Austria’s Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum has stated that deportations to Afghanistan are admissible on a case-by-case basis due to the changing security situation in the country.
Austria has aligned itself with Germany and has expressed its intention to begin deporting Afghan citizens back to Afghanistan. This comes after Germany to deport 28 “convicted criminals” to Afghanistan on Friday, the first such deportations to the country since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Vienna says it intends to work closely with Berlin to cooperate on joint deportations.
“The Interior Minister has been in negotiations with the German Interior Minister for a long time about how we can solve the problem of deportations to Afghanistan. Because Austria is also deporting Afghans and Syrians right now. Now the next step is to be able to deport people directly to Afghanistan or Syria,” said Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner described Germany’s decision as “very good.” In March, he called talks to reassess the EU-wide ban on deportations to Afghanistan and Syria “necessary and urgent.”
EU law prohibits direct repatriation
“Currently we cannot repatriate anyone to countries like Syria o Afghanistanas it would go against EU law,” Karner said in Brussels in March. In Austria, these two countries account for around three quarters of all asylum applications.
The Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum has already said that expulsions to Afghanistan are permissible on a case-by-case basis due to the changing security situation in the country. And in a ruling in July, the Constitutional Court confirmed this assessment of the immigration authorities.
The Ministry and the Federal Foreign Office are working intensively on the implementation of the expulsions to Afghanistan, and there are ongoing talks with several European countries.
“The fact that deportations to Afghanistan are possible again is a demand that I, Austria, have been making for a long time, and that is why I am very happy that this is happening. It is crucial that we return to deporting people to Afghanistan and Syria. And that’s why this will also happen leaving Austria in the future,” Karner said on Friday.
“The fact that a terrorist regime is in charge there, the Talibanwas the reason why it was suspended. “That is why it is so important to work closely with partners in the region so that we can also bring people back to Kabul or Afghanistan directly.”
Like Germany until very recentlyAustria has not deported anyone directly to Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. The country has deported Afghan nationals before, but always to third countries.
Large number of asylum requests in Austria from Syria and Afghanistan
Although The idea of joint deportations with Germany has found favor with many across the Austrian political spectrum.some have warned that the cases should be carefully examined.
“We are a strong society and We will not allow Islamism and terrorism to divide us. We have strong laws, we have tough laws and they must be applied in this case. And all constitutional options must be exhausted, even when it comes to deportations,” declared Alma Zadic, Justice Minister of the Greens.
The Federal Immigration and Asylum Agency said that more than 21,000 Syrians had requested asylum in Austria in 2023with almost 9,000 applications submitted by Afghan citizens.
