IN NUMBERS: Who are the new Austrian citizens?
The number of people receiving Austrian citizenship through naturalisation processes is increasing. Here's a look at some stats about the new citizens and where they are from originally.
From January to the end of September of 2022, Austrian citizenship was granted to 11,155 people, including 3,017 (27 percent) people living abroad, according to data from Statistik Austria.
There were 45.3 percent more naturalisations during this time than from January to September 2021 (7,676 naturalisations), and 46.6 percent more than in the same period before the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2019 (7,610 naturalisations).
“The strong increase in naturalisations of 45.3 percent compared to the first three quarters of the previous year is mainly due to the naturalisations of victims of the Nazi regime and their descendants, who account for almost 30 percent of the newly naturalised persons,” said Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas.
People persecuted by the Nazi regime and their descendants have the possibility of naturalisation without having to give up their previous citizenship in return.
READ ALSO: Austrian citizenship: Do you really have to renounce your original nationality?
From January to September 2022, 3,022 people (of whom 2,992 live abroad) received Austrian citizenship under this legal title, corresponding to 27.1 percent of all naturalisations in these three quarters.
Individuals naturalised under this legislation are most often nationals of Israel (1,182 or 10.6 percent of all naturalised in the first nine months of 2022), the USA (718 or 6.4 percent) and the UK (640 or 5.7 percent).
READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Could Austria ever change the rules to allow dual citizenship?
Naturalised people for other reasons (a total of 8,133 persons from January to September 2022) were most frequently nationals of Syria (834 or 7.5 percent), Turkey (810 or 7.3 percent) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (614 or 5.5 percent).
Half of the naturalisations in the first three quarters of 2022 were women (50.6 percent), and about a third were minors (31.4 percent). Almost a quarter of the newly naturalised persons were born in Austria (2,683 or 24.1 percent).
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who is entitled to Austrian citizenship by descent and how to apply for it?
In eight federal provinces, more people were naturalised from January to September 2022 than in the same period of the previous year.
The relative increases were highest in Vorarlberg (+47.4 percent to 426 naturalisations), followed by Carinthia (+46.0 percent to 419), Vienna (+33.6 percent to 3,290) and Styria (+31.0 percent to 740).
READ ALSO: How foreigners can get fast-track citizenship in Austria
In Burgenland (-7.6 percent to 121), there were fewer naturalisations than in the previous year. However, even compared to the first three quarters of 2019, before the Covid pandemic, there were more naturalisations in seven provinces, led by Carinthia (+86.2 percent to 419 naturalisations).
Only in Vienna (-2.2 percent to 3,290) and Upper Austria (-4.9 percent to 993) there were fewer naturalisations compared to 2019.
Comments
See Also
From January to the end of September of 2022, Austrian citizenship was granted to 11,155 people, including 3,017 (27 percent) people living abroad, according to data from Statistik Austria.
There were 45.3 percent more naturalisations during this time than from January to September 2021 (7,676 naturalisations), and 46.6 percent more than in the same period before the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2019 (7,610 naturalisations).
“The strong increase in naturalisations of 45.3 percent compared to the first three quarters of the previous year is mainly due to the naturalisations of victims of the Nazi regime and their descendants, who account for almost 30 percent of the newly naturalised persons,” said Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas.
People persecuted by the Nazi regime and their descendants have the possibility of naturalisation without having to give up their previous citizenship in return.
READ ALSO: Austrian citizenship: Do you really have to renounce your original nationality?
From January to September 2022, 3,022 people (of whom 2,992 live abroad) received Austrian citizenship under this legal title, corresponding to 27.1 percent of all naturalisations in these three quarters.
Individuals naturalised under this legislation are most often nationals of Israel (1,182 or 10.6 percent of all naturalised in the first nine months of 2022), the USA (718 or 6.4 percent) and the UK (640 or 5.7 percent).
READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Could Austria ever change the rules to allow dual citizenship?
Naturalised people for other reasons (a total of 8,133 persons from January to September 2022) were most frequently nationals of Syria (834 or 7.5 percent), Turkey (810 or 7.3 percent) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (614 or 5.5 percent).
Half of the naturalisations in the first three quarters of 2022 were women (50.6 percent), and about a third were minors (31.4 percent). Almost a quarter of the newly naturalised persons were born in Austria (2,683 or 24.1 percent).
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who is entitled to Austrian citizenship by descent and how to apply for it?
In eight federal provinces, more people were naturalised from January to September 2022 than in the same period of the previous year.
The relative increases were highest in Vorarlberg (+47.4 percent to 426 naturalisations), followed by Carinthia (+46.0 percent to 419), Vienna (+33.6 percent to 3,290) and Styria (+31.0 percent to 740).
READ ALSO: How foreigners can get fast-track citizenship in Austria
In Burgenland (-7.6 percent to 121), there were fewer naturalisations than in the previous year. However, even compared to the first three quarters of 2019, before the Covid pandemic, there were more naturalisations in seven provinces, led by Carinthia (+86.2 percent to 419 naturalisations).
Only in Vienna (-2.2 percent to 3,290) and Upper Austria (-4.9 percent to 993) there were fewer naturalisations compared to 2019.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.