Less Than 50% Pass Austria's A2/B1 Integration Exams
Austrian A2 and B1 integration exam pass rates have fallen below 50%. What's behind the drop, and how is the government responding?
Just under half of Austria's integration exams at the A2 and B1 language levels are now being passed. According to a parliamentary response from Integration Minister Claudia Bauer (ÖVP) to the Greens, the success rate on the tests, which cover both German language skills and Austrian civic values, is in decline.
The ministry attributes the trend in part to a drop in candidates from countries with traditionally high pass rates.
In 2023, 53% of A2 exam attempts resulted in a pass. By 2025 that figure had fallen to 48%. The same is true at B1 level, where the success rate stood at 55% in 2023 and dropped to 49% in 2025. Candidates are also retaking exams more often. For A2, the average number of attempts per person rose from 1.28 in 2023 to 1.43 in 2025. For B1, it climbed from 1.24 to 1.48 over the same period. The ministry notes that the attempt rate alone does not show whether a given person eventually passes or simply stops trying. Because the Integration Act only governs A2 and B1 exams, the parliamentary response covers only those two levels.
Origin countries and attendance cited as factors
The ministry pointed to several reasons for the falling pass rates. A larger share of candidates now comes from countries with historically lower pass rates, while the proportion from countries with higher pass rates has shrunk. Candidates from Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Russia tend to do better. Those from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria perform less well.
More candidates are also sitting the exams after first taking a literacy course, which presents an additional hurdle. People with little formal education or no prior schooling typically need more time and more attempts to pass. Attendance in the language courses themselves is also slipping slightly. According to the ministry, those who attend class more regularly have higher pass rates.
Government weighs sanctions for course dropouts
The ministry reports that German courses were dropped without an accepted excuse roughly 10,000 times in 2025. The government is preparing an integration obligation with tougher measures for those who quit integration programs. According to the coalition agreement, the program is to include German language instruction, civic values training and integration counseling. Failure to comply could trigger sanctions such as cuts to social benefits. The SPÖ and ÖVP have recently been at odds over the details.
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