Compared to the previous year, the number of naturalizations in Austria more than doubled in the first quarter. In total, 4,865 people were granted citizenship, including 1,925 people living abroad. As Statistics Austria figures show, nearly 40 percent of naturalizations go to descendants of Nazi victims.
Compared to the same quarter of the previous year (2402), the number of naturalizations increased by 102.5 percent. And compared to the time before the corona pandemic (Q1 2019: 2,764 naturalizations), there was an increase of 76 percent. This is mainly due to naturalizations according to §58c StbG.
Under this legal title, descendants of victims of the Nazi regime have had the option of naturalization since September 2020 without giving up their previous citizenship. In the first quarter of 2022, 1,927 people obtained Austrian citizenship in this way, which accounts for 39.6 percent of all naturalizations.
Only a fifth were born in Austria
Of these, 1911 live abroad. The majority of these are nationals of three countries: 781 are from Israel, 414 from the United Kingdom and 407 from the United States. Previously, those who naturalized for other reasons were most likely to be citizens of Turkey (340 or 7 percent), Syria (304 or 6.2 percent) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (237 or 4.9 percent).
About half of the naturalizations in the first quarter were women (49.7 percent), the proportion of minors (younger than 18 years) was 31.7 percent. One fifth of the newly naturalized persons had already been born in Austria (1029 or 21.2 percent).
About three quarters of all naturalizations in the 1st quarter took place on the basis of a legal entitlement (3685 persons or 75.7 percent) if all other conditions were met. 263 of the new Austrians were granted citizenship (5.4 percent). 102 spouses and 815 children were naturalized under the extension of the grant.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
