Austria says more Syrian nationals are returning home as the government offers financial support for voluntary departures.
Under a temporary programme running from July to September, Syrians can receive up to €3,000 to help cover the cost of returning to their homeland. According to the Interior Ministry, 240 Syrian citizens left Austria in July alone. Further departures are already being prepared, according to oe 24.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime at the end of 2024, around 2,000 Syrian nationals have left Austria, the ministry said. By comparison, only about 200 Syrians returned during 2023 and 2024. This year, 640 people who had previously fled Syria have reportedly gone back, many of them in July.
Elisabeth Wenger-Donig, the Interior Ministry official responsible for the programme, said the initiative had been well received. Families receiving basic welfare support were showing particular interest, she said. At present, around 350 further departures are being organised.
The returnees are travelling to different regions of Syria. However, many remain uncertain about what they will find after arriving home. Wenger-Donig said return counselling was therefore important because it gave people information about the situation and helped them prepare for the journey.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner defended the size of the payment, calling it a “reasonable amount”. He noted that Denmark offers returning Syrians around €20,000, but said such a sum would be excessive for Austria.
Karner also welcomed the country’s latest asylum figures. He said more people had left Austria than new asylum applications had been registered, describing the development as a major relief for the country’s asylum and welfare systems. He argued that border operations, including “Operation Fox” on the Hungarian side of the border, were helping to reduce illegal migration. Police said the operation had already led to around 250 people smugglers being taken out of action.
The FPÖ sharply rejected the government’s account. Its security spokesman, Gernot Darmann, called the figures a “fairy tale” and accused the government of presenting misleading statistics. He also described the return payments as cynical, claiming taxpayers were being asked to finance the departure of people who had entered Austria illegally.
