Legal blog by Mag. Osai Amiri, Msc
Granting of Austrian citizenship on the grounds of outstanding achievements
Wer darauf abzielt die österreichische Staatsbürgerschaft zu erlangen, muss grundsätzlich eine Reihe an Voraussetzungen erfüllen, die im Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz 1985 (StbG) erfasst sind. Unter anderem muss sich der Verleihungswerber seit mindestens zehn Jahren, und davon zumindest fünf Jahre mit einer Niederlassungsbewilligung, in Österreich aufgehalten haben. Zudem muss ein hinreichend gesicherter Lebensunterhalt vorgewiesen werden und in den meisten Fällen ein Nachweis über ausreichende Deutschkenntnisse erbracht werden.
Simplified naturalization criteria for special cases in Austria.
In principle, any person seeking to acquire the Austrian citizenship must fulfill a number of prerequisites, which are listed in the Austrian Citizenship Act 1985 (Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz 1985, StbG). Amongst other things, the candidate must have been lawfully residing in Austria for at least ten years, and at least five of which must have been with a residence permit. Additionally, a sufficiently secure livelihood must be proven, and, in most cases, proof of sufficient German language skills must be provided.
It is equally possible to become an Austrian citizen following an uninterrupted period of lawful residence of at least six years, if the applicant
It is equally possible to become an Austrian citizen following an uninterrupted period of lawful residence of at least six years, if the applicant
- proves a marriage of at least 5 years with an Austrian citizen with whom he lives in the same household,
- is a citizen of a country that belongs to the European Economic Area,
- was born in Austria,
- proves a knowledge of the German language of level B2,
- proves his sustained personal integration (e.g. through voluntary work) or
- performs or will perform outstanding achievements in the interest of Austria.
Definition and areas of extraordinary achievements for Austrian citizenship.
This blog post will discuss the last point. The granting of Austrian citizenship on the basis of outstanding achievements implies that the above-mentioned general requirements for acquiring citizenship do not apply in cases where the granting of Austrian citizenship is in the special interest of the Republic of Austria. But what exactly qualifies as such an outstanding achievement?
An outstanding achievement is accomplished whenever the achievement could not be made by other persons with the same education or the same level of training and, on top of that, it extraordinarily serves the interest of Austria.
There are various fields in which outstanding achievements can be made in order to achieve the granting of Austrian citizenship:
An outstanding achievement is accomplished whenever the achievement could not be made by other persons with the same education or the same level of training and, on top of that, it extraordinarily serves the interest of Austria.
There are various fields in which outstanding achievements can be made in order to achieve the granting of Austrian citizenship:
- in the field of science
- in the field of commerce
- in the field of sport
- in the field of arts
- in the field of culture
In the case of a grant of citizenship based on an outstanding achievement, an extension of the grant of citizenship to the spouse or any underage children is possible under certain circumstances.