Austrian Citizenship Act Amendment
An amendment to the Austrian Citizenship Act took effect from 1 September 2020 enabling more descendants of Austrian Holocaust refugees and survivors to apply for Austrian citizenship.
To assist with the process, the Austrian government has created this short online questionnaire which gives prospective applicants a summary of which documents will be required and facilitate a fast procedure after a declaration has been submitted. The shortened procedure will also applicants avoid an extensive search for documents that might not be required. Click here to read further information
Under the terms of the amendment to the Act, Austrian citizenship can now be granted equally to all descendants regardless of whether their mother or father was persecuted by the Nazis as citizen or resident of the Republic of Austria. Until now children of Austrian citizen mothers born in wedlock before September 1983 have been excluded from obtaining citizenship.
The Act also provides for an extension to the cut-off date for regaining the Austrian citizenship: now, May 15, 1955. This means that any Austrian interned in a concentration camp, as well as those who survived Nazi persecution in hiding and subsequently left Austria (until May 15, 1955) is now able to (re)obtain Austrian citizenship if they had been citizens or residents of the Republic of Austria, or any other of the so-called successor states of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, before the National Socialist Regime came into power. The descendants of these survivors are now, for the first time, also eligible to obtain Austrian citizenship.
Click here to see the Frequently Asked Questions prepared by the Austrian embassy in London. Most readers will be interested to also read the section under: Am I eligible to file a Declaration to acquire Austrian Citizenship?
Further information is also available by contacting:
Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien / Jewish Community Vienna
Tel: +43 (1) 531 04-208
E-Mail: office@ikg-wien.at
Web: https://www.ikg-wien.at/citizenship_en/
And/or, the National Fund for the Republic of Austria:
Tel: +43 1 408 12 63 500
Email: office@nationalfonds.org
Applications for Austrian citizenship
The Austrian Embassy advise applicants to consult their FAQ’s, which usually answers all questions. They can be found via the following link:
Contacts:
Austrian Citizenship for descendants of victims of National Socialism
Tel: 020 7344 32 54
Email: london-ka@bmeia.gv.at
We suggest that you may wish to follow this order:
Timeline:
Complete online questionnaire
https://ias.bmeia.gv.at/info58c/en-US?office=LONDON
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Apply for Apostille on your non-Austrian original birth certificate (& marriage / divorce if appropriate; if the last name has changed since birth) adoption certificates and any other certificates of name change.
Apostilles are not strictly necessary for applications for citizenship, but are definitely necessary for applications for an Austrian passport once the citizenship certificate has been issued.
Notes: Process takes 10-14 days and costs £30 per document plus the courier cost of £5.50 per kg (UK) / £14.50 per kg (European countries )/ £25 per kg (rest of world). Original documents or certified copies must be submitted.
https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised
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Apply for a Basic Criminal Record check (DBS). Only applicable for those aged 16 and over, living in England or Scotland.
https://www.gov.uk/request-copy-criminal-record
Notes: Process takes up to 14 days ‘though is usually quicker, and costs £23 for a Basic DBS certificate.
Minors aged 14 to 16, need to apply for a police ACRO certificate : https://www.acro.police.uk/Police-Certificates-Online
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Collate other documents, as detailed on website, including a current passport photograph (3.5 x 4.5 cm – 4.0 x 5.0 cm)
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(from 1st September 2020)
Apply to file the declaration at the Austrian diplomatic representation (Austrian Embassy or Consulate General) in whose consular jurisdiction you have your principal residence.
Ensure to take all originals plus a copy of each original including passport.
This is by appointment-only if in person, or by post.
Applicants should also not forget to sign and submit the declaration form (which they receive after completing the online questionnaire and is pre-filled based on
the information they provided on the questionnaire)
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Once citizenship certificate is obtained, you may apply for an Austrian passport at the Embassy. This is by appointment-only basis.
To prove persecution:
If payments of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism (“Nationalfonds der Republik Österreich für die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus”) or the General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism (“Allgemeiner Entschädigungsfonds für die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus”) were awarded to the applicant’s family, such documents will be most useful. In such cases, further proof of persecution of ancestors should generally not be required.
In general, we advise that any document or evidence which appears relevant to establish the facts should be submitted and will help to ensure a swift and successful process.
Sourcing documents:
For additional help in sourcing evidentiary documents, you may wish to contact:
Wiener Holocaust Library’s International tracing service via: its-info@wienerlibrary.co.uk or
World Jewish Relief’s Archive Volunteers Team https://www.worldjewishrelief.org/about-us/your-family-history
Technical issues:
Should there be any errors or problems when trying to submit the questionnaire for the first time, the Embassy advise to wait 72 hours before trying again. Such error messages may occur when required fields were left empty or something has been filled in incorrectly. It takes their system up to 72 hours until all entries are deleted and a new form can be filled in.