From Nachweis to Gelöbnis

One last queue ticket

As I woke on Monday morning, my head was still getting round the fact that David Davis had resigned on Sunday night, and that was only a foretaste of things to come, later on Monday. Just as I left the house, my Austrian football top arrived, so I hastily packed it into my bag. It was nice to see a friendly face at the entrance to MA35, who was there for a meeting, as I arrived early (since I was expecting a wait and a queue, but I was called straightaway. My case officer had my file in front of her, and there were more forms to sign, including the ones for passports for me and my son. Continue reading “From Nachweis to Gelöbnis”

The final steps on the road to Austrian citizenship

As this post is published, I will be seeing my case officer to finish off the naturalisation process for me and my young son. My case officer called last Monday and has requested that I come with my British passport, as well as my son’s and my Bescheinigung des Daueraufenthalts and my son’s Anmeldebescheinigung. We will be required to surrender these documents (since our circumstances have changed and we will no longer be UK citizens) and our Staatsbürgerschaftsnachweise will then be issued, and we can arrange for passports and Personalausweise to be issued, for which we again enlisted the services of Bildermacher on Tuchlauben (they are great with babies and toddlers) to sort us out with a new set of passport photos (once again the photos need to be recent (i.e. under six months old)). In addition, I have to bring just shy of EUR 1,500 to MA35 (in cash, hence why I delayed this post so will not be carrying the cash on me by the time this post goes online) to cover the costs of our naturalisation, in what I hope should be the final Behördenweg (in February 2017, when asked about Austria as a hub for business and what could be the pitfalls of trying to do business here, I mentioned the lengthy Behördenwege. The quote ended up on the national news, coupled with a rebuttal by the then Minister of Finance). Continue reading “The final steps on the road to Austrian citizenship”

iacta ālea est

Last evening I decided to check whether my credit card had been charged for the payments I have to make to UKVI as part of the process of renunciation of British citizenship. One payment appears to have been taken, which would tie in with the mail I received from UKVI with a case number for my renunciation, although does nothing to resolve what has happened to the second case. Continue reading “iacta ālea est”

Update from UKVI on renunciation of British citizenship

Today I received the first form of confirmation of receipt of my renunciation form being under consideration. It is worth adding that the cost of couriering the papers with an overnight courier service may have proven itself to be an unnecessary expense, given that the paperwork was received by UKVI six working days before receiving a response by e-mail, thereby indicating that Registered Delivery from Austria to the UK may be perfectly sufficient in terms of ensuring safe delivery and that it is signed for upon delivery. Continue reading “Update from UKVI on renunciation of British citizenship”

With my renunciation forms at the Home Office, what next…

According to UPS, my forms were signed for on Monday 18 June before 9am, and I had as requested, not received any acknowledgement to my mail from my case officer acknowledging the copies that I submitted electronically on 14th of the forms that went to the Home Office. I decided to go to MA35 on Thursday (21st) and queued up before the 8am opening time to ensure that the queue in front of me was not too long. Continue reading “With my renunciation forms at the Home Office, what next…”

So I have my Zusicherung der Verleihung der österreichischen Staatsbürgerschaft, what now?

I was granted my ZdVdöS (my abbreviation rather than MA35’s) at the end of April and asked my case officer about the next steps. For her the issue was to prove that I and my son have put in to renounce our British citizenship and to submit the necessary proof of having done so, to then trigger the next stage. Continue reading “So I have my Zusicherung der Verleihung der österreichischen Staatsbürgerschaft, what now?”

One final piece of paperwork to show to get my Bescheid der Zusicherung der Verleihung der österreichischen Staatsbürgerschaft

My appointment with MA35 to issue my Bescheid der Zusicherung der Verleihung is next Thursday, and there is one piece of paperwork that they need me to clarify, before they issue the Bescheid (issued in person at MA35 and with a fee to be paid of EUR 45). It will be six months and one day since my initial application appointment. Continue reading “One final piece of paperwork to show to get my Bescheid der Zusicherung der Verleihung der österreichischen Staatsbürgerschaft”

Daueraufenthaltsbescheinigung vs Daueraufenthaltskarte

A recent post that I received through the feedback form left me scratching my head slightly, until I realised what the source of the confusion was. A long-term Briton living in Vienna (arrived pre-2006) with an Austrian spouse and children was looking for a solution akin to “indefinite leave to remain” rather than naturalisation, in the hope that this would be enough when Britain leaves the EU, without naturalising. However, they had been told that they could not apply for it while Britain is still in the EU. [Note: redacted to anonymise the source].

Continue reading “Daueraufenthaltsbescheinigung vs Daueraufenthaltskarte”

A parental declaration – useful for those naturalising with their children to bear in mind.

One of the peculiarities of my case, given that I have my son naturalising with me, is that there was an additional piece of paperwork requested in relation to my son’s naturalisation. The situation might be similar to international couples where husband and wife have different nationalities (until naturalisation in case both are naturalising) and where they have a child that has not taken up both nationalities through its parents, for whatever reasons. Continue reading “A parental declaration – useful for those naturalising with their children to bear in mind.”

Am I the only one taking Austrian citizenship?

Sometimes it has felt like a lone furrow being ploughed, as most friends and acquaintances have preferred to either wait and see, or prefer not to give up their citizenship. From the outset, I have believed that Austrian citizenship is the appropriate step for me and my family, especially as we intend to continue living in Austria permanently. Having asked a few friends in recent months, about how they feel about naturalising, there are mixed thoughts, some of which are captured below. Continue reading “Am I the only one taking Austrian citizenship?”