Until recently, late birth registration in Austria was only possible for 1) Austrian nationals abroad, 2) stateless people or people with undetermined nationality who have habitual residence in Austria and 3) recognised refugees, who have habitual residence in Austria.
As of 1 September 2024, people who no longer have ties to their country of origin for reasons similar to those of refugees now also have access to late birth registration, including beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. LGBTIQ+ people are also mentioned in parliamentary materials as beneficiaries of this amendment, as certain members of this group who were not able to change their gender status based on their home country legislation can now do so in Austria through late birth registration (alteration of personal status).
Broadening the group of beneficiaries will hopefully have a positive impact on stateless people with no ties to their country of origin for reasons similar to those of refugees, since identification of statelessness by registration offices is currently neither ensured nor consistent. There is still no statelessness determination procedure in place in Austria. Austrian legislation is also lacking a definition of a stateless person and people with undetermined nationality, which leads to further difficulties for stateless people when trying to access late birth registration.
Introducing a dedicated statelessness determination procedure, which is binding for all national, regional, and municipal authorities, including registration offices, would resolve this problem.
The improved access to late birth registration is a positive step, but it is yet to be seen if the legal amendments will be implemented in a restrictive or flexible way.
Image: Toru Wa, Unsplash
