Increase in Austrian citizenship grants in 2025: over 17,000 new citizens in the first nine months
Austria has seen a significant increase in citizenship grants, with 17,649 people being granted Austrian citizenship during the first nine months of 2025, according to Statistik Austria. This represents an increase of 11.5% compared to the same period last year, when 15,824 people were naturalized. This increase reflects ongoing legal changes and the expansion of eligibility criteria.
Among the naturalized citizens, 10,885 people (61.7%) currently live in Austria, while 6,764 people (38.3%) reside abroad. A large portion of the beneficiaries abroad are descendants of victims of the Nazi regime, who are now eligible for dual citizenship under recent legal amendments. Notably, 99.7% of this group lives outside of Austria.
Experts indicate that the growth in granting citizenship is mainly due to the inclusion of individuals of Austrian descent whose families lost their citizenship due to Nazi persecution. After a slight decline in 2023, naturalization rates have steadily increased since mid-2024, with a recorded increase of 10.5% in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year.
Regionally, seven out of nine Austrian states saw an increase in the number of naturalized citizens. Vorarlberg recorded the highest increase at 43.6% with 701 new individuals, followed by Burgenland at 30.1% (186 cases), Lower Austria at 28.5% (2,045 cases), and Vienna at 18.3% (3,284 cases). Tyrol increased by 9.2% (775 cases), Styria by 7.6% (1,367 cases), and Carinthia by 2% (363 cases).
In contrast, Upper Austria (Oberösterreich) and Salzburg were the only two states that recorded a decline, with the number of naturalized citizens decreasing by 8.7% (1,707 cases) and 5.8% (457 cases) respectively. Overall, national trends highlight Austria's ongoing efforts to restore citizenship to families affected by historical injustices, accommodating an increasing number of applicants both within the country and abroad.