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Article 4
 

Registration requirements for Austrian citizens with a principal domicile abroad

(1) When filing an application, to which shall be attached the pertinent documents corroborating their reasons, Austrian citizens with a principal domicile abroad, who have reached the age of 18 years and who are not barred from exercising their right to vote in accordance with § 3, shall be registered in the European electoral records of the municipality where they are registered in the electoral records in accordance with the 1973 Electoral Records Act , Federal Law Gazette No. 601, for the duration of their stay abroad; if there is no such registration, they shall be registered in the European electoral records of the municipality where they had their last principal domicile in Austria, or otherwise in the European electoral records of the municipality where one parent, at least, currently has or last had his/her principal domicile in Austria. The pertinent documents corroborating their reasons shall be attached to the application.

(2) In the event that no such registration can be made, the place of registration in the European electoral records shall by guided by the following vital circumstances in connection with Austria, which shall be convincingly documented in the application (para 1) and which shall apply in the following order:

1.       place of birth,

2.       principal domicile of the spouse,

3.       principal domicile of the closest relative,

4.       place of business of the employer,

5.       ownership or property titles to real-estate or flats,

6.       property assets,

7.       other vital circumstances.

(3) Applications made in accordance with para 1 that do not result in a registration in the European electoral records shall be considered as objections in accordance with § 7 by the municipalities where the applications were filed.

(4) Persons entitled to vote, whose names were registered in the European electoral records of a municipality following an application in accordance with para 1 or  subsequent proceedings of objection or appeal shall make a statement every ten years, as a maximum, confirming that they continue to satisfy the registration requirements, otherwise their names shall be deleted ex officio from the European electoral records upon expiry of this term.

(5) Applicants having their principal domicile in one of the Member State of the European Union other than Austria shall, in addition, state in their application in accordance with para 1 that they wish to vote for Members of Parliament to be delegated by Austria in elections to the European Parliament. Persons who are entitled to vote and who have made such a statement shall be deleted from the European electoral records as soon as it appears that they are also entitled to vote in elections to the European Parliament in that other Member State where they have their principal domicile.

(6) Petitions in accordance with paras 1, 4 and 5, as well as in accordance with § 2,  para 6, shall be filed with the municipality in question through the competent body representing Austria abroad.