Austrian Citizenship for Children: How Kids Get a Passport by Birth, Parents and Adoption Austrian citizenship for children explained: automatic citizenship by descent, naturalisation with parents, adoption rules, documents, costs and timelines in 2026. Topics: Migration, Citizenship.

Austrian citizenship for children is one of the most searched and most misunderstood topics for families who have moved to Austria. Many parents assume that being born in Vienna automatically means an Austrian passport, but Austrian law works differently. In this guide you will learn when a child receives Austrian citizenship automatically by descent, when you need to apply for collective naturalisation with parents, and how to avoid losing a year because of a single expired document. We cover every path — by birth, by adoption, by joint application and by birth abroad — with exact timelines, costs and links to official sources.

How a child gets Austrian citizenship automatically at birth

A child acquires Austrian citizenship for children automatically at birth if at least one parent is an Austrian citizen at the moment of birth. This is the principle of descent (Abstammungsprinzip) enshrined in § 7 of the Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz 1985 (StbG, Citizenship Act). The place of birth does not matter — a child born in Vienna, Berlin or Moscow becomes Austrian if the mother or father is Austrian. According to oesterreich.gv.at — Acquisition of citizenship by birth, for children born in wedlock it is enough that one spouse is Austrian; for children born out of wedlock it is the Austrian mother or an Austrian father who has legally recognised paternity before the child turns 14.

In practice this means no application is needed — citizenship arises by law the moment the child is born. Parents only need to register the birth at the Standesamt (civil registry office) and then obtain a Staatsbürgerschaftsnachweis (certificate of citizenship) for the child. As noted by BMI — Acquisition by descent, in 2024 more than 85% of all newborn Austrians acquired citizenship this way, making it by far the most common ground.

If both parents are Austrians, the child is always Austrian, even if born abroad. If only the father is Austrian and the child is born out of wedlock, legal recognition of paternity before age 14 is required — otherwise the automatism does not apply and the family must go through naturalisation.

Birth in Austria to foreign parents: why the place of birth does not grant a passport

Austrian citizenship for children does not arise merely because the child was born on Austrian soil — ius soli (right of the soil) does not exist in Austria. Unlike the United States or France, Austria applies exclusively ius sanguinis (right of blood). A child born in Vienna to parents with Russian, Ukrainian or Kazakh citizenship remains a citizen of the parents’ country and does not become Austrian just by being born in the AKH hospital. This is stated explicitly in RIS — Citizenship Act § 7 and § 7a — citizenship passes only from an Austrian parent.

For such children the only path is naturalisation together with parents or independently after long residence. According to Statistik Austria — Demographic Yearbook 2024, in 2023 about 82,000 children were born in Austria, of whom around 18,000 had a mother without Austrian citizenship, and none of them received a passport automatically without an Austrian parent.

Foreign parents in this situation must arrange an Aufenthaltstitel (residence permit) for the newborn immediately — without it the child cannot reside legally and the clock for future naturalisation will not start. Read more about children’s residence titles in our guide on types of residence permits in Austria and about registering an address in renting in Austria.

Austrian citizenship for children through joint naturalisation with parents

Austrian citizenship for children is most often arranged together with the parents when the family applies for naturalisation — Mitverleihung (co-granting) under § 17 StbG. The child receives Austrian citizenship for children together with the mother or father if the child is included in their application, lives in the same household and has continuous legal residence in Austria. According to oesterreich.gv.at — Naturalisation of children in the family, children benefit from a privileged regime: they do not need to meet the 10-year requirement themselves; the parents’ residence is sufficient, plus consent of the legal guardians.

Key conditions for a child in Mitverleihung: up to age 14 — the child’s consent is not required, parents decide; age 14 to 18 — written consent of the teenager is required. The child must hold a residence title (for example Niederlassungsbewilligung or Aufenthaltstitel „Familienangehöriger“ — residence permit for family members) and be registered at the same Meldezettel (registration of residence) as the parents. According to BMI — Co-granting to children, in 2024 about 3,800 children received citizenship via joint naturalisation — the second most frequent path after descent.

Importantly, the child in this procedure does not sit the citizenship test and does not need to prove German B1/B2 — language requirements apply only to adult applicants. Proof of independent income is also not required. If the parents receive a positive decision from the Landesregierung (provincial government), the child receives a separate Verleihungsurkunde (certificate of citizenship) on the same day.

