? The test

How the citizenship test works

Governed by § 10a StbG and the Citizenship Test Regulation (Staatsbürgerschaftsprüfungs-Verordnung, StbP-V). The test is written and in German only.

18 questions

6 each from: democratic order · history of Austria · history of your federal state.

4 options

1 to 3 correct answers per question. You are not told how many.

2 hours

Plenty of time. No aids, no phone, no dictionary.

Passed if …

… you score at least half the points in every area (3 of 6) or at least two thirds overall (12 of 18).

Points

All correct = 1 point. Only some of the correct answers and nothing wrong = partial points. One wrong tick = 0 points.

Retakes

Failed? Retakes are expressly allowed (§ 10a(5) StbG). Ask for the next date.

Who doesn’t need to take it?

People with an Austrian school report in “Geschichte und Sozialkunde” (history and social studies) at least at year-8 level (4th class of Hauptschule/Mittelschule), minors at school, and people with a medical officer’s report of a lasting impairment.

✎ Example

An exam question step by step

ExampleWelche Aussagen über den Nationalrat treffen zu?

Which statements about the National Council are correct?

A and B are correct. Ticking only A gives ½ point. Ticking A and C gives 0 points, because C is wrong.

  1. Read the question word

    “Welche Aussagen treffen zu?” only means several answers may be correct. It can still be just one.

  2. Check each answer on its own

    For A, B, C, D ask: is this true, yes or no? Don’t compare them; decide one by one.

  3. Only tick what you are sure of

    One wrong tick makes the whole question worth 0. If you’re unsure about an answer, leave it out: partial points beat nothing.

  4. Watch for signal words

    immer (always), nie (never), nur (only), alle (all) often make a statement false. Read seit (since) and bis (until) carefully.

✓ Training

Practise and simulate the exam

Our own practice questions in the format of the real test, written from the official study material (not the original questions). Pick your answers and press “Check”. “Show German original” adds the German text under every question, just as it will look in the test. “Simulate the exam” gives you 18 random questions with the real scoring. You can also practise areas 1 and 2 in the official online practice test (in German).