Parliament's Interior Committee postponed a proposal to tighten Austrian citizenship rules for recognised refugees.
The motion, put forward by the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), was deferred on Thursday with the votes of the governing ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS parties, according to the official parliamentary record. It was not adopted and has therefore made no change to Austria's citizenship rules.
The proposal called for changes to the Citizenship Act so people granted asylum in Austria could no longer claim a right to naturalisation based on their years living in the country as recognised refugees.
During the committee debate, FPÖ security spokesman Gernot Darmann clarified that his party wanted periods spent with recognised refugee status to stop counting towards the residence period required for citizenship.
What are the rules now?
Under the rules currently in force, recognised refugees can qualify for Austrian citizenship after at least ten years of lawful and uninterrupted residence in Austria.
Ten years' residence alone is not enough. Applicants must also meet the other naturalisation conditions, including requirements relating to income, criminal convictions, German language skills and knowledge of Austria's democratic system and history.
The Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA) must also confirm that no procedure is underway to withdraw their refugee status and that there are no grounds to start one.
Representatives of the governing parties argued during Thursday's committee meeting that Austria already has substantial naturalisation requirements. ÖVP MP Wolfgang Gerstl also raised potential fundamental-rights concerns about treating applicants differently based on their origin or previous residence status.
The committee did not set a new date for considering the FPÖ proposal, meaning it could return at a later meeting.
Two other FPÖ motions considered on Thursday, dealing with deportations to Afghanistan and Syria and social benefits linked to voluntary returns, failed to win a majority in the committee.
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