Fewer applications

Asylum: Numbers continue to fall drastically in Austria

There are signs of a significant decline for the current year. (archive picture)(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Three quarters of the year have passed and there are signs of a sharp decline in the number of asylum applications for 2024 as a whole. Up to and including September, 18,816 applications were submitted. That is a good 25,000 fewer than in the first nine months of 2023, which corresponds to a decline of 57%. 

This is a much sharper decline than in Europe as a whole, where the figures only fell by eight percent. In Austria, the decline has intensified in recent months. In September, it amounted to 78%, the highest figure in 2024.

Most recently, almost two thirds of asylum seekers were men. In spring, the ratio between the sexes was still almost balanced. The main reason for this development is that family reunification has returned to normal levels. While almost 1,300 entries were made under this title in March, this figure had fallen to just 180 in September.

Mainly Ukrainians in basic care
As the numbers decrease, so does the need for places in basic care. At the beginning of October, 71,900 people were being looked after here. Last year, there were still almost 93,000. 52 percent of those receiving basic care come from Ukraine. The second largest nation is Syrians with 24 percent.

Citizens of this country also dominate the asylum statistics. The almost 11,000 applications from Syrians this year are more than five times the number of applications from Afghans, who are the second largest group of asylum seekers.

Syrians and Iranians in particular have good chances
Even though the number of asylum seekers is falling this year, Austria has taken in a very large number of refugees over the past decade. Around 215,000 people have been granted protection since 2015. This year, 13,900 asylum applications were granted. In addition, subsidiary protection was granted in 6038 cases and 1076 humanitarian residence permits were issued. Syrians and Iranians had particularly good chances of being granted asylum, with recognition rates of over 70 percent.

Of the 9983 deportations carried out by the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum up to the end of September, 51 percent were forced deportations. Around 45 percent of the deportees were convicted of criminal offenses. 903 of the removals were Dublin cases, i.e. asylum seekers for whom another EU country is responsible - 190 of these were Syrians, 85 Algerians and 80 Russian citizens.