Fundamentals rights section 3.6.2. Extradition of the wife of an Austrian citizen The Indian citizen N.N. complained to the Ombudsman Board about the duration of her proceedings for the granting of a residence title for relatives. The complainant had first entered Austria with a visa that was valid for six months. She hoped that the proceedings for the granting of a residence title would be concluded during this time. The enquiries of the Vienna Federal Police Headquarters concerning a possible residence marriage dragged on for months. In the meantime, her first child with her Austrian husband was already born in Austria. The Vienna Federal Police Headquarters nevertheless initiated extradition proceedings. The criteria that the Constitutional Court lays down for a further legal stay in Austria are, inter al.: duration of stay, actual existence of family life and its intensity, degree of integration (relationships with relatives and friends, education, participation in social life, employment), no criminal record. Taking these criteria into consideration, the initiation of extradition proceedings appears arbitrary. Close family ties exist, as the husband of N.N. is an Austrian citizen and their child is thus also an Austrian citizen. She herself entered Austria legally and was entitled to hope that the residencetitle proceedings would be concluded within the half-year validity of her visa. The criteria of no criminal record, adequately assured means of subsistence as well as a secured accommodation situation are also fulfilled according to the information at hand. The marriage took place at a time when the complainant resided in Austria legally. Only the circumstance that she remained – for understandable reasons – in Austria after the expiration of the visa can be an accusation against her from a legal point of view. The Federal Ministry of the Interior notified the Ombudsman Board twice between September 2007 und April 2008 that there are no objections to the granting of a residence title from the point of view of the Police. In July 2008, the Vienna Federal Police Headquarters suddenly initiated extradition proceedings against the complainant. This decision violates the protection of private and family life guaranteed by the Austrian constitution. It seems extremely improbable that a Supreme Court would confirm the authority’s extradition decision. As already mentioned, practically all the criteria speak for the complainant. Moreover, the Ombudsman Board considers it unacceptable that the complainant must now struggle through proceedings in all instances in order to avert extradition at the supreme courts in the end. No comprehensible reasons for the turnaround in the authority’s’ decision were given to the Ombudsman Board. 26 32nd Report of the Austrian Ombudsman Board to the National Council and the Federal Council 2008