After "Crown revelation

Sham marriage hammer: No visa for Afghan woman after all!

Fully veiled in the land of the Taliban. A 26-year-old Afghan woman is now denied a visa for Austria after suspicions of a fictitious marriage were uncovered.(Bild: EPA)

Surprising twist in the authorities' farce about a suspected fake marriage over the internet! After the case uncovered by "Krone", there are now consequences after all - the young woman (26) will probably have to stay in Afghanistan. The Styrian authorities should never have approved the application ...

Readers of the "Krone" will be familiar with this story from the absurdity of the authorities, including the political mud-slinging between the ÖVP and FPÖ. A young Afghan refugee (not Syrian as originally reported) had already married his countrywoman via the internet in 2022. In officialese, this is known as a proxy marriage.

Office forgot to check refugee status
So far so good: in February of this year, the man from the greater Graz area then applied for family reunification. Despite a warning from the Aliens Police about the fraudulent acquisition of a right of residence.

Now everything is coming to light thanks to the "Krone" revelations: the Styrian provincial government had forgotten to check the refugee's status. This is because he is a person entitled to subsidiary protection, i.e. only tolerated in Austria despite not having asylum or refugee protection, because he would be threatened with death or torture if deported to his home country. In these cases, however, Department 3 for Constitution and Home Affairs is not responsible at all.

Fully veiled in the land of the Taliban. A 26-year-old Afghan woman is now denied a visa for Austria after suspicions of a fictitious marriage were uncovered.(Bild: EPA)

Suspension of family reunification
Instead, the Afghan should have been referred back to the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum due to the missing requirement. And following the suspension of family reunification decided by politicians, the application would of course have been rejected there.

The Ministry of the Interior is therefore heavily criticized after the bombshell: "There can be no question of a precise and responsible examination of an application for a residence permit."

Embassy in Pakistan already informed lawyer
The investigation into the controversial case initiated by FPÖ Governor Mario Kunasek has now at least had consequences. The Styrian head of the Department for Residence and Security immediately informed the Austrian embassy in Islamabad today not to issue an entry visa for the 26-year-old Afghan woman. The embassy reacted immediately and informed the Afghan's lawyer. A (temporary) end to the confusion with the authorities.