Austrian citizens who also hold Turkish citizenship – a violation of Austria’s nationality laws – may be stripped of their Austrian citizenship and forced to leave the country. Austria’s far right Freedom Party (FPOe), the coalition partner of the Austrian government, is calling on 18,500 Austrian-Turks to prove that they do not hold Turkish citizenship.
In general, dual citizenship is not allowed in Austria except for persons who obtain two citizenships at the time they were.
As reported by Ahval News portal (a dissident exile initiative based in London, but operating from several countries), 95,000 people in Austria voted last year for the constitutional referendum in Turkey, 73% approved the constitutional changes with a turnout rate of 48%.
“If I could decide I would no longer naturalise any Turks until we get all the information there is from Ankara about dual citizenships,” said the FPOe leader Norbert Hofer after the referendum.
FPOe later submitted the list of 95,000 voters to the Austrian Immigration Office and asked how many of them hold Austrian citizenship. The investigation showed that only 18,500 of those voters are citizens, while the others have residence permits. The Immigration Office only found 30 people who hold illegal dual-citizenship, yet the FPOe asks all 18,500 to prove that they are not also Turkish citizens. Those who fail to prove that they are not double-passport holders are at the risk of being deported and losing all their citizenship rights.
