50 Syrians returned

Asylum seekers continue to come mainly from Syria

Asylum seekers shopping

(Bild: Pail Sepp/Sepp Pail)

Almost 25,000 asylum applications were submitted in Austria last year (see video above). Most asylum seekers continue to come from Syria, as announced by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) on Friday. One third are 18 to 35 years old.

Around six out of ten (58 percent) of asylum seekers are men. More than every second person comes from Syria, although this figure fell to 45 percent in December following the overthrow in Damascus in December. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 1750 revocation procedures were initiated after the fall of the Assad regime. With a few exceptions, family reunification has been suspended.

However, there have not yet been many returnees. There have been 350 inquiries in this regard, 50 people have returned to Syria.

Applications have declined
The second largest group of asylum seekers are Afghans with 13 percent. A total of 24,941 applications were counted, which is a decrease of 58 percent compared to 2023. In terms of population, Austria currently ranks ninth in Europe in terms of applications.

This is how the number of applications has developed since 2000.

Applications for family reunification also fell in the previous year. At the end of the year, 300 to 400 applications were submitted per month, compared to around 2000 at the beginning. Almost every third application for family reunification was rejected.

However, there were positive residence decisions in most cases, namely in 24,457 of 25,000 applications. Many people were able to stay in the country with subsidiary protection. Their countries of origin are Russia and Serbia, for example. In addition, almost 18,000 Ukrainians were granted temporary protection.

45 percent of deportees are offenders
More than 1000 people had their protection status revoked. 45 percent of those deported had previously committed criminal offenses. "Anyone who commits serious crimes in Austria has no place here. Regardless of whether they come from an EU member state, another European country or another continent," said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP).

He announced on Friday that Austria's authorities should once again deport people to Syria and Afghanistan. Employees of his department had already held talks with authorities in Afghanistan.