In the previous year, almost 109,000 asylum applications were lodged in Austria, namely 108,781. The countries of origin of the people who have submitted the most asylum applications are mainly in the south-east of the EU…
In 2021, there were still more than 39,900 applications. This value has almost tripled in the past year, as is now shown by statistics published by the Ministry of the Interior in some areas. Austria thus registered the largest increase in asylum applications within the EU in 2022.
People from the following seven countries account for the majority – approximately 89 percent – of applications:
- Afghanistan (24,241)
- If (19,504)
- Syria (19,150)
- Tunisia (12,667)
- Morocco (8471)
- Pakistan (7643)
- Turkey (5132)
With the exception of Afghanistan and Syria, asylum seekers from these countries have little chance of obtaining protection status. The Interior Ministry emphasizes that the number of asylum seekers from these countries has fallen to zero since the end of the visa-free regime for Tunisia and India.
Primary care does not reflect an increase
In total, there were 78,796 legally negative asylum decisions in 2022. In addition, more than 41,000 people – accounting for about 37.7 percent of all applications – bypassed their procedure and left Austria alone again. This means that they have formally submitted an application after their arrest, but have (illegally) traveled on to their actual target countries. This also explains why the strong increase in asylum applications is not reflected in basic services.
Low recognition rate, faster procedures
The recognition rate is currently only 15.6 percent. In addition, the procedures are carried out faster: last year they only took 3.5 months. As the Ministry of the Interior emphasizes, several measures, such as stricter controls, have already had an effect. There were therefore fewer applications in January than in the same month of the previous year. However, figures on this were not yet available.
Karner: “Schengen system broken”
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) recently saw the high number of asylum applications, especially in landlocked countries like Austria, as proof “that the Schengen system is broken”. Effective protection of the external borders requires both technical improvements and legal adjustments, Karner said in a statement on Sunday.
Source: Krone
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