Before the chancellor and interior minister left for Morocco, the government published declining asylum numbers.
Wien. 2022 was a migration year of records: With more than 100,0000 asylum applications, even the numbers of the crisis years 2015 and 2016 were overshadowed, only Cyprus had higher application numbers in relation to the population in Europe. The statistics suggest that a large proportion of asylum seekers will quickly move on to other countries; how many there are exactly and where there are refugees who do not seek basic care is ultimately unclear. And: In addition to the large number of asylum seekers, there were tens of thousands of Ukrainians who sought protection in Austria because of the Russian invasion; According to the current status, more than 50,000 displaced persons from Ukraine are receiving basic state care. Including asylum seekers, as of early February 2023, there were more than 91,000 migrants in basic care. For comparison: At the beginning of 2016 there were fewer than 80,000.
After months of intense debates, the government is now announcing the first success stories: On Sunday, the Ministry of the Interior announced new figures – and they actually show a further decline. According to the department, 4,288 asylum applications were made in January 2023; compared to the previous month, in which more than 7,000 applications were made, this corresponds to a drop of around 40 percent. The numbers had already fallen by the end of 2022.
“The asylum brake is taking hold”
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the decline is due to measures that were also taken with Austrian involvement. For example, the abolition of the Serbian visa-free regime for Indians and Tunisians would reduce the number of applications because they would travel further west from Serbia with smugglers. Background: Indians were one of the strongest nations in the Austrian asylum statistics last year, but were hardly granted asylum. According to the Ministry of the Interior, another reason for the easing of the situation is the “intensive controls by the Austrian police”, “also on Hungarian national territory as part of Operation Fox”. All in all, “the asylum brake would take effect,” the ministry said.
Alone: The asylum numbers are still relatively high. It is true that the applications may have declined in January – compared to January 2022, an increase of around a quarter was recorded. And: In January 2023, almost three times as many asylum applications were made as in January 2021. The interior department, however, explains that the last three calendar weeks in January in particular have brought a sharp decline – which should continue in February: “It is a further decrease of 40 percent compared to January 2023 can be expected.” Most applications in January were made by asylum seekers from Morocco. Statistically, however, their chances of receiving a positive asylum decision are slim.
That’s why Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (both ÖVP) want to talk regarding one topic in particular during their two-day trip to Morocco this week, the Interior Ministry explained: illegal migration and “readmission”. (kk)
