Surge in naturalization: Thousands from abroad become official Austrians
Austria witnessed a significant increase in the number of naturalized citizens during the first half of 2025, with 11,665 people obtaining Austrian citizenship. This represents a 5.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to Austrian statistics. Notably, more than a third of these new citizens – 4,369 people – live abroad.
This increase is closely linked to a legal provision introduced in 2020 under §58c StbG, which allows victims of Nazi persecution and their descendants to obtain Austrian citizenship without renouncing their original citizenship. Among the 4,352 people who obtained citizenship under this law during this year, only nine live in Austria. The largest groups came from Israel (2,409), the United States (1,088), and the United Kingdom (432).
Apart from this special category, 7,313 people obtained citizenship for other reasons, an increase of 5.6 percent. Unlike the descendants of Nazi victims, the vast majority of these individuals already live in Austria. The majority held Syrian (1,247), Turkish (808), and Afghan (558) nationalities. Children made up nearly a third of this group, while women accounted for half of the naturalized individuals.
Statistics also show that 21.2 percent of new naturalized citizens were born in Austria, indicating that many were already integrated before their naturalization. Thomas Borg, the director general of Statistics Austria, said: "The first half of 2025 continues the high levels we saw in 2024, with nearly 22,000 people being naturalized."
At the regional level, the number of naturalized citizens has increased in six Austrian states out of nine, with Burgenland (+25.9%), Vorarlberg (+23.2%), and Tyrol (+19.9%) recording the highest growth rates. Meanwhile, Carinthia, Upper Austria, and Salzburg saw a slight decrease in numbers.