Adoption and citizenship: when the child becomes Austrian automatically

In case of adoption, Austrian citizenship for children arises automatically if the adoptive parent is an Austrian citizen and the child is a minor under 14 at the time of adoption. This is governed by § 7a StbG: an adopted child is treated like a biological child and acquires citizenship the moment the court adoption order becomes final. As stated by oesterreich.gv.at — Citizenship through adoption, no additional administrative act is required — the decision of the Bezirksgericht (district court) suffices.

If the child is 14 or older at adoption, the automatism does not apply, but the adoptee can apply for naturalisation by adoption in a simplified procedure — without the 10-year period, it is enough to live together with the Austrian adoptive parent and have 6 months of legal residence in Austria after adoption. According to Statistik Austria — Adoptions 2023, in 2023 Austria recorded about 110 intercountry adoptions, more than 70% of which concerned children under 6.

For intercountry adoption Austria recognises only decisions compliant with the Hague Adoption Convention. If the adoption was finalised in Russia or Ukraine, it must first be recognised in Austria through an Anerkennungsverfahren (recognition procedure), and only then can you apply for confirmation of citizenship at the Amt der Landesregierung. The most common delays here are a missing apostille on the adoption certificate and expired translations by a sworn translator.

How many years must a child live in Austria for independent naturalisation

If a child does not qualify for automatic descent and is not naturalised together with parents, the child can apply for independent naturalisation after 6 years of continuous residence in Austria — a reduced period for minors under § 11a StbG. For this independent path Austrian citizenship for children is available under the following conditions: 6 years of legal and continuous residence in Austria, at least half with a settlement permit (Niederlassung), consent of legal guardians and no serious criminal convictions. According to RIS — StbG § 11a, children do not need to prove German B1/B2 if they attend an Austrian school.

In practice this means a child who arrived in Austria at age 4 together with parents on a RWR card can already claim a passport at age 10, even if the parents are not yet ready. As noted by BMI — Naturalisation statistics 2024, in 2024 about 1,200 children obtained citizenship on this independent ground, with an average age of 12.4 years.

Compare the timelines for different applicant groups:

Category	Minimum residence	German	Citizenship test
Adult (general)	10 years (5 years Daueraufenthalt – EU — permanent EU residence)	B1/B2	Yes, €252
Spouse of Austrian	6 years	B1/B2	Yes
Child with parents (Mitverleihung)	0 years independently (parents’ period counts)	Not required	No
Child independently	6 years	Not required if in school	No before 14

This table shows why families try to apply for children jointly — it is the fastest and cheapest path, without language barriers.

Documents: what to collect for a child

Austrian citizenship for children requires a separate dossier for the child, even if the child is added to the parents’ case. It is filed at the Amt der Landesregierung or Magistrat/Bezirkshauptmannschaft (district authority) responsible for your place of residence — the same office as for adults. According to the checklist on oesterreich.gv.at — Documents for children, for a child you need: birth certificate (not older than 3 months, with apostille and sworn translation), child’s passport (if available), Meldezettel of the child, Aufenthaltstitel of the child, proof of parents’ citizenship, consent of the second parent (if they are not naturalised together with the child), and for children over 14 — written consent of the child.

All foreign documents must carry an apostille and a sworn translation (gerichtlich beeidete Übersetzung — translation by a court-sworn translator). Documents are valid for 3 months; birth certificates from CIS countries often need to be re-issued because the local registry stamp is more than six months old. As reminded by BMI — Document requirements, missing a single apostille is the number one reason for suspending a case for 3–6 months.

For children over 14 an additional Strafregisterbescheinigung (criminal record certificate) is required — in Austria it is issued from age 14, for Russian children a certificate from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs with an apostille is needed. If the child attends an Austrian Volksschule (primary school) or Gymnasium (secondary school), attach a Schulbesuchsbestätigung (school attendance confirmation) — it replaces the language certificate and proves integration.

Children should not wait 10 years like adults — the law already provides a short path through the family or 6 years of residence, but parents often lose a year because of one expired certificate or missing consent from the other parent.

