Austria’s Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum has said that deportations to Afghanistan are permissible on a case-by-case basis due to the changed security situation in the country.
Austria has fallen in line with Germany and said it intends to start deporting Afghan nationals back to Afghanistan.
That comes after Germany deported 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 Minister of the Interior has been in negotiations with the German Minister of the Interior for a very 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 called Germany’s decision “very good”.
In March, he called talks on whether to reassess the EU-wide ban on deportations to Afghanistan and Syria, “necessary and urgent”.
“Currently, we are not able to repatriate anyone to countries like Syria or Afghanistan, as it would be against EU law,” Karner said in Brussels in March.
“In Austria, these two countries account for about three-quarters of all asylum applications.
Austria’s Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum has already said that deportations to Afghanistan are permissible on a case-by-case basis due to the changed security situation in the country.
And in a July ruling, the Constitutional Court confirmed that assessment from the immigration authorities.
The ministry and the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs are currently working intensively on implementing deportations to Afghanistan, and talks are underway with several European countries.
“The fact that deportations to Afghanistan are possible again is a demand that I, that Austria, have been making for a long time, and I am therefore very pleased that this is happening. It is crucial that we deport people to Afghanistan and Syria again. And that is why this will also happen departing from Austria in the future,” Karner said on Friday.
“The fact that a terrorist regime is in charge there, namely the Taliban, was the reason why it was suspended. That’s why it’s 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 recently, Austria hasn’t deported anyone directly to Afghanistan since the Taliban came back to power in 2021. The country has deported Afghan nationals before, but always to third countries.
While the idea of joint deportations with Germany has found favour among many across Austria’s political spectrum, some have cautioned that cases need to be carefully scrutinised.
ADVERTISEMENT“We are strong as a society and will not allow ourselves to be divided by Islamism and terrorism. We have strong laws, we have tough laws and these must be applied in this case. And all constitutional options must be exhausted, even when it comes to deportations,” said Alma Zadic, Minister of Justice for the Greens.
The Federal Agency for Immigration and Asylum said more than 21,000 Syrians had applied for asylum in Austria in 2023, with almost 9,000 applications filed by Afghan nationals.
