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An application for international protection can be made before an agent of the public security service or a security authority on Austrian territory.[1] The asylum application is registered as soon as asylum is requested. There has been no possibility to apply for asylum at Austrian embassies or consulates abroad since 2001. A first interview has to be conducted by the public security service.[2] All documents have to be sent to the BFA to obtain guidelines on the next steps to be taken. This includes sharing the minutes of the first interrogation as well as a report showing the time, place and circumstances of the application, information on identity and the travel route, in particular the place where the border was crossed, as well as the result of the identity screening.
In August 2022, the police changed the registration system by internal decree. Unaccompanied minors (UAM) continued to be handled in the regular scheme, while all other applicants were only registered and fingerprinted immediately at the border. In case of a EURODAC hit the applicants were also transferred to the first reception centres. All others were sent to other provinces to have their first interviews conducted by other Regional Police Directorates. This led to several problems as the police stations were not able to provide places to sleep.[3]
In 2023, the police reverted back to the old registrations system directly at the border as the numbers of applications decreased sharply at the end of the year. The extraordinary measure was not necessary anymore as the registration capacity of the Regional Police Directorate in Burgenland (region close to the border) could cope with the number of arrivals. In January 2022, 2.261 persons were apprehended in the province of Burgenland. In January 2023, the number of apprehended persons decreased to 100.[4]
Applications for international protection are to be forwarded to the BFA without delay.
Based on the information submitted by the police, the BFA orders the transfer of the applicant to an EAST or regional directorate of the BFA. The BFA can also order the applicant to go to the EAST or regional directorate on their own, and transfer costs will be covered.[5] Through this instruction on the next steps to be followed, the application is officially lodged.[6]
Persons legally staying in Austria (i.e. through a residence permit) must submit their asylum application at the public security service too. The BFA orders applicants to appear before the branch office within 14 calendar days.[7] Otherwise, the application will be terminated as being no longer relevant.
Asylum seekers parents of children born in Austria are obliged to inform the BFA within two weeks of the birth of the child. Upon receipt of this information, the application is automatically registered and lodged for the child.[8]
In 2023, a total of 58,686 applications for international protection were lodged in Austria. This marks a 48% decrease compared to 2022, where 112,000 applications were lodged. Despite this, the number of asylum applications in 2023 was the fourth highest since the ratification of the Geneva Refugee Convention. In 2021, after three years of very low numbers in the context of the pandemic, the numbers of applications almost reached 2016 levels (42,285). The even higher increase in 2022 was however accompanied by a record number of discontinued cases (42,549), most likely due to onward movement of the applicants to other countries. This trend continued in 2023, as almost 30,000 discontinued cases were registered.
Each member of a family has to submit a separate application for international protection. During the interview, they are asked whether they have individual reasons to apply for protection or whether they want to rely on the reasons of one of their family members. Accompanied children are represented in the procedure by their parents, who are requested to submit the reasons on behalf of their children.
[1] Article 17 (1) AsylG states that a request for asylum can be made in front of any public security agent in Austria.
[2] Article 17 (2) AsylG.
[3] Der Standard, ‚Polizei schickt Asylsuchende quer durchs Land, viele stranden oder verschwinden‘, 14 September 2022, https://shorturl.at/acjU8.
[4] Kurier, Asylrouten ändern sich: Weniger Aufgriffe, Anträge gehen zurück, 26 February 2024, https://shorturl.at/GOPW2.
[5] BFA, The Asylum procedure, available in German at: https://bit.ly/2Hn2GUl, 10.
[6] Article 17 (2) AsylG in connection Article 43 (1) BFA-VG
[7] Article 43 (1)(1) BFA-VG
[8] Article 17a (2) AsylG.