(3) 1. An alien possessing foreign nationality may not be granted citizenship if he fails to take the necessary steps to relinquish his former citizenship even though such steps are possible and reasonable for the alien … …’ 12 Paragraph 20(1) to (3) of the StbG provides: ‘(1) An alien shall be given an assurance that citizenship will be granted to him in cases where, within two years, he provides proof of having relinquished the citizenship of his former State of origin, if 1. he is not stateless; 2. … and 3. that assurance makes possible or could facilitate his relinquishing of the citizenship of his former State of origin. (2) The assurance as to the grant of citizenship shall be revoked if the alien no longer fulfils any one of the requirements laid down for that grant, with the exception of point 7 of Paragraph 10(1). (3) The citizenship the grant of which has been assured shall be granted as soon as the alien 1. relinquishes the citizenship of his former State of origin; 2. gives proof that he was unable or could not reasonably be expected to take the necessary steps to relinquish the former citizenship of a State.’ The dispute in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling 13 By letter of 15 December 2008, JY, at the time an Estonian national, applied for Austrian nationality. 14 By decision of 11 March 2014, the Niederösterreichische Landesregierung (Government of the Province of Lower Austria, Austria) assured JY, in accordance, inter alia, with Paragraph 20 of the StbG, that she would be granted Austrian nationality if she could prove, within two years, that she had relinquished her citizenship of the Republic of Estonia. 15 JY, who had since moved her primary residence to Vienna (Austria), provided, within the two-year period stipulated, confirmation by the Republic of Estonia that her citizenship of that Member State had been relinquished by decision of the government of that Member State of 27 August 2015. JY has been a stateless person since relinquishing that citizenship. 16 By decision of 6 July 2017, the Wiener Landesregierung (Government of the Province of Vienna, Austria), which had become competent to examine JY’s application, revoked the decision of the Niederösterreichische Landesregierung (Government of the Province of Lower Austria) of 11 March 2014, in accordance with Paragraph 20(2) of the StbG and rejected, pursuant to point 6 of Paragraph 10(1) of that law, JY’s application for Austrian nationality. 17 The Wiener Landesregierung (Government of the Province of Vienna) justified that decision by stating that JY had committed, since receiving the assurance that she will be granted Austrian nationality, two serious administrative offences (failing to display a vehicle inspection disc and driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol) and that she had committed eight administrative offences between 2007 and 2013, before that assurance was given to her. Therefore, according to that administrative authority, JY no longer satisfied the conditions for grant of nationality laid down in point 6 of Paragraph 10(1) of the StbG.