Who are the new Austrian citizens?

Only 9 percent of the naturalisations were from people from EU states. The highest proportion of new Austrians held Israeli citizenship (21.4 percent). They are followed by people from Syria (9.4 percent) and the United States (8.2 percent). 

Other nationalities include Turkey (5.7 percent), United Kingdom (5.6 percent), Bosnia and Herzegovina (4 percent), and Afghanistan (4 percent). Nine percent of the naturalisations were of people from EU states and 4.4 percent of people from African countries.

The majority of the people naturalising as Austrians that were from the United Kingdom, the United States or Israel resided abroad – most of them were naturalised via the new process for restitution of Austrian citizenship to victims of the Nazi regime and their descendants. In these cases, people are allowed to keep their other citizenship. 

READ ALSO: Austria improves nationality law for descendants of Nazi victims

About half of the people naturalising (50.2 percent) were women, and a third were under 18 years old. 

In seven federal provinces, more people were naturalised in the year 2023 than the previous year. The relative increases were highest in Burgenland (44.9 percent to 297 naturalisations), followed by Styria (43.8 percent to 1,309), Upper Austria (36.1 percent to 1,808), Lower Austria (33.4 percent to 2,031), Tyrol (18.6 percent to 913), Salzburg (8.8 percent to 530) and Vorarlberg (4.6 percent to 677). 

Fewer naturalisations compared to the year 2022 were reported in Carinthia (−21.4 percent to 434) and Vienna (−12.9 percent to 3,899).

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

AUSTRIAN CITIZENSHIP

Can I get Austrian citizenship and immediately move abroad?

Austrian citizenship comes with perks, including freedom of movement in the EU. But some foreign residents are wondering if newly naturalised Austrians get to enjoy these rights immediately or if they have to wait for a period of time before moving abroad.

Published: 13 May 2024 10:49 CEST
Can I get Austrian citizenship and immediately move abroad?

Freedom of movement and the ability to live and work in other member countries can be among the best perks of European Union (EU) citizenship for those whose work and family lives allow it.

For example, Austrian citizens who can work remotely may choose to spend the coldest months of the year near a sunny beach in Spain. Likewise, when summer heatwaves start, they can move to the Nordics without applying for any visas or work permits.

READ ALSO: Five surprising Austrian citizenship rules you should know about

But if you are a newly naturalised Austrian citizen, can you get your Austrian documents and then immediately move to another European country – or even further afield?

Can I leave Austria as soon as I get citizenship?

The basic answer is yes, once citizenship is granted you can legally move to another European country indefinitely if you want to.

Asked how EU rules apply to foreigners who naturalise, immigration lawyer Sven Hasse told The Local, “With their naturalisation, third-country nationals also acquire EU citizenship.” He added, “And the freedom of movement rights within the EU by the Freedom of Movement Directive.”

READ ALSO: What documents should I get after obtaining Austrian citizenship?

No unique terms and conditions apply to foreigners or dual citizens, and there is no probation period for citizenship once it is granted.

In fact, once citizenship is granted, it can only be repealed for a few very specific reasons, such as joining a foreign military or discovering that you lied on your citizenship application.

So, theoretically, if you gained Austrian citizenship today, you could move to Italy tomorrow, and there would be no reason, at least from a legal perspective, that you would need to return.

What are EU citizens rights?

EU citizens can move to any EU country to live, work, study, look for a job or retire.

According to the European Union’s official website, “You can stay in another EU country for up to three months without registering there”.

Depending on where you are staying, you may need to register your residence after three months. However, provided you register according to the local regulations, you can then continue to reside there for longer.

READ ALSO: Do foreigners in Austria have to carry their residence cards?

You may need to carry your Austrian identity card or passport in many EU countries. If you’re without your identity documents, you could be fined or temporarily detained, but this is not reason enough to make you return to your home country.

Additionally, in most cases, if you live legally in another EU country for a continuous period of five years, you will eventually acquire permanent residence there.

Indeed, freedom of movement is a huge benefit to millions of EU citizens, who are, therefore, free to travel much more easily and seek work internationally within the EU region.

The popularity of benefits such as this could be one reason why far-right parties have stopped talking so much about leaving the EU in the current election cycle.

Perks of the Austrian passport

Along with the ability to live and work across the EU, Austrian citizenship comes with a sought-after passport.

Passports are ranked by the number of countries they allow you to travel to without a visa.

In 2024, the Austrian passport is the second most powerful in the world after the United Arab Emirates passport; according to the Passport Index – Austria shares its 2nd place status with France, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Germany and Switzerland.

Currently, Austrian citizens get visa-free access to 143 countries, and another 43 countries offer a visa-on-arrival for them.

In comparison, the UK passport has the 5th most powerful ranking – along with Singapore, the Czech Republic and South Korea – granting entry to 174 countries. The US, Canada and Australia all share the 7th most powerful passport ranking, with access to 172 countries.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: When is dual citizenship allowed in Austria?

Lower down on the list, Kenyan passport holders have access to 100 fewer countries than Austrian passport holders, for example. Similarly, India’s passport has the 66th ranking and allows entry to 73 countries.

On a practical level, having a powerful passport ranking simply means that you can travel to more places with relative ease. So, even if you don’t plan to move elsewhere with your citizenship, the Austrian passport is not a bad one to have.

Coming from countries with weak passports can make moving abroad, or even travelling, difficult. For some citizenship applicants, being granted an Austrian passport could significantly improve their mobility and access to certain countries.

SHOW COMMENTS