An Italian woman, still a minor, whose mother was already an Austrian citizen, applied for Austrian citizenship. The applicable provision (Sec 12 para 1 no 3 StbG) requires, inter alia, that the applicant be a minor. During the application process, the applicant came of age. The application was then rejected. The Austrian Constitutional Court ruled that this violated the principle of equality. It must not depend on coincidences or manipulative circumstances whether an application is granted. Therefore, a legal claim must not be made dependent on how long an administrative procedure takes. (Austrian Constitutional Court of 01.07.2022 to case E3398/2021)
Timing of application for a decision for granting citizenship to minors
