Antonia Folfa 7A

How to become an Austrian citizen

Many people who emigrate from another country to Austria do so either to have the chance to
a better lifestyle, partly because they come from developing countries or from countries where
the life standard is rather low or because their job forces them to travel into different
countries.
Some of these people are ready to give up their nationality to become an Austrian citizen, but
in order to do that they have to fulfill some general prerequisites.
As the law forecasts, as an applicant, you are not allowed to have had any court convictions or
pending criminal proceedings in Austria or abroad if you want to apply for the citizenship.
Currently there is some kind of an exam to pass which includes knowledge of the Austrian
history and of the federal province the applicant lives in and of the democratic
system/political situation.
Furthermore you have to emit a positive attitude to the Republic of Austria, meaning for
example that you have to accept and respect the religion that is practiced in Austria (you do
not have to convert yourself) or get a job to support and maintain the partnership between
the state and the people. It is also required to have sufficient means of subsistence, owning a
home and having had his/her residence a few years in Austria already before applying for the
nationality.
In the interest of getting the citizenship you are also obliged to renounce the previous
citizenship insofar a renunciation is possible.
Last but not least there is the demand for the proof of control of the German language. You
have to possess the level B1 minimum to pass the exam for obtaining the citizenship.

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