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There is an abundance of reasons why:
You can live and work in Austria and the rest of the European Economic Area,
Eat cake till chocolate starts leaking from your pores,
Vote and stand for election,
You get one of the strongest passports in the world,
And, not to forget, you get to call the country you live in your home.
"I am from Austria."
In exchange, you might be called to act as lay judge or juror,
And, as a man, must complete the civilian or military service,
So, if it comes to it, defend the country.
*Gunfire, explosions*
*Ricochet hits metal*
There are three options:
One: A parent already has an Austrian passport,
Which means your mom pushes you including your citizenship out of her belly,
Or two: You get the citizenship
back after you or a direct ancestor lost it due those brown-shirt maniacs
Before the 15th of May 1955, when Austria became a free state again.
A "niet" for one and two leaves you with three:
Being awarded citizenship, which, naturally, has 3502.7 different variants.
For a single adult from a safe country not in the EEA, there are these requirements:
You need to renounce your old citizenship, have no criminal record, and be integrated, meaning:
German skills on B1 level + basics of democracy + basics of Austrian
and your federal state's history.
So, you didn't do anything too dumb, learned some German and always finished your soup.
So far, so good. Now for the dihifficult part.
You need a piece of paper saying that you can legally reside in Austria.
And to get that, you need full Austrian health insurance, an accommodation,
bought or rented, and a regular income above Austria's minimum pension.
And to be able to get one, there are requirements once again.
Because, non-EEA people are generally not allowed to work in Austria.
If you're not an Austrian university graduate, educated in a shortage occupation,
highly skilled, or reeking of money,
There's practically no way for you to legally work in Austria.
Without work, no residence permit, without residence permit, no citizenship.
Just for fun, I had a look at the requirements for myself, and big surprise:
If I hadn't gotten my passport at birth, I wouldn't be able to live in Austria today,
Because I have not enough to offer the Republic.
But if you fall among the chosen ones, you can look for a potential job,
File all your documents + certificates + translations,
- So, in line, not online -
Pay 160€ in fees, get your decision within the next few days/months/years,
And if it's positive, you get your permit and can
start work in the self-proclaimed home of great daughters and sons.
And then, you wait.
After ten years of uninterrupted residence,
You can file another pile of papers, pay 130€ in fees, and thereby apply for citizenship.
Then, you've made it ...
Perhaps.
You only have a legal claim to citizenship after fifteen of years residence,
In exceptional cases after a minimum of six and a maximum of thirty years.
For the award process, you again pay between 1100 and 1500€, say your oath
And *then* you get your Austrian passport.
The path to citizenship isn't quick and isn't easy.
Who, when, under which requirements,
should be able to qualify is something you need to decide for yourself.
But for those who *do* qualify,
It wouldn't be bad if the process were a bit less complicated and slow and painful.
*Pulls tooth*
*Screams in agony*