Updated August 10, 2026

AT-CBD

Citizenship by descent

Austrian citizenshipby descent

We help you obtain Austrian citizenship turnkey — from finding the ancestor and recovering the documents to filing the application and arranging the passport.

Get a preliminary assessment

No move and no language
The generations are not limited
We find the documents

The passport of a citizen of the Republic of Austria

9,531People obtained citizenship in 2025

Your own passport staysThere is no need to renounce your present citizenship

5 + 3 monthsPreparing the documents and obtaining citizenship

01 / The mechanism

What this programme is

Austria grants citizenship to people who suffered Nazi persecution and to their direct descendants. It is a special procedure set by law: the applicant has to evidence the ancestor’s history and the direct line of descent, and to meet the requirements placed on the applicant themselves.

EU citizenship with no investment

There is no need to buy property or make a contribution. After a positive decision the applicant obtains Austrian citizenship and the status of a citizen of the European Union.

No move and no language exam

There is no requirement to have lived in Austria beforehand or to sit a German exam. The documents can be filed through the competent Austrian mission for your place of residence.

A right for several generations

Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and the direct descendants that follow may all apply. The line may run through the mother as well as the father. A separate application is prepared for each family member.

You can start without ready documents

If you do not know the exact history of the ancestor, or almost nothing has survived in the family, BRIDGES runs a preliminary check, studies the surnames, towns and family details, settles the directions for the archive search and restores the documentary line as far as it can be restored.

The ground is § 58c of Austria’s citizenship act. BRIDGES checks the family history, finds and recovers the documents, prepares the applications and runs the procedure. The final decision is taken by the competent Austrian authority.

02 / Checks

What an Austrian passport gives you

It is a full European Union passport — one of the strongest in the world.

The whole of Europe to live in

To live, work, study and start a business in 27 EU countries. With no visas, no permits and no quotas.

Travel without visas

Schengen with no borders. Britain, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and almost the whole world — without a visa or on simplified rules.

Education for the children

The universities of Europe on equal terms with locals: in Austria and Germany state tuition costs a token sum.

Medicine and social rights

European insurance and medicine, pension and social rights on a par with the citizens of the country where you live.

It passes to the children

Children born after you obtain Austrian citizenship at birth. From then on the passport stays in the family.

You lose nothing

Your present citizenship is kept, and you are not obliged to move or to pay taxes in Austria.

A preliminary assessment

Find out the cost

Set out who is applying with you. In the preliminary assessment we go through the family history for that composition and name the timelines, the cost of the support and the first step.

Who is applying for citizenship?

Get the calculation

about a minuteno obligationsconfidential

The cost of the support for your composition
The timeline for each stage of the work
A plan of action: where to start

A set of documents for an Austrian citizenship-by-descent application

03 / Why it is needed

Why people obtain an Austrian passport

Every family has its own reason, but most often there are four.

The reason 01

Freedom of movement

Europe’s borders are open both ways, and travel around the world stops depending on visa centres and queues.

The reason 02

The children’s future

European education and work with no permits, and after that the passport passes to their children in turn.

The reason 03

Business and banks

An EU passport widens the list of banks and jurisdictions ready to consider you and makes deals simpler.

The reason 04

A plan B for the family

A second document that works if the first suddenly stops. The decision is taken once and stays for good.

Every country on an Austrian passport

170+ destinations with nothing to arrange in advance — visa-free or with a visa on arrival

Where you are let in without a visa, where the authorisation is arranged online, where the visa is issued at the border and where a consular one is needed — with the length of stay given for each country.

04 / Grounds

Who can obtain citizenship

One ground may extend to several generations of the same family. The documents on the ancestor are gathered once and used when preparing the relatives’ applications. Even so, every adult files their own application, and a separate application is made for each child.

Files the application themselves
May at the same time bring children, parents and siblings into the family package

A separate application is prepared for each child
The child’s documents are filed together with the family set
The shared documents on the ancestor do not have to be gathered again

Adult children file applications of their own
Their cases can be prepared at the same time as their parents’
The shared archive base for the family line is used

Each of them may obtain citizenship if they are a direct descendant of a qualifying ancestor
A separate application is prepared for each adult
One relative obtaining citizenship does not depend on the decision on another

Marriage gives rise to no right to citizenship on this ground
A spouse may obtain citizenship only where they have a qualifying family line of their own
Once you have citizenship, a spouse may arrange the right to live with you in Austria or another EU country
A permanent status is usually possible after five years of lawful residence, subject to the requirements of the country chosen

05 / Evidence

Which documents are needed

We prepare the full set of documents for restoring and obtaining Austrian citizenship.

