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Basic Care is provided until the final decision is made, and if the decision is negative until the departure or deportation. Authorities in Lower Austria request asylum applicants who have received a final negative decision but have not left the country and lived in private accommodation to move to a state organised asylum accommodation, without the possibility to legally challenge this request. If they refuse to do so, their social benefits are cut. The official press release of the responsible provincial member of parliament of the Freedom Party in April 2018 stated that the aim of this measure was to ensure a “noticeable break in living conditions” caused by non-participation in the return.[1] This is still being applied in practice as of February 2025.
Asylum applicants who have not complied voluntarily within the 14-day deadline receive an order from the BFA to go to a return centre. Currently, there is a centre at the airport in Vienna / Schwechat as well as in Tyrol / Fieberbrunn and both centres are run by the Ministry of the Interior. Increased return counselling is carried out in these centres.
For asylum applicants whose application has been rejected and for whom the appeal has no suspensive effect, the right to basic care is removed during the appeal proceedings (see Criteria and Restrictions to Access Reception Conditions). Asylum applicants from safe countries of origin are particularly affected by this restriction. If an asylum applicant participates to the voluntary return, the entitlement to the Basic Care will be granted until the departure.
NGOs report that there is an imbalance between Syrians and other refugees, as Syrians have access to a German course through the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) during the asylum procedure, while others do not. This has created frustration but also confusion, including among the support teams.[2] Syrians belong/or belonged to the group of asylum applicants with a ‘high probability of staying’, which is why they already have access to free German courses during the asylum procedure.
[1] Freiheitlicher Klub im Landtag, „Illegalen-Lüge in NÖ – Landesrat Waldhäusl zieht die Konsequenzen“, 27 April 2018, available in German here.
[2] asylkoordination österreich, Nationwide NGO survey on basic services Dec 21/Jan 22, unpublished.