I don’t qualify for citizenship as haven’t been here long enough, what can I do to “regularise” my residency?

The option to naturalise and take Austrian citizenship only exists after a minimum of 6 years of continuous residence in Austria, and for Britons who have not been in Austria that long, there are two other pieces of paperwork what should be done to “regularise” your right to remain indefinitely. Having done the Anmeldung upon arrival, after three months, you need to do the Anmeldebescheinigung, which effectively is tied up to the EU’s Freedom of Movement. In Austria the Niederlassungs- und Aufentshaltsgesetz transposes European Directive 2004/38/EC. Once you have done the Anmeldebescheinigung, and doing it on time is important to avoid a fine. After five years lawful residence you may request a Bescheinigung des Daueraufenthalts – not yet mandatory but good for peace of mind – you submit your application through MA35 and it is issued by post usually within a few weeks, but will not automatically pop through your letterbox.

Following my querying the claim that Britons would not need to apply for permanent residence on the Ambassador’s recent Facebook Live Chat, a clarification was given by the Embassy.

Will you have dual citizenship?

No. To gain Austrian citizenship will require me to give up British citizenship. The claim about “revoke and resume”, which Britain allows – i.e. to revoke your British citizenship to take another citizenship and then resume your British citizenship (at considerable cost) is not compatible with holding Austrian citizenship. Part of the reason for hitherto not taking Austrian citizenship hinged on the lack of a necessity to do so as well as the fact that prior to the UK Referendum on EU Membership, there was no need to do so, given that British citizenship entitled me to reside and work in Austria, and taken Austrian citizenship was contingent on giving up British citizenship. I am aware of people claiming that Britons in Austria may have used “revoke and resume” to obtain Austrian citizenship and then retake British citizenship , but technically, based on a commentary on the Citizenship Act, they lost Austrian citizenship at the point of resuming their British citizenship. There is too much at stake for me to risk this – it is not the Kavalierdelikt some think it is. See also my post on A quick primer about the Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz 1985.

What is a Hague Apostille?

A Hague Apostille (named after the Hague Convention) is attached to documents issued by Hague Convention signatories and serves the purpose of notarisation for that document. It is used, for example on copies of birth certificates for marrying abroad (although a sworn translation is required of it) and in the case of naturalisation is needed for a police record from the UK for submission to the Austrian authorities.

Does it cost anything to renounce British Citizenship?

The current cost (since 6 April 2018) of renouncing British Citizenship is currently £372. A full list of charges for taking British citizenship or renouncing it is available here. The fee appears to go up annually at the start of the UK tax year on 6 April, and rose from £321 to £372.

Do I have to do military or alternative civilian service if I naturalise and take Austrian citizenship?

Over the age of 35 you are exempted from military service (Bundesheer) or alternative civilian service (Zivildienst). If you have already done military service in another country that has an agreement with Austria, you are exempted from having to do it again. British citizens naturalising, since there is no National Service in the UK, would have to do military service. Article 37 of the Citizenship Act contains a provision denying people doing military service the right to renounce citizenship to avoid this being exploited as a way out of military service.