01You gather these

From you

A valid passport and a photograph
A birth certificate
Marriage, divorce or a change of name
A certificate of no criminal record

02We gather these together

The line of descent

Birth certificates by generation
Certificates of marriage and change of surname
Paternity or adoption where applicable

03We find these

On the ancestor

Citizenship or status
Where they lived in Austria
Evidence of persecution
Departure, deportation or death

04We do this work

Where we search

The Austrian State Archives
The city and provincial archives of Vienna
The registers of the communities
The DÖW, the Arolsen Archives, Yad Vashem

06 / How we work

How the Austrian case is run

From the first analysis of the documents to the passport we run the whole process. Everything that can be done without you we take on ourselves.

STEP 1

The first consultation and the documents

You tell us about the family composition and hand over the documents you have: birth and marriage certificates, the documents of parents and grandparents, old passports, letters and photographs.

If there are few documents, or you do not know the exact history of the ancestor, the names, dates, towns and other details of the family you do know are enough to start with.

STEP 2

The preliminary analysis — 1–2 days

Within 1–2 working days we analyse the documents, check the family line and settle whether the family’s history can match the ground for obtaining Austrian citizenship.

After the analysis we explain the procedure, the timelines, the cost, the documents needed and the order of the work ahead.

STEP 3

The agreement — 1–2 days

We settle the terms and sign the agreement. It records the family composition, the scope of our work, the stages, the timelines, the cost and the responsibilities of both sides.

Once the agreement is signed we assign your specialists and start preparing the case.

STEP 4

Archives and preparing the documents — 2–3 months

We work with the archives of Austria and other countries, request and recover the records needed, evidence the ancestor’s history, resolve discrepancies in names and documents and assemble the full direct line of descent.

Then we prepare the translations, the apostilles, the applications and a separate set of documents for each applicant.

STEP 5

Filing and obtaining citizenship — 3–4 months

We arrange the filing through the competent Austrian mission for your place of residence, run the procedure and answer the further requests of the Austrian authority.

A decision on the application usually takes 3–4 months. After a positive decision we help arrange the confirmation of citizenship and the Austrian passport.

We run the whole process turnkey — from the preliminary analysis to the passports of the whole family.

A panorama of the historic centre of Vienna in the evening light

In 2025 Austrian citizenship by descent was obtained by 9,531 people.

Statistik AustriaThe right of descendants since 2020

Check the ground

07 / After the decision

What happens after the decision

After a positive decision we run the arrangement of the documents of an Austrian citizen for each applicant. There is no need to move to Austria for that.

Confirmation of citizenship

We obtain the official document confirming Austrian citizenship. It is needed to arrange the passport and the other documents of a citizen.

The Austrian passport

We book the appointment, prepare the documents needed and run the arrangement of the passport at the Austrian consulate.

The documents of the whole family

We follow the confirmations of citizenship and the passports for every family member who filed a separate application.

Children born before the decision

A separate application is filed for each child already born. The family’s shared archive base is used in preparing it.

Children born afterwards

Children born after a parent obtains citizenship may obtain Austrian citizenship by descent under the rules in force at the date of birth.

Spouse

A spouse does not obtain citizenship automatically, but once you have the Austrian passport they may arrange the right to live with the family in Austria or another EU country, subject to the requirements of the country chosen.

08 / Our role

Why people run an Austrian case with us

We have worked since 2004. The main difficulty in these cases is not filling in the application but finding the documents, evidencing the ancestor’s history and linking several generations of one family.

We check the ground first

Before the full support starts we study the family line and the documents. If the ground is not borne out we say so at once and do not offer work with no prospect.

We find the documents for you

We work with the archives of Austria and other countries, the registers of the communities, the registration records, the departure files and the international databases. You do not have to look for institutions and send requests yourself.

We prepare the applications for the whole family

The shared documents on the ancestor and the archive base are gathered once. After that we prepare a separate application and set of documents for each family member.

