Austria · The paper

What is on the Staatsbürger­schafts­prüfung: 18 questions, two hours, two ways to pass

Eighteen questions in three areas of six, two hours, in writing and under supervision. You pass by reaching half marks in every area or two thirds overall, and a wrong tick costs you the whole question.

18 questions3 areas of 6Two hours
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The paper, as the regulation sets it

Every line here comes from § 10a of the Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz or from the Staatsbürgerschaftsprüfungs-Verordnung, the federal regulation that sets the format. The format is federal law, so it is the same in all nine provinces.

Two ways to pass

§ 5 of the regulation gives two routes. You pass with at least half the points in each of the three areas, which is three of six in every area. You also pass with two thirds of all points, which is twelve of eighteen, however they are spread.

So a weak area does not sink you on its own. Twelve points overall carries you even if one area went badly. And if you are steady everywhere, nine points can be enough, provided none of the three areas falls below three.

Work done with outside help, with aids or handed in late is marked Nicht bestanden, whatever the score.

Why guessing costs you

The scoring rewards caution. If a question has two correct answers and you tick one of them, you get half a point. If you tick both, you get the full point. If you tick one right answer and one wrong one, you get nothing for the question.

The federal booklet says it plainly: tick only the answers you are sure of, because guessing does not pay.

Six of the eighteen come from your province

The third area is the history of the Bundesland you live in, and each province writes its own material for it. Belong Austria's practice bank covers the democratic order and the history of Austria only. It does not cover the provincial questions, so read your province's booklet as well.

There is a separate page on the provincial part and where each province publishes its booklet.

The questions people ask about the paper

How many questions do you need right to pass?

Either three points in each of the three areas or twelve points out of eighteen in total. Partial points count towards both.

Is the paper the same everywhere in Austria?

The format is. The two federal areas follow the same federal topics everywhere. The six provincial questions differ from province to province.

Can I bring notes or a dictionary?

No. § 4 of the regulation says you answer on your own and without any aids.

What happens if you fail?

You can sit it again as often as you need. § 6 of the regulation allows unlimited retakes, with the date agreed with your provincial office.

There are 454 practice questions in the app.

454 questions, drilled topic by topic in the order Anlage A sets them, with a mistakes deck, spaced repetition and a mock at the real paper’s pace: 12 questions in 80 minutes, six on the democratic order and six on Austria’s history. The mock gives you a score and no pass verdict, because six of the real 18 are on the history of your own province and those are not ours to write.

Written by Belong Austria around the topics of Anlage A. They are not the official questions, and each has exactly one correct answer, where a real question can have up to three.

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