As part of the EU Migration Talks series of events, EMN Austria presented the new study “Pathways to Citizenship for Foreigners in Austria”. By European standards, the acquisition of citizenship in Austria is strictly regulated, involves very high fees and charges, and is subject to various restrictions. Guided by an academic discussion led by Prof. Dr Rainer Bauböck (European University Institute) and Dr Gerd Valchars (University of Vienna), the following two topics were examined:
1. Citizenship as the culmination of a comprehensive integration process
2. Costs associated with the granting of citizenship
Together with the participants, examples from other EU Member States were discussed, amongst other things, and the government’s symbolic and signalling policies were scrutinised.