Austria’s Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler has publicly called for humanitarian residency rights to be granted to a Nigerian brother and sister who now face deportation after spending the past eight years building their lives in Tirol, according to ORF News.
In a strongly worded message posted on the social media platform Bluesky, Babler urged authorities to allow the two siblings, Joseph and Victoria, to remain in Austria. Stressing both his respect for the law and the human side of the case, he said the legal system itself provides room for humanitarian decisions in exceptional circumstances.
“As Vice Chancellor, my commitment to the rule of law is absolute,” Babler wrote. “And it is precisely in cases like this that the law offers possibilities.” He added that Joseph and Victoria should be granted humanitarian permission to stay.
The case has stirred emotions across Austria. The brother and sister first arrived in the country as unaccompanied minors, having come alone as children in search of safety. Over the past eight years, they have grown up in Tirol, completed their secondary education, and moved forward into higher studies and professional training. Friends, teachers, and supporters say they have become deeply rooted in Austrian society.
Babler emphasized this point, saying it was difficult to understand why two young people who have successfully integrated, built friendships, and worked toward their futures should now be removed from the lives they know. He argued that sending them back to Nigeria, a country to which they now have little real connection, would go against basic ideas of justice and fairness.
Their asylum applications have been rejected several times, and last week the two were briefly placed in detention ahead of a possible deportation. News of their situation has led to a wave of public solidarity, with many Austrians expressing support and concern. A demonstration in their favor is scheduled to take place in Vienna on Friday.
Beyond the fate of the two siblings, the case has reopened a wider debate in Austria over immigration policy, humanitarian residency rights, and the treatment of young people who arrived as refugees and have since built stable, productive lives. For many, the question is no longer only legal, but deeply human: what place should be given to those who have already made Austria their home?
