A total of 11,050 people became Austrian citizens in the first half of 2024. That is up by 66 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year.
According to Statistics Austria, the majority of new Austrian citizens were residents in the country (6,658) compared to the rest that were residing abroad, Schengen.News reports.
From January to June 2024, 4,125 of them acquired Austrian citizenship, with all but seven of them living abroad. However, there was also an increase of 18.3 per cent to 6,925 in the number of other naturalised citizens, all but 33 of whom are resident in Austria.
Among foreigners that obtained Austrian citizenship the most during this period are descendants of people persecuted during the Nazi regime – as they represented 37 per cent of all people that became new holders of the red-white-red passport.
The majority of them came from Israel (2,380 or 21.5 per cent), as well as the United States (873) and the United Kingdom (422).
Syrians Are Among Main Nationalities to Obtain Austrian Citizenship the Most in 2024
Around 11.1 per cent of the 6,925 people who obtained Austrian citizenship between January and June of 2024 were Syrian citizens. A total of 1,223 Syrians became Austrian citizens during this period, followed by Turks (695) and Afghanis (540).
Half of the people who were naturalised during this period were women (48.6 per cent), and one-third of them (33 per cent) were under the age of 18 years. In addition, one-fifth of the newly naturalised persons, which accounts for 2,267 people, were born in Austria.
Upper Austria was home to most of the newly naturalized citizens during the six-month period, with 1,376 people living there. Styria and Salzburg follow with 855 and 332 people obtaining citizenship there, while the lowest numbers were recorded in Burgenland and Vienna, both witnessing decreases compared to 2023 levels.
The Majority of New Austrian Citizens Were Residents
Around 3,244 people were naturalised after living in Austria for at least six years. That is only a fraction of the 8,256 people who were naturalised based on legal entitlement.
On the same basis, there were around 4,125 individuals who were naturalised after they or their descendants were politically persecuted, and 393 people gained citizenship through marriage. Around 261 people were naturalised after more than 15 years living in Austria.
Nearly 5.5 per cent of naturalised people (605) gained citizenship on a discretionary basis, while by extension of naturalisation, around 2,189 persons (19.8 per cent) obtained citizenship in the first half of 2024.
