Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) announced in a press conference on Friday that the number of DNA tests will be “massively increased” by decree – from the current one to around 50 percent. The tests must then also be carried out on site at the responsible embassies and must initially be borne financially by the applicants themselves.
“Planquadrat
“We’re making a grid square,” said Karner, using traffic police jargon when advertising the measures. The stricter measures will implement the “mission of the Federal Chancellor” Karl Nehammer (ÖVP). The consent of the coalition partner is not required; a decree from the Interior and Foreign Ministries, both of which are led by Turkish ministers, is sufficient. The Greens have already criticized the announced measures.
DNA-Test
Spouses and partners as well as minor children are affected by family reunification. In the future, they will have to take a DNA test by Austrian embassy staff in their country of origin if there are doubts regarding the authenticity of documents – which, according to the Interior Ministry, is not uncommon. A visa will only be issued with a positive probability forecast. After entry and an asylum application in Austria, the check will be carried out once more.
More documents
The applicants initially have to bear the costs of around 250 euros themselves. These should only be refunded if the result is positive. But more documents should also be used for family reunification. While the passport was previously sufficient, the authorities will now also be able to request a birth certificate and marriage certificate. In the long term, Karner would like to see further tightening at the legal level: the age of spouses should be increased to 21, as in Sweden.
The Interior Minister believes the EU is required to make other changes to the law. He would like the ability to sustain oneself economically to be a prerequisite for family reunification from day one. The director of the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA), Gernot Maier, wants to ensure that the measures that have now been adopted at short notice take effect in the affected embassies, as he announced. In any case, he said, there would be no personnel problem because of the DNA tests.
