Austrian nationality law

Citizenship was granted based on either descent or marriage, or via naturalization after ten years of residence (or on the acquisition of an official function).

Nationality law was now handled at the State level (Landesbürgerschaft), still tied to municipal citizenship (Heimatrecht) via the subsidiarity principle.

In all cases where recognition of fatherhood or the determination by court is done after his timeframe, children may be awarded Austrian citizenship in a simplified procedure.

Additional requirements include: Naturalization as an Austrian citizen based on 10 years of continuous residence is discretionary.

The residence requirement may be reduced or waived in the following cases: Some persons are entitled to Austrian citizenship by a simpler process than naturalization.

[7] As a result of the fact that appointment to a professorship at an Austrian university or other institute of higher learning entailed being named a state official before the year 2001 3, foreign citizens formerly received Austrian citizenship immediately when they took office, without additionally applying for citizenship, or being compelled to do so 4.

This meant that the automatic conferment of citizenship on professors was valid only for citizens of non-EU states 5.

This article was therefore determined to be no longer valid by the First Federal Constitutional Cleanup Law (Erstes Bundesverfassungsrechtsbereinigungsgesetz) of January 4, 2008.

8 Furthermore, spouses and minor unmarried children of those professors who were still named state officials previously also received Austrian citizenship (§ 25 Abs.

A parliamentary survey 9 on the number of people naturalized in this fashion showed that there had been no statistics collected on this point.

This may be difficult to obtain, as the aim of the legislature is to reduce the number of dual citizenships granted.

Exceptions are made for situations where it is in the interest of the Republic of Austria to grant this dual citizenship (e.g. notable individuals in the arts, sports, science, business etc.

In general, only the following categories of Austrian citizens may possess a foreign nationality: Austria and the Netherlands are the only signatory States of the Strasbourg convention on the reduction of cases of multiple citizenship that have not denounced (withdrawn from) Chapter I, which limits the cases where dual citizenship is allowed.

However, Austria's acceptance of Chapter I is of symbolic and historical significance, in the sense that it reflects the attitude towards multiple citizenship that has been codified into law.