Through the Austrian Nationality Act, the country of Austria doesn’t allow for Austrian dual citizenship. The exception is for people who automatically receive two citizenship at the time of birth.
For example, if someone is born in Canada, but their parents are Austrian, then they’ll have Austrian dual citizenship, in addition to being a citizen of Canada.
If you obtain citizenship for a different country, you will lose your Austrian citizenship. The only way to maintain it is if you apply before you submit your application for second citizenship.
Continually having Austrian dual citizenship is not guaranteed. There are specific requirements to be met before approval is granted.
Maintain Austrian Dual Citizenship
There are two requirements to be met for you to keep your Austrian dual citizenship.
Requirements
First is the maintenance of the interests of the Republic of Austria. The second, for personal reasons.
These are not legally defined but can include older relatives who will remain in Austria, property issues, career prospects, etc. This form of Austrian dual citizenship is only available for those born in Austria.
Determining Authorities Location
Your background in Austria will determine where the application is processed. Those born before July 1966 submit to the Amter der Landesregierungen of your birth province for their Austrian dual citizenship.
People born after this date submit in the province where your mother had a legal residence at the time of giving birth. The provincial government in Vienna will process the case for Austrian dual citizenship if you someone was born abroad and have never lived in Austria.
Obtaining Citizenship
If you are seeking to obtain Austrian dual citizenship, you have several options depending on your lineage and date of birth.
By Descent
Children born to married parents can apply based on the year of your birth. If you were born before September 1st, 1983, your father needs to be a citizen at that time. Those whose birthday falls after this date, either parent can sponsor.
Those born to unmarried parents can apply based on the acknowledgement of paternity. If the father legitimizes the child while they are still a minor or declares paternity up to 8 weeks after birth, or if the mother is a citizen at the time of birth, then the child will be eligible for Austrian dual citizenship.
Illegitimate Children
If your father is a citizen of Austria and your parents are not married, you can still gain Austrian dual citizenship. As long as he acknowledged paternity by the age of 14, you can apply.
Adopted Children
If a citizen of Austria were to adopt a child who is under the age of fourteen, that child would be eligible for Austrian dual citizenship.
Marriage
A foreign partner can gain Austrian dual citizenship by meeting the following conditions. First, they must renounce their current citizenship. This is because Austria doesn’t permit non-Austrians to gain dual citizenship status.
They must have also been married for at least five years. Lastly, they must have resided in Austria for a minimum of 6 consecutive years and maintained a place of residence during that time.
Re-gaining
Before reapplying, you are required to renounce your current citizenship status. If you’re a female and lost your status due to marrying a foreigner before September 1st, 1983, you can regain your citizenship.
Those, male or female, who lost their status voluntarily can regain their Austrian citizenship. The requirement is to have been an Austrian citizen for 10 years before surrendering the rights and privileges granted to Austrian citizens.
Losing Citizenship
As Austria does not permit dual citizenship, you will automatically lose your status if you apply to become a citizen of a foreign country. Additionally, Austrian nationals who enter the armed forces of a different country will also lose their citizenship.
Conclusion
Gaining dual citizenship in Austria is complicated. As a rule, they don’t grant it unless you meet specific criteria or on a case-by-case basis. Citizenships.com assists international clients in obtaining dual citizenship overseas.
They have the combined expertise and global reach to assist in this process. If you are interested in becoming an Austrian dual citizen, you should book a private consultation today or contact us for more information. For example when it concerns the global residence programme of Cyprus.