— Mag. Katharina Hofmann, migration lawyer, Vienna

How much does Austrian citizenship for children cost and how long does it take

Austrian citizenship for children costs significantly less than for adults, especially with a joint application. The state fee for a child in Mitverleihung is about €200–€400 depending on the province (Vienna — €300, Tyrol — €250, Salzburg — €350), while an adult pays €1,100–€1,500 for the federal fee and provincial administrative levy alone. According to City of Vienna — Naturalisation fees 2026, as of 2026 a child under 18 applying together with parents is exempt from part of the fees if both parents are naturalised at the same time.

Add translations (€30–€50 per document by a sworn translator), apostilles (€15–€40 per document in the country of issue) and, if needed, legalisation at the embassy. On average a family with one child spends €700–€1,100 on all fees and translations with a joint filing, versus €1,800–€2,400 for two adults without children.

Processing times for children are usually shorter: 6–12 months for Mitverleihung compared with 12–24 months for adults, because income and language are not checked for the child. According to BMI — Processing time 2024, the average duration for a child’s case in Vienna in 2024 was 8.2 months, in Lower Austria 7.5 months. Delays arise while waiting for confirmation of renunciation of the previous citizenship, if the child is older than 2 and the country of origin does not allow automatic loss.

Dual citizenship for children: the exception to Austria’s main rule

Austria generally prohibits dual citizenship for adults (§ 27 StbG — automatic loss when voluntarily acquiring another citizenship), but for children there is an important exception — dual citizenship is permitted if the child acquired the second citizenship automatically at birth, not by application. That is, if a child born to an Austrian and a Russian parent received both passports by descent — the child legally keeps both citizenships without needing to renounce. This is stated in RIS — StbG § 27 para. 2 and confirmed by oesterreich.gv.at — Dual citizenship for children.

The problem arises when a foreign child is naturalised in Austria — then as a general rule the child must renounce the previous citizenship, unless the law of the country of origin makes renunciation legally impossible. According to BMI — Retention permits 2024, about 45% of children’s naturalisations in 2023–2024 retained the second citizenship precisely on the ground of legal impossibility (for example, Russia often drags renunciation over 12–18 months and requires a personal visit).

For parents from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan it is crucial: if the child is under 14, the renunciation application is filed by the parents; if over 14 — the child’s consent is also needed. For adult rules see dual citizenship in Austria and dual citizenship — rules and exceptions.

What to do if the child was born abroad to an Austrian parent

If a child was born outside Austria to an Austrian parent, Austrian citizenship for children arises automatically in the same way as for a birth in Vienna — by blood, not by place. But the formalities go through the Austrian embassy and take longer due to document shipping. Parents need to register the birth at the Austrian representation (österreichische Vertretungsbehörde — Austrian diplomatic mission) and apply for a Staatsbürgerschaftsnachweis for the child, enclosing the Austrian parent’s certificate of citizenship, the child’s birth certificate with apostille and proof of parentage.

A special rule — § 7 para. 3 StbG: if an Austrian child born abroad is not registered in Austria within 1 year and at the same time acquires the citizenship of the country of birth by ius soli (for example the USA or Canada), parents should declare retention of Austrian citizenship to avoid collisions, although automatic loss for children by birth does not occur. As explained by BMEIA — Birth abroad, registration via the embassy usually takes 2–4 months, and issuance of the first Kinderreisepass (child passport) another 3–5 weeks.

If the Austrian is the father, the child is born out of wedlock and abroad, recognition of paternity (Vaterschaftsanerkenntnis — acknowledgement of paternity) must be finalised before the child turns 14 and recognised by an Austrian court, otherwise naturalisation will be required. For families planning to return to Austria, it is important to obtain an Austrian Geburtsurkunde (birth certificate) for the child as well — it will be needed for Familienbeihilfe (family allowance) and kindergarten enrolment.

Typical mistakes parents make when applying for a child

The first mistake is expired documents. A birth certificate with an apostille older than 3 months is not accepted in Vienna, and re-issuing it from a Russian registry office via the consulate takes 4–8 weeks. The second is missing consent of the other parent: if one parent is not naturalised together with the child, the other must give notarised consent (Zustimmungserklärung — declaration of consent), otherwise the Landesregierung will suspend the case. As the practice of MA 35 Vienna — Common deficiencies shows, up to 30% of children’s applications in 2024 were suspended precisely because of incomplete consent.

