ANNEX II – EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

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Asylkoordination Österreich Visit Website

The Ministry of Interior produced the National Implementation Plan (NIP) in December 2024.[1] The amendment of the relevant laws (Asylum Act etc) is scheduled to be voted on in Parliament end of May/start of June leaving only one week until the implementation of the pact.

A few elements are mentioned below:

• Consultation of UNHCR in the airport procedure will no longer occur after implementation of the Pact in June 2026.
• The implementation of the Pact will introduce significant changes to the appeals procedure. In particular, the time limits to challenge certain decisions by the asylum authorities will be shortened, and the rules governing how and when courts must decide on the withdrawal of the right to remain will be revised.
• Austria will need to adjust its protection system to align with the EU Pact and the directly applicable Qualification Regulation from mid-June 2026 onwards, as it requires actor-based persecution or serious harm. Since Austria’s current application of subsidiary protection is broader, the government plans to introduce a new national protection status under § 54a AsylG for cases where return would lead to refoulement without an identifiable actor (e.g. natural disasters or serious illness). This status would be temporary (one year), renewable annually, and integrated into existing residence permit categories. However, as of April 2026, the exact contours remain unsettled.
• Significant changes are expected in how Austria identifies vulnerable applicants during the initial screening phase. According to the available draft legislation, screening will be carried out largely by police officers – personnel whose primary training and mandate lie outside vulnerability assessment. This makes it essential to closely monitor whether adequate specialised training, clear referral pathways, multidisciplinary support, and independent oversight are put in place to ensure that vulnerability screening is timely, consistent, and rights‑compliant in practice.
• Significant changes are expected in the guardianship framework for unaccompanied minors to implement the Pact. A draft bill has been presented before Parliament.[2] It foresees an ex lege transfer of guardianship to the child and youth welfare authorities of the federal state in which the minor resides, an improvement long‑requested by civil society, the success of which will depend on consistency of application across federal states and the availability of resources to fulfil the expanded mandate.
• Austria will need to adjust its family reunification procedure as the current practice that family members receive the same status as the original sponsor cannot be upheld. The procedure will be transferred into the regular migration scheme (NAG) and will introduce a quota that is not in line with the family reunification directive.
• The responsibility for providing basic care needs to be redefined by federal state and provinces. Therefore, a reform of the basic care agreement needs to address the share to be covered by the state and provinces. As of April 2026, there is no perspective that an agreement will be reached until the implementation of the pact in June.

[1] Ministry of Interior, Europaïscher Asyl- und Migrationspakt: Nationaler Implementierungsplan (NIP) – Österreich), December 2024, available in German here.

[2] Austrian Parliament, draft of the Guardianship for Unaccompanied Minors Act, available in German here.