How far am I, really?
The Dashboard splits the journey into the part you control and the part you do not. The bar shows how close you are to being able to apply. Below it Belong Austria lists the routes open to you, such as standard naturalisation, six years with strong integration or spouse of an Austrian citizen, each carrying its own status.
A clear way means your side is on track. Austrian naturalisation is decided by your province, so your finish line is a real date, though a planned reform may shift the rules while you wait.
What stands between me and the decision?
Path opens a single route and lays out every requirement in order. A green tick is met and a blue dot is in progress. Each item explains the rule in plain language and links to the official source, such as the Mein Österreich portal for the Staatsbürgerschaftsprüfung.
There is no locked wall here. Every item is yours to complete, and the last card lets you practise the citizenship test.
What could set me back?
Standing watches the moving ground, your time abroad and your record. Add a trip and Belong Austria counts it against your budget of 730 days abroad, 20 percent of the required period, so time away never quietly breaks your uninterrupted residence. Your record sits here too with a plain read on whether anything on it delays you.
Most short trips and small fines do not count. Standing is where you confirm which ones do.
What’s changing while I wait?
News gathers the latest immigration and citizenship announcements from the BMI, the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior, and lists them newest first. Each item shows how long ago it was posted and links straight to the original notice, so you catch changes to the rules as they happen rather than months later.
Belong Austria points you to the source, not a rewrite. Every headline opens the official BMI page so you can read it yourself. It is a tracker, not legal advice.
What drives all of this?
You is where every number comes from. Set the month you became resident and a short list of honest toggles for settled status, marriage, language exam, knowledge test and self support. Change one and the Dashboard updates right away. The subscription, notifications and the legal disclaimer live here too, because Belong Austria tracks the rules but does not give legal advice.
Start here on day one. The rest of the app is only as honest as what you enter.
