Bonus for emigrating

Syrian returnees as a windfall for the city of Vienna

One-off payments are now being made to encourage Syrians to leave the country.

(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

More and more countries are urging Syrians who fled after the fall of Assad to return - sometimes with absurd amounts of money. Why it could pay off for Austria and Vienna in particular.

Denmark wants to pay a whopping 27,000 euros per adult and another 6,700 euros per child to every Syrian refugee who voluntarily returns home. Denmark is expecting costs of almost 750 million euros for the repatriation of adults and 115 million euros for the children.

Austria is also tempting with money
Austria is a long way from this - although the federal government also wants to pay for Syrians to leave the country. 1000 euros per adult, 860 euros per child, return counseling and help with obtaining documents are Austria's lures.

Vienna would benefit massively
Vienna would benefit massively from this. According to the latest figures from October, the federal capital is home to the lion's share of the Syrian diaspora. In general, Syrians are currently significantly overrepresented in terms of immigration. In 2024, a total of 21,275 asylum applications were submitted from January to the end of October, 12,134 of which were from Syrians in Austria (57 percent). And they have been granted asylum significantly more often than other nations. Of the 21,532 positive decisions made between January and October, 75 percent went to Syrian immigrants. 560 Syrians in Vienna were also granted Austrian citizenship in 2023.

High burden on the social system
A look at the current labor market data shows why Vienna would particularly benefit from a return. This is because the integration of Syrians in the capital is heavily influenced by their dependence on social benefits. In 2023, more than 70 percent of Syrian nationals in Vienna received minimum benefits.

One-off costs of 50 million euros
Outside of Vienna, this figure is 29.9 percent. Unemployment among Viennese Syrians is also significantly higher than in the other federal states. As of October 2024, the unemployment rate among Syrians in Austria was 36.7 percent. In Vienna at 51 percent. In comparison: it would cost almost 50 million euros for all Syrian immigrants registered in Vienna to leave the country.