Myth busting: Dual citizenship in Austria
- Graham Crewe
- Jan 9, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 28, 2024
There's a tired old myth (which used to be true) that children who have dual citizenship in Austria have to give one of them up when they reach 18 years old.
This is NO LONGER TRUE.
Regarding dual citizenship, three cases need to be considered:
1. Acquisition of foreign citizenship by Austrians
In principle, any Austrian who chooses to take on the citizenship of another country loses their Austrian citizenship. There are certain cases where it is possible for the person to keep their Austrian citizenship but they must apply to do so BEFORE applying for foreign citizenship.
2. Acquisition of Austrian citizenship by foreigners
In principle, anyone who acquires Austrian citizenship by conferral (voluntarily, having met the eligibility criteria) loses their foreign citizenship. If the law of your "previous" country of citizenship does not allow this automatically, you can be granted Austrian citizenship and then have two years to renounce your other citizenship and provide proof that this has been done ("Entlassungsurkunde").
There is a provision for Austria to waive this requirement to renounce previous citizenship if it is in the special interest of the Republic of Austria, but this is really an exceptional occurrence.
3. Dual citizenship for children
If the parents of a child are married then the child acquires Austrian citizenship at birth if (at least) one of the parents is Austrian.
If the mother is an Austrian citizen then the child will acquire Austrian citizenship at birth.
If the parents are not married but the father is an Austrian citizen then the child acquires Austrian citizenship by descent so long as the father acknowledges the birth within 8 weeks of the birth, or if his paternity is established by a court.
Importantly: If, as in Austria, the non-Austrian parent's country of origin uses the principle of citizenship by descent then the child will have dual citizenship. Austrian law DOES NOT require the child to choose one citizenship on reaching adulthood, however it is possible that the other country might require this.
Source:
National service
Finally note that male Austrian citizens aged between 18 and 35 are required to do a period of public service, either in the military or in an alternative civilian service. Find out more in our article here: https://www.englishspeakers.at/post/national-service-in-austria.
See also:
The Austrian government's citizenship information: https://www.oesterreich.gv.at/en/themen/menschen_aus_anderen_staaten/staatsbuergerschaft.html
Citizenship for victims of Nazi persecution and their descendants:
In addition Austria does not have birthright Citizenship (Jus Soli) unlike some countries (e.g. USA). If neither parent has Austrian Citizenship at the time of the birth, the child is not entitled to Austrian Citizenship. Some countries do allow this: https://vividmaps.com/birthright-citizenship/
Actual the trend of those acquiring Austrian Citizenship is on the up. There are lots who acquired dual citizenship due to §58c StbG, most of whom live abroad : https://www.statistik.at/fileadmin/announcement/2022/08/20220818EinbuergerungenQ22022.pdf
It should also be noted that Austria does have compulsory military service for males resident in Austria and between the ages of 18 and 35 (with some exceptions).
https://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/travel-stay/living-abroad/military-and-civilian-service/
https://www.oesterreich.gv.at/themen/leben_in_oesterreich/stellung/Seite.130001.html