Austria: from residency to citizenship
The Austrian Citizenship by Investment Program is the ideal way to obtain an EU passport, but it is acceptable only for a narrow circle of high net worth individuals .
At the same time, there is a real alternative: to obtain a residence permit in Austria (for financially independent persons / without a work permit), after 5 years apply for permanent residence, and a year later - for an Austrian passport.
What is important: no financial investment is required, no purchase of real estate or government bonds, no confirmation of passive income ...
One important note. Austria is not so open to expats that the authorities abandon control of the flow of applicants: annual quotas have been introduced, which are distributed between regions. In addition, documents can be submitted only from the first working day of the New Year. So in 2022 it will be January 3rd. As a rule, all quotas end before January 10; in Vienna, usually, on the first - maximum on the second day of filing.
The principle of allocating quotas is simple: the one who submitted the file earlier is in the queue ahead of the competition ...
Each quota is personal, so spouses with a child must receive three quotas, no less and no more ...
Requirements for applicants: adequate housing (enough rental space), availability of funds on the account (there is no need to show bank accounts with unreasonably large amounts, but there should be sufficient funds to accommodate the main applicant and dependent family members for a year), medical insurance… And - an impeccable reputation & no criminal record.
In all fairness, health insurance that is acceptable from the point of view of the authorities for this program is more expensive than in neighbouring countries, since it should cover almost any medical care, both outpatient and hospital types.
In case of obtaining permanent residence, access to the local labor market is "opened".
Who are the main participants in the program: wealthy individuals from various countries of the world. Many Russians thought about moving to Italy, France, Germany ... but after getting acquainted with the Austrian program they changed their minds. They now live in Austria.
