Austrian Citizenship by Descent (§58c Victims of National Socialism + §10 Jus Sanguinis)
Austria offers two distinct pathways to citizenship by descent, and for most international applicants — particularly those with Jewish or other persecuted ancestry — the §58c route is by far the more accessible and generous of the two. **§58c — Descendants of Victims of National Socialism**: Added to the Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz (Citizenship Act) in 2020, §58c is widely regarded as one of the most expansive post-Holocaust citizenship restoration programmes in Europe. It entitles descendants of Austrian citizens who were persecuted by, or who fled, the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945 to acquire Austrian citizenship by declaration — not by naturalisation. There is no generational limit: a great-great-grandchild of a Jewish Viennese who escaped to the United States in 1938 can apply today. Crucially, §58c does not require the applicant to renounce any existing citizenship, making it one of the rare European routes that results in full dual (or multiple) citizenship without condition. The application is filed with the competent Austrian embassy or consulate (or, for applicants in Austria, the relevant Landeshauptmann). Eligible ancestors include those who were stripped of citizenship under NS racial laws, those who fled to avoid persecution, and those whose descendants consequently never held Austrian citizenship. The 2020 amendment also addressed a historical injustice for female-line descendants: women who lost Austrian citizenship by marrying a foreign national under NS-era pressure are now covered, meaning their descendants can claim via the maternal line. **§10 / §11 — Jus Sanguinis (Standard Descent)**: Austria's standard descent rules follow a strict first-generation model. A child born abroad automatically acquires Austrian citizenship if at least one parent is an Austrian citizen at the time of birth, provided the birth is registered with an Austrian authority within the prescribed period. Second-generation and beyond generally do not inherit citizenship automatically; they must apply for naturalisation under the ordinary rules, which do require residence in Austria. There is no special administrative restoration track for second-generation or later descendants under §10 outside of the §58c framework. Both routes are handled administratively — no court proceedings are involved. Processing times through Austrian missions abroad have historically ranged from one to three years depending on workload and case complexity. All documents must be in German (certified translations required) and supported by apostilles. Ancestry research is the most common bottleneck: pre-1938 Austrian civil records, Jewish community registers (Matrikeln), and NS-era restitution files are the primary evidentiary pillars for §58c claims. Austrian citizenship grants the holder an EU passport with full freedom of movement across the European Union.
Program Details
- Generation Limit
- §58c: No generational limit — any descendant of a person who was persecuted by or fled the National Socialist regime may apply, regardless of how many generations removed. §10 / §11 jus sanguinis: First generation only (children born abroad to an Austrian parent); grandchildren and beyond generally require naturalisation unless citizenship was continuously transmitted.
- Estimated Cost
- $200–$1,200
- Processing Time
- 12–36 months
- Must Live in Country
- No
- Court Route Available
- No
Austrian embassy / consulate fees for the application itself are modest (roughly €50–€150 / ~$55–$165 USD). The bulk of cost is document procurement, certified translation (German), and apostilles. Complex ancestry research for §58c cases involving pre-1938 records can push total out-of-pocket costs to $800–$1,200 USD or more. No court filing is required for either route.
Common Barriers
- ⚠Locating pre-1938 Austrian civil or communal records that prove the ancestor's Austrian citizenship or domicile at the time of persecution or flight
- ⚠Proving a direct lineal descent chain through birth and marriage certificates, some of which may have been destroyed during the war or the Holocaust
- ⚠Demonstrating that the ancestor was an Austrian citizen (or had the right to Austrian citizenship) and was persecuted or was compelled to emigrate between 1933 and 1945
- ⚠For §10 jus sanguinis cases: citizenship may have been broken if an ancestor naturalised in another country before the child was born; women who emigrated and married foreign nationals before certain reforms may have lost citizenship automatically under old Austrian law
- ⚠All documents submitted must be translated into German by a certified sworn translator and supported by apostilles or legalisation
- ⚠Applications filed abroad go through the competent Austrian embassy or consulate, and appointments and review times vary widely by mission
Documents Needed
- •Completed application form (available from the competent Austrian embassy, consulate, or the Bundesministerium für Inneres)
- •Valid passport or national identity document of the applicant
- •Full birth certificate of the applicant (with apostille)
- •Birth, marriage, and death certificates for each generation linking the applicant to the Austrian ancestor (all with apostilles and certified German translations)
- •Proof of the ancestor's Austrian citizenship or domicile in Austria (e.g. Austrian civil registry extract, Heimatschein, Staatsbürgerschaftsnachweis, or community records)
- •§58c only: Evidence of National Socialist persecution or forced emigration — this may include deportation records, Nuremberg-law documentation, pre-1945 correspondence, Wiedergutmachung (restitution) files, ITS / Arolsen Archives records, or sworn family declarations
- •§58c only: Proof that the ancestor or the person through whom citizenship is claimed had Austrian citizenship or was entitled to it and left or lost it due to persecution (including evidence of statelessness imposed by the NS regime)
- •Change-of-name documentation if any ancestor changed their surname (common after emigration)
- •Police clearance certificate for the applicant (some missions require this)
- •Photographs meeting Austrian passport specifications
Recent Changes
§58c entered into force, granting descendants of NS persecutees a declaratory right to Austrian citizenship with no generational cap and no renunciation requirement.
source →BMI clarified guidance for §58c applications via foreign missions, standardising the evidentiary checklist and confirming that descendants of stateless persons rendered stateless by NS racial decrees are also eligible.
source →
Programme FAQs
Do I have to give up my current citizenship to obtain Austrian citizenship under §58c?
Is there a generational cutoff for §58c — can a great-grandchild apply?
My ancestor was Jewish and fled Vienna in 1938 but I am not sure they were formally an Austrian citizen. Can I still apply?
Related Guides
Citizenship by descent: who actually qualifies
A plain-English map of which countries offer jus sanguinis, how many generations back they accept, which require court proceedings, and where recent reforms (UK, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain) opened or closed doors.
Fastest paths to an EU passport in 2025
A sourced comparison of the shortest EU naturalisation timelines, from 2-year descent fast-tracks to 5-year residency routes — plus the hidden requirements that extend them in practice.
Other Descent Programs
Sources & last verified
- Official source
- Last verified 2026-06-01