Sec. 10(6) of the Austrian Citizenship Act

Austrian citizenship by merit is a discretionary naturalisation route under sec. 10(6) of the Austrian Citizenship Act (Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz 1985), under which the Federal Government may confirm that granting citizenship to a foreign national is in the particular interest of the Republic because of exceptional achievements that person has already attained and is expected to attain in the future.

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What the provision says

"Citizenship may be granted due to exceptional achievements which have been adduced by the foreigner, and which are also expected to be adduced in the future, if this is in the particular interest of the Republic of Austria." (Austrian Citizenship Act, sec. 10(6))

Sec. 10(6) establishes an expedited citizenship procedure for individuals whose extraordinary contributions are of particular national interest to the Republic of Austria. This provision allows citizenship to be granted in recognition of exceptional merit.

Sec. 10(6) is a constitutional provision (Verfassungsbestimmung) within the Austrian Citizenship Act.

What it sets aside

Unlike the standard naturalization pathway, which requires ten years of continuous residence, German language proficiency, and a formal citizenship test, the sec. 10(6) procedure waives these requirements entirely. Applicants need not have resided in Austria, need not speak German, and may retain their existing foreign citizenship or citizenships. Specifically, a confirmation under sec. 10(6) disapplies:

the requirement of ten years' lawful, uninterrupted residence in Austria, at least five of them as a settled resident (sec. 10(1)(1));
the requirement that the applicant's means of subsistence be sufficiently secured (sec. 10(1)(7)). This waiver is formal rather than practical: the provincial government still enquires into an applicant's financial circumstances, and a well-prepared application addresses them;
the bar on granting citizenship to an applicant who does not take the steps needed to leave their previous citizenship (sec. 10(3)) — which is what allows an existing citizenship to be kept;
proof of German language competence and of basic knowledge of Austria's democratic order and history, from which sec. 10(6) cases are expressly exempt (sec. 10a(2)(1)).

What still applies

Sec. 10(6) waives specific requirements, not the whole of the Act. The general integrity conditions in sec. 10(1)(2) to (6) and (8) and in sec. 10(2) continue to apply — among them the absence of relevant criminal convictions and of any relationship with foreign states that would damage the interests of the Republic of Austria. Under the implementing regulation, the provincial government may submit a case to the Federal Minister for Internal Affairs only once those conditions are established.

Who decides

The decision is split between two levels of government. The Federal Government confirms, at its own discretion, that granting citizenship is in the particular interest of the Republic because of the applicant's exceptional achievements. That confirmation is final and cannot be appealed, which makes the quality of the application and the strategic preparation of the case decisive. Citizenship itself is then granted by the competent provincial government, which conducts the procedure and verifies the conditions sec. 10(6) leaves in place. The procedure leading to the Federal Government's confirmation is laid down in a Federal Government regulation.

Primary sources: Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz 1985 (RIS, consolidated text) · BGBl. II No. 39/2014, the sec. 10(6) procedure regulation (RIS) · Federal Ministry of the Interior, the sec. 10(6) achievement criteria