Conditions in reception facilities

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The Ministry of Interior, which is responsible for Basic Care during the admissibility procedure, outsourced their day-to-day management to a state-owned agency, BBU GmbH, while remaining the responsible authority. The BBU GmbH took over in December 2020 from a private company that used to be subcontracted by the Ministry.

Conditions in the reception centres of the federal provinces vary, but they had constantly improved along with the decrease of persons staying in the centres. When the BBU GmbH was funded to take over in December 2020, a decrease of reception capacity at federal state level was expected. The federal reception capacity reached its limits in October 2022, mainly because of the lack of cooperation of the provinces and the high number of arrivals from Ukrainian refugees. There was public uproar when the BBU GmbH only provided tents for some asylum applicants due to the lack of facilities and the lack of cooperation of the provinces in fall 2022. Due to the high number of arrivals in the province of Burgenland the police was not able to start off the asylum procedures for all the applicants entering the country (see Access to the territory and Procedures).

In December 2022, the NGO Diakonie Flüchtlingsdienst represented an asylum seeker from Belarus who was denied entry at a so-called waiting zone and thus grew homeless. An application for an interim measure was brought in at the ECtHR. The authorities reacted immediately and offered accommodation and modified the process of the waiting zones. As a consequence, and due to the decrease in arrivals, at the start of 2023 there were no more reports of cases of homeless applicants. The situation calmed down further over 2023 and 2024 (see chart above).

The registration process reverted back to the old system without distributing asylum applicants to all provinces for their first interview, as the numbers of asylum applicants decreased substantially in 2023 and further in 2024. At the start of 2024, the numbers continued to decrease even further: while the police apprehended 1,400 persons with the intention to seek asylum in April 2023 in the province of Burgenland, in April 2024 only 40 persons were apprehended.[1] From January to September 2024, there were 1,894 apprehensions in Burgenland.[2]

Systematic research on the standards in the basic care system of the federal provinces has not been carried out in recent years. At the end of 2021, however, asylkoordination österreich carried out a nationwide survey where the concerned NGOs working in basic care, were interviewed. The findings of this research have been incorporated throughout this Chapter. Since 2021, the data has been updated annually in cooperation with asylkoordination österreich and NGOs. Unfortunately, there have been no actual improvement; if so, this is specifically mentioned in the report.

As regards the minimum standard, the regional refugee counsellors agreed on a common recommendation on a minimum standard of 8m² for each person and 4m² for each additional person in September 2014.[3] According to the findings of the survey, the minimum standard is met in all states. In Lower Austria, a better standard is being applied (9m²+5m²+6m²). However, due to the increase in asylum applications in 2021 and 2022, the authority reduced the standard within the framework of the ‘Emergency Ordinance’ to 8m²+4m²+4m², which in reality means that more people can be accommodated in one room. The minimum standards also define a maximum occupancy of 5 persons per room. This is complied with in most places, and some NGOs try to advocate for a 2-bed occupancy where possible. In Burgenland, Lower Austria, Styria and Tyrol, single adults are also partly placed in 6-8 bedrooms.[4]

Depending on the infrastructure, asylum applicants may live in an apartment and have their own kitchen and sanitary facilities, which is sometimes the case in former guesthouses. Usually, single persons share the room with other people. Housing in flats offers more privacy and the possibility of retreat and enables more independent living. This form of housing is also particularly suitable for vulnerable groups such as victims of violence or LGBTIQ people.

Basic care facilities in Austria vary widely in terms of size, equipment and infrastructure. There are facilities with up to 260/600 places (Tyrol, Vienna) but also facilities with 20, 50, 80, 90, 120-150 places. In addition, asylum applicants are also accommodated in private flats rented by NGOs, coordinated on a mobile basis via care teams. This form of housing is also ‘called mobile assisted living’. In the provinces as well as in Vienna, some asylum applicants are also accommodated in flats. The city of Vienna has announced that it would like to move away from large-scale reception models and invest in smaller accommodation units or flats. In the federal states, there are mainly smaller facilities with capacity ranging from 5 to 40 places. Larger facilities are rather rare and usually located in the cities or near a city (e.g. in Linz in Upper Austria, Eisenstadt in Burgenland, Innsbruck in Tyrol). In Vienna, most facilities are supervised 24h due to a higher amount of care capacity and accommodation of person with increased need of care.

Organisations providing care for asylum applicants receive a fixed sum per person and per day, which is aimed to cover all relevant costs. The last increase in the daily rates took place in 2022, before in 2016. This means that although staffing costs, rent and operating and material costs increase annually, refugee aid organisations always have to cope with the same budget. There are no other compensations from the state that could compensate for these costs. Yet, raising the daily rates and an annual valorisation are essential to ensure quality care and services for asylum applicants. NGOs argue that the amount of the daily rates must be oriented towards the needs of asylum applicants, so that care can take place “with respect for human dignity”, as stated in the minimum standards of basic care.[5]

On 2 December 2021, a first meeting took place between the federal government and the federal states (without the participation of NGOs) to discuss the increase in daily rates, standards in care, and the distribution of asylum applicants.[6] In 2022, for the first time since 2016, the rates for organised housing in the federal provinces were raised from € 21 to € 25 per person/day (accommodation and eating included). See Forms and levels of material reception conditions and annex on temporary protection. As mentioned above (see short overview of the reception system), the transparent real cost model between the federal government and Vienna was also to be introduced concerning daily rates for adults and families in Vienna in 2024 (retroactive start from 1 January 2023 for unaccompanied minors, vulnerable and care places). As of March 2025, an initial evaluation is still pending and is currently being carried out; no public information is currently available.

