Explosive figures

700 asylum seekers in hiding in Styria

Remarkable: 500 refugees in basic care are said to have been born on January 1st.

(Bild: P. Huber)

The "Krone" has received an explosive response to an inquiry from the Styrian social welfare department: There is no trace of many refugees in this country, and the costs of asylum are rising sharply. 

The Freedom Party's favorite topic of asylum is playing a central role in the Styrian FPÖ's state election campaign. Ammunition for this is provided by a recent answer to a question on the white-green asylum system. SPÖ Social Affairs Minister Doris Kampus answered no less than 120 individual questions - the "Krone" has the explosive figures.

500 people have January 1st as their date of birth
Last year, 838 asylum seekers or persons entitled to subsidiary protection simply disappeared in Styria (some returned later). This year, the number is already similarly high: 700 were released from basic welfare support "due to an unknown stay". Keyword basic care: According to the state's Department of Social Affairs, more than 500 people were included in this, all of whom are listed in the database with a date of birth of January 1st, i.e. they were born on New Year's Day.

The fact that people from countries such as the USA, Serbia or Romania are listed as asylum seekers in the statistics is particularly head-shaking for the FPÖ. The same goes for the fact that only nine of the more than 8,000 people admitted to our province are apprentices, as FPÖ leader Mario Kunasek criticizes.

This expenditure in the asylum sector is simply unacceptable in view of the increasingly difficult living conditions for many Styrians.

FPÖ-Klubobmann Mario Kunasek

Bild: Christian Jauschowetz

Asylum costs continue to rise
The costs for the asylum system in Styria continue to rise. The total costs to be borne by the federal government and the province of Styria for asylum expenses amounted to almost 71 million euros in 2022. Just one year later, these expenses had already climbed to 91.1 million euros.

 "This sum is simply unacceptable in view of the increasingly difficult living conditions for Styrians," Kunasek rants. Why this increase? The state spent 48.5 million euros on the care of Ukrainians who had been expelled from their homeland. The response also mentions the number of asylum accommodation facilities: there are currently 523 in Styria.