Austrian citizenship

Advantages, rights, and benefits granted by an Austrian passport

Due to the significant relaxations of the conditions that came into force in 2020, the number of those entitled to an Austrian passport has increased significantly.

This is an exceptional opportunity that offers numerous advantages, rights, and benefits.
The principal ones are as follows:

• Visa-free entry to the United States and other countries – As Austrian citizens, you shall be fully exempt from having to obtain a visa to enter the United States and other countries around the world, such as Australia.
  All you will need is to purchase a plane ticket, nothing more.
  There is no need for lengthy visa application procedures or the payment of exorbitant fees.
• Entry into countries which are closed to Israelis – Now and in the future, there will always be countries that deny entry to Israelis; however, as Austrian citizens, such barriers shall not apply to you.
• Working in Europe – Without a special work permit (issued within the framework of a relocation), working in Europe for a person who holds Israeli citizenship only is confined to part-time student jobs.
  As Austrian citizens, you shall be entitled, inter alia, to work in any European Union member state, to open businesses throughout Europe, to work lawfully in additional countries throughout the world, and to receive assistance for new enterprises.
• Living in Europe – and not just in Austria, but in any European Union country of your choice, without the need for any permits and without any time constraint.
  In addition, you shall be able to take loans and mortgages on favorable terms for the purchase of apartments, including investment apartments.
• Free higher education – In the State of Israel, admission opportunities for academic studies are limited, and the costs entailed in acquiring a university degree are very high.
  In Europe, on the other hand, and in Austria too, citizens pay no tuition fees and students’ living expenses are subsidized.
• There is no double taxation – Austria and Israel are signatories to a convention which stipulates that anyone who pays tax in Israel does have to pay tax in Austria (provided they do not work there, of course), and there is no requirement to submit tax returns to the Austrian authorities.
• Advanced welfare state – Austrian citizens also enjoy extensive social welfare benefits, advanced healthcare services, a high standard of education, and allowances that are hard to find anywhere else.

Austrian passport for children

As a general rule, only children born to an Austrian citizen receive citizenship automatically, and all that is required is to register them with the Austrian Ministry of the Interior. However, in the case of children born outside of Austria, a bureaucratic process is involved that requires a considerable number of notarized certificates, such as birth certificates, the parents’ marriage certificates, and certificates attesting to the family members’ Israeli citizenship.

Children born before the Austrian naturalization of one of their parents has been confirmed are not granted citizenship automatically, and a separate application must be submitted for each of them.
It is possible and advisable to submit the application for all family members (the applicant and his children) in order to save time.

There are a number of other things which it is important to know regarding the rights of children to receive Austrian citizenship:

• Due relaxation of the requirements for obtaining Austrian citizenship, children of an Austrian woman are also eligible for citizenship and therefore if you are her descendants, you may be entitled to Austrian citizenship.
• Not only children but also grandchildren and great-grandchildren are all entitled to receive an Austrian passport.
  This also applies to adopted children, provided that one of the parents has already acquired Austrian citizenship and that the children were lawfully and officially adopted as minors.
• The issue of military service – Children of an Austrian citizen who have completed mandatory military service and/or are still serving in the reserves are also entitled to apply for Austrian citizenship.
  Exceptional cases aside, anyone who previously served in a standing army (and is no longer serving) may also do so.
  However, those actively serving in a standing army are not entitled , but if they have children, they can submit an application.
  For example, if you serve in a standing army you cannot obtain Austrian citizenship, but your children can.
  Once you leave permanent military service, you can submit an application for yourself.

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How long does it take to arrange and obtain Austrian citizenship?

The stages of the process and timelines:

The process of obtaining Austrian citizenship comprises of several stages:

• Genealogical research in archives in Israel, Austria, and Germany – The research is conducted by a genealogist specializing in this field in order to substantiate the citizenship application.
  Usually, documents are sought which attest to residence in Austria during the relevant periods or to Austrian citizenship.
• Gathering documents and building the file – This typically involves gathering documents from the Ministry of the Interior and Rabbinical authorities, such as birth certificates, registration extracts, marriage certificates, and a certificate of good conduct.
  All documents must undergo appropriate apostille certification, as well as notarial certification and translation.
  The purpose of the documents is to prove the connection between the applicant for Austrian citizenship and his Austrian native forebear who conferred the right through consanguinity and satisfies the statutory criteria.
• Submission of the application – The paperwork supporting the application must be prepared. Our firm submits the application directly in Austria in order to expedite the process as much as possible.
  Submitting documents in an incorrect manner may invalidate the application.

After the application is submitted and provided that all documents are found to be in order, the completed questionnaire and declaration are forwarded to the competent district authority in Austria, which scrutinizes all the evidence and considers each case on its merits.

The time from submission of the application until receipt of the Austrian citizenship and passport varies from case to case and depends primarily on the complexity of the evidence and the completeness and orderliness of the documents.

In certain cases, the Austrian authorities may ask the applicant for additional documents or clarifications which are required for him.

In most cases the entire process is extremely quick compared to naturalization applications in other European countries, and Austrian citizenship can be obtained within approximately a year to a year and a half from the date on which the application is submitted.

Of course, if one of the parents has already obtained Austrian citizenship, the process of obtaining citizenship for the children is significantly quicker, as all the evidence has already been submitted and approved by the Austrian authorities.

How much does the process cost, and does a fee have to be paid to the Austrian authorities when submitting the citizenship application?

The process of obtaining Austrian citizenship does entail a number of costs.
First of all, however, it should be noted that the fee that used to be charged for each family member’s application has now been abolished, so submitting the application itself does not actually cost anything.

Moreover, the significant costs involved in obtaining Austrian citizenship include all the notarized translations (translations signed as true to the original by a lawyer), apostille stamps, and genealogical research in Austria.

Each such document that is translated and signed may cost several hundred shekels.
If the costs involved in obtaining the documents and filling out the forms professionally are taken into account, the advisability of going through the process with legal guidance and not entering this arena alone becomes obvious – there will be no real saving of costs and the path to rejection of the application will have been paved.

In order to save costs, it is strongly recommended that a consolidated application be submitted for all family members (provided that legal advice indicates that in all likelihood an Austrian passport will be obtained).

If the citizenship application is approved, all that remains is to undergo a brief procedure at the Austrian consulate here in Israel at a cost of €76 per applicant, and you will also receive an Austrian passport, which is a European passport for all intents and purposes and considered one of the best passports in the world.