The third mistake is a wrong Aufenthaltstitel for the child. Children born in Austria to foreigners do not receive a residence permit automatically — it must be applied for separately at MA 35 within 6 months after birth. Without a valid title the period for future naturalisation is not counted. The fourth is trying to apply for the child separately when it is cheaper together: independent children’s naturalisation costs €600–€900, while Mitverleihung together with parents is only €200–€400 on top of the adult fee.

The fifth mistake is ignoring renunciation of the previous citizenship. Some parents think the child can simply keep both passports when naturalised — but for naturalised children (unlike those who received citizenship by blood) the renunciation rule applies, and without an Entlassungsurkunde (certificate of release) the Landesregierung will not issue the Verleihungsurkunde. Plan 12–18 months for renunciation of Russian citizenship via the consulate — it is the longest stage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a child get Austrian citizenship automatically if born in Vienna to foreign parents? No. Austria applies only ius sanguinis, not ius soli. Being born in Vienna, Graz or Salzburg alone does not give a passport — at least one parent must be an Austrian citizen at the moment of birth, or you must arrange naturalisation after 6 years of residence or together with the parents.

How many years must a child live in Austria for citizenship? With joint naturalisation with parents (Mitverleihung) — 0 years independently, the parents’ period is enough. With an independent application — 6 years of continuous legal residence. For comparison, adults need 10 years. Children do not need a language certificate if they attend an Austrian school.

Does a child need to pass the citizenship test and prove German? No. Children under 14 are completely exempt from the Staatsbürgerschaftsprüfung (citizenship test) and from proving B1/B2. Teenagers 14–18 sometimes have an interview at the Landesregierung but do not take the formal €252 test like adults. Language is proven by a school certificate.

Can a child keep dual citizenship? Yes, if the second citizenship was acquired automatically at birth from the second foreign parent — then both passports are kept legally under § 27 para. 2 StbG. When a child is naturalised, the general rule is renunciation of the previous citizenship, except when renunciation is legally impossible.

How much does Austrian citizenship for children cost in 2026? With a joint application with parents — €200–€400 state fee for the child plus €300–€500 for translations and apostilles. With an independent application — €600–€900 total. An adult pays €1,100–€1,500. A family of two adults and one child pays €2,500–€3,300 for everyone.

Where do you file the documents for a child in Vienna? At MA 35 (Municipal Department 35) — Vienna’s citizenship and immigration office. In the provinces — at the Bezirkshauptmannschaft or Amt der Landesregierung. Filing is always in person with both parents (or with notarised consent of the absent parent) and the child over 14.

What to do next: a checklist for parents

Austrian citizenship for children is a short path through the family, not a 10-year wait like for adults, but it requires precision with documents and deadlines. The key takeaways: by descent — automatically at birth, by place of birth — never automatically, through parents — the fastest and cheapest option, and independently — after just 6 years.

Checklist before filing:

• Check the ground: does one parent hold an Austrian passport on the birth date — if yes, obtain the Staatsbürgerschaftsnachweis at the Standesamt immediately, without naturalisation
• If both parents are foreigners: make sure the child has a valid Aufenthaltstitel and Meldezettel at the same address as the parents
• Collect the dossier: birth certificate with apostille ( <3 months), sworn translation, child’s passport, consent of the second parent (notarised) and consent of the child from age 14
• Choose the path: Mitverleihung together with you (cheaper by €400–€600) or independently after 6 years of residence if the parents are not ready
• Budget time for renunciation of the previous citizenship (for naturalised children) — 12–18 months via the RF/Ukrainian consulate, start early
• File at MA 35 (Vienna) or Bezirkshauptmannschaft and track the status — average for children 7–9 months in 2024–2026

If the child was already born abroad to an Austrian parent — do not delay registration at the embassy: the first Kinderreisepass and Geburtsurkunde unlock Familienbeihilfe and kindergarten, and confirmation of citizenship removes the question of a future residence permit.

Planning a naturalisation for the whole family? Start with our detailed guide Austrian citizenship: complete guide — it covers adult requirements, income and the test — and read residence permit in Austria — without the correct Aufenthaltstitel the child’s clock for future naturalisation will not start. Subscribe to our newsletter — we send document checklists and updates on MA 35 fees without spam.