Late happy ending

Arigona Zogaj now has an Austrian passport

Arigona Zogaj in 2007 with her supporter, the priest Josef Friedl, who had taken the girl in.(Bild: APA/Werner Dedl)

When 15-year-old Arigona Zogaj was due to be deported in 2007, her case sparked a debate about the Austrian asylum system. Now the 32-year-old native of Kosovo has been granted Austrian citizenship

There was great excitement when the Zogaj family was due to be deported to Kosovo in September 2007. The girl went into hiding for 15 days - she found a supporter in the priest Josef Friedl, who supported the family in their fight to be allowed to stay in Austria. She even threatened to commit suicide if her family was deported.

Arigona on her tearful journey to Kosovo in 2010(Bild: APA/NEUMAYR/MMV)

Interior Minister Fekter showed toughness despite "doe eyes"
Thousands more people demonstrated against the deportation at the time. The municipality of Frankenburg, where the family had lived, and fellow pupils also stood up for them. But in vain - the Zogajs had to leave Austria in 2010. "I have to act according to the law, regardless of whether deer eyes are staring at me from the television or not," explained Maria Fekter, the then Minister of the Interior, at the time. 

Arigona Zogaj in 2007 with her supporter, the priest Josef Friedl, who had taken the girl in.(Bild: APA/Werner Dedl)

Arigona with her mother and three siblings in 2009(Bild: APA/MANFRED FESL)

Arigona, her mother and two of her siblings were finally allowed to return a few months later with student visas and a temporary work permit. In 2012, she and her siblings were granted temporary visas with a settlement permit. Her father and two older brothers, on the other hand, had lived in Kosovo for a long time and re-entered the country via the Red-White-Red Card.

Arigona has been an Austrian for six months
Arigona Zogaj has not appeared in public since then. After graduating from the HBLA in Linz, she began to study business law. She graduated with a bachelor's degree and now works in the insurance industry, as reported by the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper. A family friend told the newspaper that the 32-year-old has now held Austrian citizenship for six months.