Naturalisations

Long-term trend

In the 1980s, on average 7 800 persons acquired Austrian citizenship every year. As a consequence of the growing number of foreign citizens residing in Austria, this number rose sharply in the mid-1990s. In 1997 about 16 000, in 1999, about 25 000 and in 2003 more than 45 000 foreign nationals acquired Austrian citizenship. Starting in 2004 the number of naturalisations has been steadily declining to set a minimum in 2010 (6 190). Since then, the number of naturalisations has been increasing again to 10 606 in 2019, before dropping again in 2020. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were on average 2.4 naturalisations for every 100 foreign nationals. This rate increased to a maximum of 6 per cent in 2003, before decreasing again until 2010. Since then the naturalisation rate has remained stable at 0.7%, to decrease again to 0.6% in 2020. The provisional naturalisation rate in 2021 is at 0.6%.

Overall, the number of naturalisations in 2021 was significantly higher than in previous years, at 16 171, almost entirely due to the introduction of the possibility of naturalising descendants of descendants of victims of the Nazi regime. Since 1 September 2020, these people, most of whom live abroad, have the option of naturalisation without having to give up their previous nationality (Citizenship Law section 58c para. 1a and para. 1b). In 2021, 6 427 persons received Austrian citizenship under this legal title, which corresponded to 39.7% of all naturalisations in that year.

Latest annual results

With a total of 16,171 (including 6 448 non-residents), the number of naturalizations in 2021 was 79.8% higher than in the previous year (8,996 cases) and 52.5% higher than in 2019 (10,606 cases), i.e. before the start of the corona pandemic. The number of naturalisations of persons residing in Austria in 2021 was 9 723, 10.5% higher than in 2020 (8 796 persons), but 7.4% lower than in 2019 (10 500 persons), the last year before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A fifth (21.0%) of all 2021 naturalized people were already born in Austria. 8 169 (50.5%) of those naturalised were women, while the proportion of children under the age of 18 was 30.1% (4 870 people).

Persons naturalised under section 58c most often are citizens of Israel (2 612 or 16.2%), the United States (1 630 or 10.1%) and the United Kingdom (1 152 or 7.1%). Among those naturalised for another reason, the most common previous citizenships were Turkey (1 101 or 6.8%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (921 or 5.7%) and Serbia (782 or 4.8%).

Please consult our German website for tables and charts containing further information.

Results (overview): Naturalised persons

NaturalisationsPrice in € *)Free Download

 
 

Demographisches Jahrbuch 2020
Based on scientifically high-quality statistics and analyses, Statistik Austria draws a comprehensive and objective picture of Austrian society and economy. With its figures and data, Statistik ...

Release date: 05/2022 ISBN:978-3-903264-99-1

 
 

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Demographisches Jahrbuch 2019
Based on scientifically high-quality statistics and analyses, Statistik Austria draws a comprehensive and objective picture of Austrian society and economy. With its figures and data, Statistik ...

Release date: 12/2020 ISBN:978-3-903264-62-5

 
 

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Demographisches Jahrbuch 2018
On the individual level, demographic change is caused by a vast number of decisions in the course of human life. On the aggregate level, the outcomes of these decisions lead to changes in the ...

Release date: 12/2019 ISBN:978-3-903264-28-1

 
 

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Migration und Integration 2021
“Migration&Integration. Figures. Facts. Indicators” offers an insight in the living conditions of people with migration background in Austria. Using various data sources across all statistical fields ...

Release date: 06/2021 ISBN:978-3-903264-86-1

 
 

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Migration und Integration 2020
“Migration&Integration. Figures. Facts. Indicators” offers an insight in the living conditions of people with migration background in Austria. Using various data sources across all statistical fields ...

Release date: 09/2020 ISBN:978-3-903264-56-4

 
 

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Migration und Integration 2019
“Migration&Integration. Figures. Facts. Indicators” offers an insight in the living conditions of people with migration background in Austria. Using various data sources across all statistical fields ...

Release date: 09/2019 ISBN:978-3-903264-23-6

 
 

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