Naturalizations in Austria on the Rise: Majority of New Citizens Live Abroad
The granting of Austrian citizenship increased significantly in the first half of 2025. A total of 11,665 people received a red-white-red passport, which, according to Statistics Austria, represents an increase of 5.6 percent over the previous year. What is striking about this development is that more than a third of the new citizens—exactly 4,369 people—are resident abroad.
These new developments are largely attributable to a specific legal provision. / Picture: © BMI Bundesministerium für Inneres / Alexander Tuma
This high proportion is directly attributable to the regulation introduced in 2020 in §58c StbG. This allows victims of political persecution under the Nazi regime and their descendants to acquire citizenship by notification without having to give up their previous nationality. Of the 4,352 people who were naturalized under this legal title, only nine live in Austria. The most common countries of origin for this group are traditionally regions affected by the Holocaust: Israel tops the list with 2,409 naturalized persons, followed by the United States (1,088) and the United Kingdom (432).
Apart from this special provision, the number of people naturalized for other reasons also rose by 5.6 percent to 7,313. With 26 exceptions, all of these new citizens live in Austria. This group is dominated by people who previously held Syrian (1,247), Turkish (808), and Afghan (558) citizenship. Almost a third of the newly naturalized persons are minors, and women make up exactly half of the new citizens at 50.2 percent.
A look at the demographic composition of the new Austrians shows that half of the naturalized persons are women (50.2 percent). Almost a third (32.5 percent) were under the age of 18, and a fifth (21.2 percent) of the new citizens were born in Austria. “Among those naturalized between January and June 2025 for other reasons, there was an increase of 5.6% to 7,313,” said Thomas Burg, Director General of Statistics Austria. He pointed out that a high level had already been reached in 2024 as a whole, with 21,891 people naturalized, with descendants of Nazi victims (8,795 people) also accounting for a large proportion of this figure.
From a regional perspective, six federal states recorded an increase in naturalization figures, with Burgenland (+25.9%), Vorarlberg (+23.2%), and Tyrol (+19.9%) showing the strongest growth. Only Carinthia, Upper Austria, and Salzburg saw a decline in the number of naturalizations. The total number of naturalizations, including descendants of Nazi victims, had already reached a high level in 2024 with 21,891 people.