Austria recorded a steep decline in asylum applications in 2025 alongside a historic increase in deportations and returns, marking a decisive shift in the country’s migration policy, government officials said Friday, according to Die Presse.
According to Interior Ministry figures, a total of 16,284 people applied for asylum last year, a decrease of 36 percent compared with 2024. Adjusted for population size, Austria now ranks only twelfth among European Union member states for asylum applications. Afghans accounted for the largest share of applicants, followed by Syrians.
Authorities granted asylum or subsidiary protection in 11,384 cases, while an additional 1,315 people received humanitarian residence permits. At the same time, the country registered a record 14,156 departures, the highest number of deportations and returns ever recorded in a single year.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said nearly 4,000 of those who left Austria had previously applied for asylum. Almost half of all departures, 48 percent, were carried out by force, and 48 percent of those forcibly removed had criminal convictions. Slovak nationals topped the list of deportees in 2025, followed by Turkish citizens. More than 3,100 people were placed in detention pending deportation, and asylum or subsidiary protection was revoked in nearly 2,500 cases, most frequently affecting Russian nationals.
Karner highlighted Austria’s role as a “pioneer” in deportations to sensitive destinations, noting that the country last year became the first in Europe to carry out removals directly to Syria, followed shortly by Afghanistan. A total of 926 Syrians left Austria, the majority voluntarily, while 201 Afghans departed, most of them forcibly. Deportations to these countries, previously limited to exceptional cases, are expected to become standard practice.
Gernot Maier, head of the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, said the results reflected “painstaking work,” including the creation of a dedicated returns unit that enabled authorities to deport individuals immediately after their release from prison. A major challenge for 2026, he said, will be implementing the EU’s new migration pact, which takes effect on June 12.
Karner also called for asylum procedures outside the EU and the establishment of “return centers,” initiatives to be pursued with Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Greece. Officials credited tighter border controls and the suspension of family reunification for easing pressure on the system, noting that just 25 people arrived through family reunification in late 2025, compared with 3,400 during the same period in 2023.
