“Double funding” – 700,000 euros of taxpayers’ money for asylum counseling

While budget cuts are being made everywhere else, this branch of the asylum system continues to flourish. It is true that the deportation of asylum seekers who have received a negative decision or who have committed criminal offenses is a huge task for the state – time and again procedures are dragged out with various objections – but with the well-equipped advice center for migrants, such an association is being promoted, which provides expensive help in case of emergency, says the ÖVP Vienna – and heavily criticizes the alleged “double funding” with the planned 700,000 euros.

Criticism of ÖVP
“Every asylum seeker is automatically advised by the federal welfare service of the state. So there is no need for a parallel structure at the expense of the Viennese taxpayer. In addition, we reject any advice that artificially prolongs the asylum procedure or prevents deportations,” State President Karl Mahrer and integration spokeswoman Caroline Hungerländer stressed in unison.

family reunification required
In any case, the activity report for 2021 and the current project description make it clear what kind of “help” the funded advisory association offers: almost a third of all services relate to immigration law issues, and another 20 percent to social legal advice. In particular, there is a demand for: family reunification, extension of the right of residence, documentation of “Union-law residence”, granting of Austrian citizenship and the so-called consolidation of residence.

Who seeks advice from the association
Incidentally, by far the largest group of those advised were men from Afghanistan, followed by men from Syria. “The financial incentives offered by the city government seem like an invitation to people who simply want to improve their living conditions at the expense of the taxpayer,” mutters Mahrer in his familiar tone.