Austrian Citizenship by Descent

Austria is one of Europe’s wealthiest countries, offering a very high quality of life to its people and visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to approximately 190 destinations worldwide. Austrian citizenship is highly coveted, and as a citizen of Austria, you can live and work in the country and anywhere else in the EU and Switzerland at any time.

The Austrian government is particularly restrictive in conferring citizenship to foreign nationals. The government only grants citizenship to foreign nationals in the following cases:

• Citizenship by descent
• Citizenship under special conditions such as by merit or through investment

§ 58 (c) of the Austrian Citizenship Act, amended in September 2020 and May 2022, addresses Austria’s historic responsibility for its part in the heinous acts committed during the Nazi regime. The government provides reparations to persons persecuted by this regime and to their descendants by allowing them to apply for Austrian citizenship by descent.

When you acquire citizenship under the Austrian Citizenship Act, you enjoy full citizenship for life, which can be passed on to future generations by descent.

Requirements of Austrian citizenship for descendants of Nazi victims

Conditions for descendants

All direct descendants (as well as those adopted as minors) of a formerly persecuted ancestor are eligible to apply for Austrian citizenship:

• Children
• Grandchildren
• Great-grandchildren
• And even further generations

Conditions for ancestors

Applicants may apply for Austrian citizenship by descent if one of the following cases applies to the relevant ancestor. (In each of these cases, ancestors are not required to have reclaimed or regained their Austrian citizenship.)

Case 1:

An ancestor who was either:

• An Austrian citizen
• A citizen of one of the successor states of the former Austro–Hungarian monarchy (particularly, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes)
• A stateless person
• A person who lost Austrian citizenship when they acquired a foreign citizenship through marriage around the time of their departure from Austria

And who primarily resided in Austria before 15 May 1955 and left the country because they suffered, or had reason to fear, persecution by the Nazi regime, including persecution for their support of the emocratic Republic of Austria. Persecutors include, for example, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers’ Party) and the authorities of the German Reich.

Case 2:

An ancestor who was an Austrian citizen but did not primarily reside in Austria between 30 January 1933 and 9 May 1945 for fear of persecution by the Nazi regime or because of their support for the Republic of Austria.

Case 3:

An ancestor who was an Austrian citizen either deported from Austria by the Nazi regime before 9 May 1945 or killed by the regime (including being killed for their support of the Republic of Austria). In this case, killing and murder does not only mean active killing but also death as a result of being denied or failing to be provided with medical care and sufficient food or due to injuries that arose from torture.

Case 4:

An ancestor who:

• Was either a stateless person or a citizen of one of the successor states of the former Austro–Hungarian monarchy (particularly, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes)
• Primarily resided in Austria before 9 May 1945
• Was either deported from Austria by the Nazi regime or killed by the regime (including being killed for their support of the Republic of Austria) either as a result of active killing or death by being denied or failing to be provided with medical care and sufficient food or due to injuries that arose from torture.

Documents required for descendants of a Nazi victim

Applicants must file an Anzeige (declaration) along with mandatory apostilled supporting documents.

The Austrian provincial government requires applicants who wish to apply for citizenship by ancestry to submit the following documents:

• Current passport
• Current passport photograph (not older than six months), complying with the Austrian photograph criteria
• Birth certificate
• Marriage and divorce certificate, if applicable, in case the original surname was changed
• Certificate of change of name, if applicable
• Criminal record from the country of residence, not older than eight months (for US residents, this document must be issued by the FBI)

Documents required for the persecuted ancestor

Each application is case-by-case dependent, but these are the usual documents that are required by the applicant on behalf of their ancestor:

• Birth certificate (if available)
• Marriage certificate (if available)
• Death certificate
• Evidence that the ancestor was persecuted (if available). The birth certificate is usually sufficient evidence for Jewish persons
• Evidence that the persecuted ancestor was residing in Austria (in case they were a citizen of one of the successor states of the Austro–Hungarian monarchy)
• In case of flight: Evidence that the ancestor fled from Austria (for example, passenger lists)
• In case of deportation: Evidence that the ancestor was deported by the Nazi regime
• In case the ancestor was killed by the Nazi regime: Death certificate or other evidence

Procedures and time frame of Austrian citizenship for descendants of Nazi victims

All applications for Austrian citizenship by ancestry can be lodged at a local Austrian embassy or consulate general. However, we recommend submitting your application at the relevant authority in Vienna, Austria.

Applicants are advised to read all the requirements carefully before submitting their application. Thereafter, they will need to complete a client intake form to check for eligibility.

Since the law has recently been amended, contact us even if your application has been rejected in the past.

Henley & Partners can seamlessly manage the entire citizenship by descent application process for you, from helping you prove your lineage and your ancestors’ experience under the Nazi regime by checking various institutions and archives, to assisting with legalizing and apostilling documents, to liaising with the relevant authorities, to you receiving your Austrian passport in hand.

The process for acquiring Austrian citizenship through descent takes four to six months.