Austria has one of the strictest citizenship laws in the EU
Austria has one of the strictest citizenship laws in the European Union. Currently around 750,000 people have lived in Austria for more than 10 years without an Austrian passport.1.5 million people were denied the right to vote in the recent elections because they did not have Austrian passports.
According to statistics, more than 750,000 people have been living in Austria legally for more than ten years and do not have an Austrian passport. These figures make this country one of the most active countries in granting Schengen citizenship.
Austria’s official statistics portal Statistics Austria shows that only 6 to 7 out of 1,000 non-citizens living in Austria have been legalized in recent years. Speaking about the statistics, political scientist Gerd Valchars said that if all the EU countries were compared, Austria’s rate would be lower.
Walchers made the remarks ahead of the Austrian election, where around 1.5 million people in the election year will be unable to vote because they do not have an Austrian passport. According to current Austrian citizenship law, foreigners must generally have lived legally in Austria for ten years before they can apply for citizenship. They must also meet other criteria.
Austria granted citizenship to 11,050 people in the first half of 2024 In the first six months of 2024, Austria granted citizenship to 11,050 people. That’s a huge increase of 66% for the same period in 2023. According to Statistics Austria, the majority of people who were naturalized during this period lived in the country.
Sources also said that among those who obtained citizenship in the first half of 2024, descendants of those persecuted during the Nazi regime topped the list, accounting for 37% red, white, red passport holders. Austrian Statistics reports that Syrians will be the most likely to obtain Austrian citizenship in the first half of 2024. They were followed by Turkish and Afghan citizens, who received 695 and 540 Austrian visas in the first six months of 202. Almost half of the participants in this period were women, a third of them were under 18 years of age, and five were born in Austria.
