The short answer
§ 27 takes effect automatically
§ 27 of the Austrian Citizenship Act (Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz) contains a particularly strict rule.
Anyone who voluntarily acquires a foreign citizenship by application generally loses their Austrian citizenship at the same moment.
No separate decision is needed.
No separate loss procedure.
And no prior notice from any authority.
The loss happens by operation of law.
The fact that the other state does not report the acquisition changes nothing.
It simply means the Austrian authorities may not know about it at first.
For you and your family, a different question is therefore decisive:
How can you create extra international freedom without putting your Austrian citizenship at risk?
The options are a prior permit under § 28 and, depending on your goal, residence solutions with a different legal structure and their own travel documents.
Why supposed secrecy can be your undoing
In this industry, you occasionally come across a dangerous argument:
The new state does not report the acquisition of citizenship. So Austria will never find out.
But § 27 does not work that way.
Austrian citizenship is lost the moment the other citizenship is acquired.
The authority's knowledge is not a condition for the legal consequence.
That means you can believe for years that you are still an Austrian citizen.
You may even still hold your Austrian passport.
In law, however, your citizenship may have ceased to exist long ago.
Discovering it later does not change when it was lost.
If you want to protect the citizenship you have, you must make the right decision before you acquire another.
Five situations in which the problem suddenly comes to light
In our experience, a change in citizenship status that went unnoticed often comes to light in perfectly ordinary situations.
- When renewing your passport. Just when you urgently need a new document, questions about your citizenship can come up.
- When proving your citizenship. Many administrative procedures require up-to-date proof of your legal status.
- At a consulate abroad. Precisely when you need help, your citizenship status can be checked.
- On an inheritance. When legal relationships are looked at afresh, earlier acquisitions of citizenship can become relevant.
- When your child makes an application. Under certain legal conditions, minor children may have lost their Austrian citizenship together with a parent.
That last point hits families especially hard.
Because of your decision, your child can lose not only Austrian citizenship but EU citizenship as well.
And yet your child never decided to acquire another citizenship.
Four legal routes to more international freedom
1. A permit under § 28 before you acquire it
If you want to keep your Austrian citizenship and acquire a foreign one as well, you must check whether a permit under § 28 of the Austrian Citizenship Act is possible.
Timing is everything.
The permit must be granted and final before you acquire the other citizenship.
An application already submitted is not enough.
Nor is the mere prospect of approval later.
If you acquire a new citizenship first and only then apply for the permit, you cannot undo the loss that has already occurred.
2. A permanent right of residence in a second country
A foreign residence permit does not give you an additional citizenship.
That is why acquiring one does not, on its own, trigger a loss under § 27.
For Austrians in particular, a secure right of residence abroad can be an important step towards greater international independence.
You gain a further legal basis for where you live, without having to give up the citizenship you have.
3. An independent travel document without a new citizenship
Certain states issue special travel documents, under legal conditions, to holders of the relevant residence permits.
A document like this can widen your international travel options without itself conferring a new citizenship.
Since the document alone does not mean acquiring a foreign citizenship, it does not trigger § 27.
What matters is the exact legal design of the document and how widely it is recognised.
4. Another citizenship by descent
Here the legal assessment can be more complicated.
§ 27 applies to acquisition by application.
Whether merely confirming a foreign citizenship you already hold by descent falls under it has to be examined in law case by case.
This question should be settled by a specialist lawyer before you make any application.
The right order can protect your whole family
For Austrian citizens, what often decides the outcome is less the destination country than the legal order of the steps.
An additional citizenship may be possible under the conditions of § 28.
Otherwise, rights of residence and, where available, independent travel documents can offer an alternative.
What you should avoid is acquiring a citizenship in the belief that nobody will ever find out.
Because losing a citizenship affects a fundamental legal status, and it can hit your children too.
International freedom starts with protecting the legal position you already have.
For German, Austrian and Swiss citizens
Germany: since 2024, you can keep both citizenships
Since 27 June 2024, multiple citizenship has been the rule in Germany.
Germans can in principle acquire another citizenship without automatically losing their German one.
Austria: even a mistake does not prevent the loss
Under § 27, Austrian citizenship is lost by operation of law.
The Supreme Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof) has ruled that this applies even if the person concerned wanted to keep their Austrian citizenship.
Being mistaken about the legal consequences does not prevent the loss.
Minor children can also lose their citizenship, and with it their EU citizenship, together with the parent concerned.
Switzerland: multiple citizenship has been open since 1992
Since 1 January 1992, Switzerland has allowed multiple citizenship without restriction.
The Swiss therefore have no automatic loss comparable to § 27 to worry about.
You want to create a second option for yourself and your family without losing the rights you have today. As an Austrian, the right legal route is therefore decisive. Let's talk about how you can build extra international freedom and protect the citizenship you already hold.
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