The number of naturalizations in Austria fell by 18.3 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. “The decrease is mainly due to the fact that fewer cases of naturalization of Nazi victims and their descendants have been reported so far,” Tobias Thomas, director general of Austrian statistics, said in a broadcast on Tuesday. To date, 6,658 have received Austrian citizenship; 833 of them have their place of residence abroad.
The trend of rising naturalization rates, which has been observable since 2016, is not continuing according to the current figures. This is mainly due to the decreasing number of people persecuted during the Nazi era and their descendants. So far in 2023, 806 people have been naturalized on the basis of a rule that has only existed since 2020: 797 of them live abroad. Most citizenships were granted to persons from the United States, Israel and the United Kingdom.
A quarter of naturalized persons were born in Austria
However, the naturalization of residents of Austria increased by 1.5 percent. 28 percent of all naturalized people in the first half of the year were born in Austria, as were many under the age of 18. Among those who received them in the first six months of the year were 864 ex-Syrians, 540 Turks, 390 people from Bosnia and Herzegovina and 362 who so far had Afghan citizenship.
Three states with fewer naturalizations than in 2022
In six states, more people were naturalized in the first half of 2023 than in the same period last year. The relative increases were highest in Burgenland with an increase of 25.9 percent. Next comes Styria with +22.2 percent, followed by Lower Austria with +21.7 percent and Upper Austria with +14.8 percent. In Vienna, Salzburg and Carinthia, the number of naturalizations decreased compared to 2022.
Almost two-thirds of all naturalizations in the first half of 2023 were based on legal action. Among them were 2816 people who were naturalized after living in Austria for at least six years and for reasons worth considering. 806 people who were politically persecuted, 333 people who were married to an Austrian and 211 people who had lived in Austria for at least 15 years were granted citizenship.
Another 477 people were granted discretionary citizenship, including 441 people after at least 10 years of residency. A total of 1,826 people or 27.4 percent were naturalized under the renewal of the award, including 257 spouses and 1,569 children.
Source: Krone
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