FPÖ State Councillor Christoph Luisser has advocated for tightened citizenship rules in Austria.
In contrast to the United States President, Donald Trump, who described the price of the recently-introduced Golden Visa Program that offers permanent residency and a path to citizenship as “a bargain”, Luisser stated that the Austrian passport is “not a bargain item at a bargain price”, Schengen.News reports.
The FPÖ State Councillor called on the federal government for more restrictive citizenship laws from the federal government, among others, improving language skills and ending dual citizenship.
He said that the government has a responsibility to initiate an amendment to the law, adding that Austrian citizenship is a “privilege” and a “high asset” and “not a cheap item”, according to a report from Noen.
The states must implement the federal regulations even if the state doesn’t like the soup served up by the federal government.
Asylum Seekers Should No Longer Be Granted Austrian Passports
According to Luisser, in the future, citizenship should not be granted for certain serious intentional offences, with expiration periods being irrelevant.
In addition, he said that asylum seekers should no longer be granted Austrian passports, adding that asylum and citizenship are two different things.
Asylum is temporary protection, while citizenship is a permanent, full right and has nothing to do with asylum. The privileged granting of citizenship after six years should only be granted “in absolute exceptional cases – namely for relatives of Austrians.
He opposed dual citizenship if a refugee does not renounce their previous nationality, “then there will be no Austrian passport”.
Luisser also called on the government to tighten the requirements for German language skills to at least the B2 level, and also increase the fees for granting the passport.
In a bid to deal with irregular migration, authorities in Austria have introduced border controls with several neighbouring countries, among them Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia.
Besides, earlier this year, the government of Austria announced that the family reunification procedures would be suspendedafter an expert discussion between the Interior and Integration Ministers.
The announcement came following the increasing number of family reunification cases registered in the past few years, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry of Austria.
In March this year, it was reported that about 18,000 people reached Austria for family reunification, with the majority of them being minors.