So many asylum applications were filed in the first third of the year in Austria

The number of asylum applications has decreased by 35 percent in the first third of the year. This is shown by the asylum statistics for April. Accordingly, 6,056 asylum applications were submitted in the first four months. In the same period of the previous year, there were 9,259. It is noticeable that the number of initial applications is particularly low. This means that most applicants have been in the country for a long time or were just born here.

512 Asylum Applications in April from Afghans

Of the 329 applications submitted by Syrians in April, only 103 were new. The majority of the applications concerned children of refugees born in Austria. It is similar for Afghans. Here, 512 applications were submitted, of which only 117 were new. The rest are follow-up applications or applications from children born in Austria. According to the Ministry of the Interior, a decision by the ECJ continues to have an effect here, according to which no individual procedure must be conducted for Afghan women. Therefore, female beneficiaries of protection in Austria apply for asylum if only subsidiary protection was granted.

The planned temporary stop of family reunification is unlikely to have an overwhelming impact on the numbers for the time being. In April, there were only 138 entries under this title. It should be noted that since the change of power in Damascus, applications from Syrians are only decided in exceptional cases.

Austria Ranks Tenth EU-wide

Overall, Austria is no longer disproportionately affected by asylum applications. Calculating per capita, it ranks tenth within the EU. Considering all of Europe, asylum applications have decreased by 22 percent this year. There was an increase only in Poland, Croatia, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France.

Regarding asylum seekers in Austria, it is noticeable that slightly more than half are minors. About one-third fall into the group of 0 to 3-year-olds. Only one-fifth of asylum seekers are 35 or older. The gender distribution is now quite balanced. In April, 45 percent of the applications were from women. In previous years, the proportion of men was much higher.

Almost 3,000 Asylum Grants This Year

In over 4,000 cases, a protection status has been granted this year so far. Asylum was granted 2,972 times, subsidiary protection 621 times, and the rest are distributed among humanitarian residence permits.

Compared to the previous month, the occupancy of basic care has decreased again by over 2,000 places, currently being utilized by slightly more than 63,000 people. 55 percent of those receiving such care are war refugees from Ukraine.

(APA/Red)

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