Those displaced by war from Ukraine are not included in these asylum statistics. They fall under the EU directive “Temporary Protection”. Around 65,000 Ukrainians are currently in Austria. They initially have the status of expelled persons for one year and are therefore allowed to stay and work in Austria. Asylum seekers, on the other hand, have to make individual persecution in their home country credible. Possible reasons for asylum are persecution because of ethnic origin, religion, nationality, membership of a social group or because of political beliefs.
From January to June 2022, 31,050 people applied for asylum. From January to June 2021 there were 10,867 asylum applications, which is an increase of more than 185 percent compared to the same period last year. In the whole of last year, 40,000 people applied for asylum.
Afghans (7,325) submitted the most asylum applications this year, followed by Syrians (6,680) and Tunisians (3,810), Pakistan (3,110) and India (2,025). Pakistan, India and Tunisia are considered safe countries of origin, so the probability of staying is more than low, but that is almost 29 percent of the applications, the interior minister said on Thursday. 20,990 of the applicants were men, only 2,015 women. The main escape route leads to Austria via Serbia and Hungary.
FPÖ security spokesman Hannes Amesbauer is alarmed by the current figures. “The situation in the asylum area continues to escalate and the ÖVP Interior Minister periodically comments on this dramatic development in the media, but does nothing about it,” he criticized. The numbers are an order for immediate action. “The right of asylum must be suspended for foreigners who enter Austria through safe third countries, and rejections at our border must be legalized,” he demanded.
Source: Nachrichten
