The governor, citing the Austrian culture as an example, feels that newcomers require a more thorough confrontation with what constitutes the West, according to the local Austrian media. EU Helpers notes that the country's naturalization rates have increased significantly over the past three years.
The governor also thinks that talks should be held on the decreased period of stay—from ten to six years—that is necessary for migrants to become eligible for Austrian citizenship, since this will facilitate their acquisition of an Austrian passport.
He said Austria has become increasingly homophobic, misogynistic, and anti-Semitic as a result of increased immigration.
A total of 475 persons obtained Austrian citizenship in 2021 as a result of this simplified process, which Drexler is criticizing. However, their stay in Austria was cut by four years. In 2022, the number increased to 95, and in the first half of 2023, there were 101 candidates who were granted Austrian citizenship.
Only about 280 persons obtained Austrian citizenship between 2021 and 2023 following ten years of lawful residence in the country. The absence of stable employment is mentioned as the main cause of rejection during this time. By the way, there are currently 553 open cases for this year that are not yet treated.
According to Austrian media, Styria is seeing an increase in naturalization applications, with application rates climbing by 19.5% between 2021 and 2022. Applications for naturalization increased from 1,221 to 1,460 overall.
A total of 1,085 naturalization applications were filed in the first half of 2023, meaning that more than one-third of the applications filed in 2022 had already been filed in 2023 alone.
Approximately 52.6% of the 3,766 petitions submitted over the previous 25 months were accepted by Styrian officials, giving the applicants Austrian citizenship (1,981).
Although the origins of candidates are sometimes not consistent, Bosnians continue to be the largest population group applying for Austrian citizenship in 2021—119 applications in total—followed by Syrians (80), Turks (76), Afghanis (68), and Kosovars (65).
Although the most applications were made by Bosnians in 2021, Syrian applicants received the highest acceptance rate—roughly 200 percent—while other applicants, including Bosnians, Afghanis, Turks, and Itani, received fewer favorable responses.
In the first half of 2023, Turkiye had the highest application rates (48), followed by Syria (39), Afghanistan (25), Iran (18), and Iraq (15). These rates are anticipated to change in 2023.