With reporting by Rachel Loxton
Vienna’s immigration and citizenship authority MA 35 has said it had “no other choice” but to reject the citizenship application of ORF presenter Ani Gülgün-Mayr, while acknowledging that Austria’s rules can result in lifelong residents being denied citizenship over “relatively minor offences”.
The statement from MA 35 comes after Gülgün-Mayr, 56, was refused Austrian citizenship because of nine administrative traffic offences accumulated over several years. It was sent to The Local after a request for comment on the case.
Some of those offences have been contested, including one case in which the administrative penalty proceedings were later dropped.
Responding to questions from The Local, MA 35 stressed that Austrian citizenship law is set at federal level, not by the City of Vienna.
“The Citizenship Act is a federal law. The City of Vienna - Immigration and Citizenship implements this law and must comply with the applicable case law,” the authority said.
It then acknowledged the consequences of those rules.
“The requirements of the Citizenship Act and the highest courts are strict, and as a result Austrian citizenship must be denied to people who have sometimes spent their entire lives in Austria because of relatively minor criminal offences or administrative violations,” MA 35 told The Local.
“In Ani Gülgün-Mayr’s case, after careful consideration, we had no other choice - we had to reject the application.
“However, the proceedings have not yet been concluded.”
MA 35 did not elaborate in its response on what remains outstanding in the proceedings. SPÖ-led Vienna, of course, has politically been in favour of easing citizenship rules, as The Local has been reporting.
Under Austria’s federal Citizenship Act, applicants have to meet a number of conditions before they can naturalise. The law includes restrictions related to criminal convictions and administrative offences. Court rulings also require authorities to assess an applicant’s overall conduct when making the required prognosis about their future behaviour, including any longer period of subsequent good conduct.
READ ALSO: INTERVIEW: 'If I cannot get Austrian citizenship after 54 years, then who can?'
More than 50 years in Austria
Gülgün-Mayr was born in Istanbul and came to Austria when she was two years old.
She attended school in Vienna, studied psychology and later worked for an organisation supporting young people from guest-worker families.
In 2005, she joined the ORF’s Heimat, fremde Heimat editorial team. She currently presents the ORF III programme Kultur Heute.
Her attempt to become Austrian has already attracted attention for another reason.
Earlier this year, MA 35 told Gülgün-Mayr that she had not provided sufficient proof of her German skills.
After the weekly newspaper Falter investigated the case, the authority apologised and acknowledged that it had overlooked relevant certificates demonstrating her German knowledge.
READ ALSO: Why has a TV presenter who has lived in Austria for over 50 years been denied citizenship?
Her application then ran into another obstacle.
MA 35 cited nine administrative offences in concluding that a positive assessment of her future conduct could not currently be made.
The offences reported by Falter included parking outside road markings, parking without a ticket or in a loading zone, speeding by 11 km/h and 16 km/h, parking in a disabled space and travelling the wrong way along a one-way street.
The fines reportedly totalled €828. At least some of the offences are disputed.
According to Falter, Gülgün-Mayr’s son had been driving in one case, and the corresponding administrative penalty proceedings were dropped on August 27th.
For another offence, Gülgün-Mayr said she was not even in Austria at the time and had simply paid the fine when it arrived without checking who had been driving.
READ ALSO: How traffic offences can cost you your Austrian citizenship
‘If I cannot get citizenship after 54 years, then who can?’
Speaking to The Local about the case, Gülgün-Mayr said she considers herself both Austrian and Viennese.
“Absolutely. I see myself as Austrian and as a Viennese woman. After 54 years, what else should I see myself as?” she said.
She said the refusal had left her both angry and vulnerable.
“It shows me that, in a situation of need, the country I consider my own might not stand up for me,” she told The Local.
“And it sends a message to the outside world: if I cannot get citizenship after 54 years, then who can?”
Gülgün-Mayr said she intends to continue pursuing Austrian citizenship.
“Of course I will keep trying. Even if my case ends up being nothing more than a textbook example of how someone who has lived here responsibly, paid taxes and contributed to society for so many years can be treated.”
She also called for Austria’s citizenship rules to be changed.
“I don’t think there is any alternative to changing a law whose full severity apparently most people don’t even realise,” she said.
“People who live here, fulfil their responsibilities and contribute to society should also have the right to participate politically and have a say in the country they call home.”
Gülgün-Mayr is working with a lawyer to challenge the decision.
READ ALSO:What Austria’s planned citizenship reform could mean for foreign residents
Comments