General conditions for naturalisation

General information

Caution

The granting of Austrian citizenship is dependent on the fulfilment of the general naturalization requirements and the existence of a certain period of residence. In addition, a corresponding application must be submitted.

Requirements

irreproachable integrity;
- no criminal convictions handed down by a court;
- no pending criminal proceedings (either domestic or foreign);
- no frequent and/or serious administrative offences of particular gravity;
the person has sufficient resources to support himself/herself;
- proof that the person has stable and regular resources of their own from employment, income, statutory maintenance claims or insurance benefits for an average of 36 months during the last six years prior to the date of application. The last six months of the period claimed must be immediately prior to the date of application.
knowledge of German (proof of knowledge of German) and basic knowledge of the democratic system and the fundamental principles derived from it and of the history of Austria and the province concerned (citizenship test);
- proof, unless an exception (e.g. German mother tongue, minority, school attendance achieving a pass mark in German);
positive attitude towards the Republic of Austria and guarantee that the person does not pose a threat to public peace, order and security;
no existing ban on residence and no pending removal procedure;
no return decision;
no return decision by another EU/EEA State or Switzerland;
no expulsion within the last 18 months;
no close relationship with an extremist or terrorist group;
the person has, in principle, left his or her previous nationality;
The granting of citizenship must not
- significantly affect the international relations of the Republic of Austria or
- harm the interests of the Republic of Austria.

Competent authority

The citizenship department of the Regional Government Office ^{German text} concerned

Procedure

Applications for the granting and extension of Austrian citizenship must be submitted in person to the competent authority.

Furthermore, applications for the granting and extension of the granting of citizenship shall be submitted to the competent authority in writing or in writing e.g., through a protocol, in particular by means of application forms issued by the authorities.

The competent authority will inform about the documents and evidence to be attached to the application for the granting or extension of citizenship.

Required documents

The documents actually required in each case depend on the details of the personal situation. Please contact your local citizenship department of the Regional Government office to find out more about this.

Further information

The Austrian Constitution stipulates that the administration of citizenship matters falls within the exclusive competence of the federal states. Therefore, only the federal states are responsible for citizenship procedures (from receiving applications to making decisions in the form of official notices). The federal state in which the applicant has their main residence is responsible.
The contact details of the competent authority can be found on the following websites: