Those who want to take up Austrian citizenship via naturalisation need to undergo an extensive and expensive process and fulfil specific criteria.
Applicants need at least 10 years of lawful and uninterrupted residence in Austria, including five years of settlement, although different rules apply to recognised refugees. However, some people can apply after six years, including citizens of EU or EEA countries, people born in Austria and those married to Austrian citizens, provided they meet the relevant conditions.
The main hurdles, however, include having to give up any other citizenships, as Austria doesn't allow for dual citizenship in naturalisation cases with few exceptions.
Only a few exceptions to the rule exist - one when the national interest may be served (for example, in allowing actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to keep his Austrian citizenship despite his American naturalisation), another for those descendants of Jews who fled Austria following the Nazi takeover in 1938.
What may be behind this Austrian policy when other European nations begin taking a broader view of dual citizenship?
Dr Hannes Wiesflecker, of Law Experts Rechtsanwälte-Attorneys, told The Local: “From my point of view, the opposition to dual citizenship is mainly based on a more traditional picture of the relationship between citizen and state.
“This is based on the fact that the citizen has to decide to which country, and therefore culture and society, he or she belongs. The Austrian state assumes that choosing one place will establish a deeper bond to a country.”
A turbulent history
Austria's history may also be relevant to understanding its approach to citizenship, although it is difficult to establish a direct connection between past political upheavals and today's restrictions.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed at the end of the First World War, and the First Austrian Republic was established in 1918. Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, before the Second Republic was restored in 1945. The country regained full sovereignty with the State Treaty of 1955.
Austria's citizenship laws have long reflected a restrictive approach to holding more than one nationality. The emphasis on choosing a single national identity, as described by Wiesflecker, offers one possible explanation for this approach, although it should be understood as an interpretation rather than an official justification.
READ MORE: Could Austria ever relax its strict dual-citizenship laws?
A changing reality?
However, this overlooks one important fact: Austria is a country of immigration. According to Statistik Austria, around 2.55 million people living in Austria in 2025 had a migration background, representing approximately 28 percent of the population.
The number is high, but it gets even more impressive when we understand what was considered a migration background: people whose parents were both born abroad. Persons with one parent born in Austria do not have a “migration background”, according to this definition.
The number of foreign citizens, meaning those without Austrian citizenship, is also high. At the start of 2026, around 1.88 million foreign citizens were living in Austria, representing 20.4 percent of the population, according to Statistik Austria.
Vienna has an even higher proportion of foreign citizens. At the beginning of 2026, 36.8 percent of the capital's residents did not hold Austrian citizenship, according to Statistik Austria.
Several voices in Austria have for years argued that this poses a threat not just to the integration of these people but to democracy itself.
Georg Lauß, a Politics teacher from the Pedagogical University of Vienna, said: "One can be of the opinion that it is not a problem if 15 percent of the population are not allowed to vote. But what if it's 20 or 30 percent, so when is the point reached where we can no longer speak of democracy?"
Possibility for change?
A growing number have called for the Austrian government to reconsider its stance - including from Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen during his 2022 presidential campaign.
In an interview with local media, Van der Bellen said he believes the "hurdles" for citizenship are too high.
"Citizenship is a valuable asset. I think the hurdles for obtaining it are too high, " he repeated on numerous occasions.
At the time, some politicians, including the Greens, agreed.
"The Green position is very clear: We see it the same way as the Federal President," stated the Green Minister of Justice Alma Zadic in the ORF program ZiB2.
But there is still significant resistance to change.
At the time, then-Chancellor Karl Nehammer, of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), rejected calls to soften citizenship requirements. His position differed from the more liberal stance expressed by the Greens, who were his coalition partners.
Since March 2025, Austria has been governed by a coalition of the ÖVP, centre-left Social Democrats (SPÖ) and liberal NEOS. Their government programme proposes tougher German-language and integration requirements for naturalisation, alongside efforts to reduce bureaucracy, but it does not include a general relaxation of dual citizenship restrictions.
A separate integration bill published in October 2026 also proposed a limited amendment to the citizenship law, but did not change the general rule on holding multiple nationalities. The bill was still under consultation in early November.
Germany's reforms have highlighted how differently the two neighbouring countries approach dual citizenship. Austria, however, continues to maintain its restrictive rules, and there is little indication from the current government's published plans that a broad relaxation is on the way.
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