In almost all reception centres in the federal states, asylum applicants are responsible for keeping their rooms and the common areas clean, and in some cases, this can be remunerated (from € 2.5 to € 5 per hour – this refers to the so-called “remuneration for auxiliary and cleaning activities in accommodation facilities”; i.e. “Remu-work” in short). Regarding the allowed free amount for income, the same guidelines apply in almost all federal states. Remu-work has a monthly allowance of € 110 in all federal states except Tyrol where it is € 240. In all federal states there is an additional allowance of € 80 for each family member.[7]

As mentioned under Reduction or withdrawal of reception conditions, community service is mandatory in federal facilities since June 2024. This applies to cleaning activities in the facility itself or assistance in the communities, such as gardening or winter clearing services and so on. The community service activities can also be carried out in the provinces in the communities. In Vienna the Volkshilfe counselling centre akompano[8] supports the placement in community service activities.

There is a tendency of allowing asylum applicants to cook themselves as it contributes to their well-being and reduces tensions. In the federal reception centres, cooking or taking food into the living room or bedroom is not allowed. In Vienna, Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Upper Austria, all facilities allow self-sufficiency. All other provinces have facilities both with self-sufficiency and no self-sufficiency. In Styria, as explained above, all facilities run by Caritas Styria have partial self-sufficiency, which means that part of the food is provided, and part is paid out. People receive € 150[9] per month and pocket money. All other facilities in Styria are self-catering facilities where people receive € 195/month food allowance and pocket money. In Tyrol adult asylum applicants are given € 245 per month to organise meals by themselves. In Vienna, the amount of the food allowance was increased to € 6.50 per person in 2022. Some organisations are tax-exempt, for example Caritas, and others are not. Depending on this, the daily rate provided can be used gross for net or 10% VAT must be deducted.[10]

Source: Own illustration by asylkoordination österreich. Kompetenz Netzwerk Asyl, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3Lrcwaa.

Re. the controversies around the introduction of payment cards for the allowances, see Forms and levels of material reception conditions.

A monthly amount of € 10 is foreseen in the Basic Care agreement for leisure activities, events, celebrations and community activities. Vienna is the only province that pays € 10 leisure moneys directly to residents. The requirement for the payment of leisure money is the presentation of a movie ticket, theatre, museum and also a part of the monthly ticket for public transport can be paid through the leisure money. The processing of the leisure money runs either directly through the accommodation providers or through the organisation that offers counselling in the facilities in the federal states.

Hotels and inns usually do not have staff trained to adequately welcome asylum applicants. These reception centres are, however, visited by social workers (e.g. NGO staff) on a regular basis (every week or every second week). Reception centres of NGOs have offices in the centres. The law foresees that there should be 1 social worker for 140 clients, which is not sufficient, especially when social workers have to travel to facilities located in remote areas or need the assistance of an interpreter.[11] NGOs work with trained staff. Some landlords have been hosting asylum applicants for many years, but as opposed to NGO staff they have not received any specific training. In Vienna, the system is different: in nearly all basic care facilities is care staff available 24/7 who are responsible for counselling, information, and basic care. In these care facilities the care ratio is 1:55, this is mostly the same in all federal states in basic care facilities, except Tyrol where it is 1:70. In fact, most NGOs try to have a better care key than 1:55, E.g. in Vienna and Upper Austria it differs between 1:38 to 1:55. Care staff is responsible for providing food allowance, pocket money, hygiene material, social counselling and crisis support. In Vienna, additional counselling services may be provided by specialised NGOs (e.g. specific counselling for women, men, work, education, health, youth and young adults, housing, LGBTIQ) for people in basic care.[12]

The system of dispersal of asylum applicants to all federal provinces and within the federal provinces to all districts results in reception centres being located in remote areas. One of these centres is located in the mountains of Tyrol, as part of a former military camp. It cannot be reached by public transport and a shuttle bus brings the asylum applicants to the next village only twice a day. The walking distance to the next village is about two and a half hours. Access to internet is provided in the centre.[13] The centre was closed by the Tyrolian government but was reopened by the Ministry of Interior to operate as a reception centre for rejected asylum applicants.[14] In June 2019, several persons accommodated in this federal centre in Tyrol entered in a hunger strike which caused public uproar. The Ministry of Interior subsequently conducted a human rights assessment in cooperation with UNHCR concerning the reception conditions of the centres in Tyrol and Schwechat, which mainly host rejected asylum applicants who cannot be deported. In these centres, the persons receive regular counselling concerning voluntary return.