We stay with you until the passports

We prepare the documents, arrange the filing and answer the requests of the Austrian authority. After a positive decision we run the confirmations of citizenship and the Austrian passports.

09 / Team

Who runs the Austrian case

A permanent team: a lawyer, an archives specialist and a family coordinator. You know them all by name from the first day.

Martin DvorzhakDocument Processing SpecialistThe legal assessment and running the application

Irina ShternHead of Hungary OfficeArchives, documents and the line of descent

Sergey EvdokimovManaging PartnerComplex and contested cases

Darya MelnikSenior Investment Migration AdvisorContact with the family at every stage

10 / Questions

Answers to common questions

No. Neither residence, nor a language exam, nor evidence of income. The filing goes through the Austrian consulate in your country.

No, Austria requires no renunciation. We only check whether the country of your present passport allows a second citizenship.

There is no limit: grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren. What matters is evidencing every generation with documents.

Yes. Through a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother — it makes no difference.

That is the usual situation. For Austria the Vienna archives, the registers of the communities and the departure and deportation files have survived — we search there. Names, towns and approximate dates are enough.

Then we start with research into the family. We check several generations back and tell you whether there is anything to build on.

Those born after you — at birth, automatically. For those born earlier we prepare applications of their own.

This citizenship does not pass through marriage. For a spouse we look at their own family line or at other options.

Nothing is paid to the state for the application itself. The costs are the archives, the translations, the apostilles and our work. We name the exact sum after going through your line, when the scope is clear.

It depends on what has survived: most of the time goes on the archives. The time for consideration is set by the Austrian authority and we will not promise it. The date citizenship is acquired is fixed, though, as the day of filing.

You can. We are needed where the line is not obvious: documents are missing, surnames changed, the ancestor’s history has to be rebuilt from the archives.

11 / Materials

Useful materials on Austria

Look through the conditions for obtaining citizenship, the order of the work and the requirements for the documents. We have prepared materials for families who already know their ancestor and for those only beginning to look into their descent.

The main materialPresentation

Austrian citizenship by descent

The presentation gathers the essentials on obtaining citizenship for the direct descendants of people who suffered Nazi persecution.

Inside:

who can obtain citizenship
which family members can file applications
what to do if the ancestor or the documents are unknown
what details are checked in the archives
which documents will be needed
how work with BRIDGES is organised
what happens after a positive decision

PDF · free · current as of August 2026

A short check of the family history: which details about ancestors may point to a possible connection with Austria and when archive research is needed.

The list of documents on the applicant, the direct line of descent and the ancestor. We explain separately what to do if certificates are lost or carry different names and dates.

We explain how to begin a check from a few surnames, towns, photographs, letters and family stories.

12 / The chronology

How this right came about

This is not a one-off measure and not a loophole: the mechanism has worked for more than thirty years, and all that time the law has only widened.

1993

Austria first allows citizenship to be restored to the people the Nazi regime persecuted.

At that point the right belonged only to those who had lived through the persecution themselves.

2020

Direct descendants obtain the right — with no limit on the number of generations and no renunciation of the present citizenship.

From that moment a grandchild or great-grandchild living anywhere in the world can file an application.

2022

The categories are widened and clarified, and the right of adopted children is fixed separately.

Complicated family situations stopped being an automatic obstacle.

2025

Citizenship on this ground was obtained by 9,531 people, almost all of them living outside Austria.

The mechanism works at scale, but every family evidences the ground with its own documents.

2026

The provision is in force, and no changes limiting the right of descendants have been adopted.

We follow the version of the law and the practice and tell clients about changes.

Worth having

We will check your family history

Tell us everything you know about your parents, grandparents and older generations. We will settle whether the ground can be checked straight away or whether archive and genealogical research is needed first.

Inside the document

We will identify the possible family line
We will check which facts are already evidenced
We will name the documents and archives worth starting from
We will propose the next stage without promising an unproven result

Book a preliminary assessment

Free · 20 minutes · no obligations

13 / Sources

Official sources

The information on this page is checked against the legislation in force and official materials as at the date of updating.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Tell us what outcome your family needs

We will design a solution for your case, choose the country and the right status, and take the whole process through to the result.

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Anna Kovalevskaya, lead lawyer at BRIDGES GLOBAL

Anna KovalevskayaLead lawyer, citizenship and residency, 12 years of practice