[nomurrcy]

I hope Austria will make a similar change. Children born before 1983 only acquired citizenship if their father was Austrian or they were born out of wedlock to a single mother. When they changed the law in 1983 it was not made retroactive - so many half Austrian children are left with no legal connection to the country.

[em-bee]

are you sure? a friend of mine born in 1973 has both austrian and german citizenships. which in itself is a fluke because neither country recognises dual citizenships. but with such a law in effect it should not have been possible to get the mothers citizenship from either country.

[nomurrcy]

Yes, I'm sure. Is is father or mother Austrian? There was a period in 2014 wherein children affected by this law were allowed to apply for Austrian citizenship - perhaps he took advantage of that. There has also been a recent change for descendants of holocaust survivors. I'm not sure about the german side of the equation.

See 'Obtaining Austrian Citizenship' here: https://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/austrian-embassy-london/service-f...

[em-bee]

i just learned that in 1983 when the law was changed, austrian mothers were offered to apply for austrian citizenship for their children born earlier. so if it wasn't made permanently retroactive, there was at least a time window to apply which is likely what my friend was able to take advantage of.

[em-bee]

i don't know which parent is austrian. my friend has both citizenships at least since their youth in the 80s. so whatever allowed that to happen must have been something in effect then. maybe a different temporary exception on either the german or austrian side.