Following the assessment, the Ministry of Interior published recommendations and several objectives. This includes no longer accommodating children in these two centres and introducing more frequent shuttle services to the village.[15] The system of isolating rejected asylum applicants in this centre was criticised heavily and had proven to be inefficient as only 18 persons have left the country out of the total of 65 persons accommodated in the first half of 2019.[16] According to officials of the BFA, these recommendations are considered as non-binding. As of 1^st January 2025, 59 persons were accommodated in this centre in Tyrol.[17]

An important issue that still receives too little attention in the field of accommodation in basic care is the participation of asylum applicants and refugees in reception, for example spokespersons who could represent the others.[18]

Affordable mobility

A major problem is the lack of affordable mobility for people in the basic care system. Vorarlberg[19] has created an affordable ticket that can be purchased by both welfare recipients and people in basic care. In all other federal states, there are only urban solutions, if at all, and not for rural areas. The tickets for parents who accompany their children to school are not covered, as well as costs to go grocery shopping. The assumption of costs within the framework of basic care is limited to the following:

• Transfers between federal care centres and those of the federal states;
• Transport costs for attending interviews and other appointments related to the asylum procedure;
• Transport costs for medical appointments;
• Transport costs required for school attendance;
• Transport costs for participation in German courses (not uniform nationwide, paid by the federal states themselves, with the exception of ÖIF courses).

Affordable mobility: In the context of a meeting of the Ukraine Refugee Coordination Unit, the process for the creation of a (uniform) affordable regional social ticket for people seeking protection was started in 2023. The starting point of the discussion was that beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine could use public transport for free until the end of 2022. The end of the free use was partly linked to discussions about the fact that it created an unjust situation for applicants in the regular asylum system. The option of opening up the group of eligible persons to other groups was dismissed. A discussion regarding access to already existing reduced ticket options (such as Mobilpass in Vienna, SozialCard Graz) for people in basic care, similar to the model in Vorarlberg, was started at a political level but reached no results, as the transport systems are organised mostly on a province level. Border regions in the federal provinces in particular should be taken into account here; a cross-border ticket would be needed here to guarantee local supplies, as in some cases it is closer to go food shopping in another federal province than in one’s own province if, for example, it would be necessary to travel 1 hour to the nearest local supplier.[20] According to refugee coordinator Andreas Achrainer, talks have been continued at a political level and with the mobility associations in 2024. Unfortunately, there has been no concrete result so far, but the refugee coordinator remains on the issue and will take the matter to the relevant federal government departments.[21]

[1] Ministry of Interior, „Massiver Rückgang der Aufgriffe – Schlepper meiden Österreich“, 1 May 2024, here.

[2] Ministry of Interior „Rückgang der Asylanträge setzt sich fort“, 19 October 2024, available in German here.

[3] Mindeststandards betreffend die Unterbringung in der Grundversorgung in Österreich (Minimum standards for hosting in Basic Care in Austria), 2014, available here.

[4] Nationwide NGO survey on basic services Dec 21/Jan 22 asylkoordination österreich, unpublished.

[5] Asylkoordination, “Menschenwürdiges Wohnen”, asyl aktuell 2/2021, available in German here.

[6] Standard, “Kostenhöchstsätze für Unterbringung von Asylwerbern werden valorisiert“, 2 December 2021, available in German here.

[7] asylkoordination österreich, Nationwide NGO survey on basic services, Dec 21/Jan 22, unpublished.

[8] Volkshilfe Wien, ‚Gut beraten in der Grundversorgung‘, available in German here.

[9] Das Land Steiermark, ‘Gundversorgung von Asylwerberlnnen’, available in German here.

[10] asylkoordination österreich, Nationwide NGO survey on basic services, Dec 21/Jan 22, unpublished.

[11] asylkoordination Österreich, ‘Kompetenznetzwerk Grundversorgung’, last modified 26 March 2025, available in German here.

[12] Fonds Soziales Wien, Information on Counselling organisations for asylum applicants, available in German here.

[13] Profil, ‘Nächtlicher Angriff auf Asylwerber in Tiroler Bergen’ 30 October 2014, available here.

[14] Bezirksblätter, ‘Heim am Bürglkopf wird zur Rückkehreinrichtung’, 24 August 2017, available in German here.

[15] Ministry of Interior, Human rights recommendations, available in German here.

[16] Ministry of Interior, Answer to a parliamentary request, 3837/AB XXVI GP, 16 August 2019, available in German here.

[17] Ministry of Interior, Answer to parliamentary request 630/AB, XXVIII GP, 19 May 2025, available in German here.

[18] Nationwide NGO survey on basic services Dec 21/Jan 22 asylkoordination österreich, unpublished.

[19] VCO, “FairCard & maximo fair – Leistbare Mobilität für Menschen mit keinem oder geringem Einkommen”, 2016, available in German here.

[20] Minutes, Ukraine Refugee coordination unit, unpublished.

[21] Exchange meeting platforum Ukraine, Ukraine Refugee coordination unit, December 2024, unpublished.