Introduction
Back to: The Austrian Asylum System and its Functions
As Austria is part of the European Union, the statutory and legal agreements which are intended to regulate immigration cannot be considered independently of the „Common European Asylum System (GEAS)“.
The Geneva Convention on Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights forms the basis of international asylum laws. In Austria, the Asylum Act 2005 (AsylG 2005) regulates the conditions and procedure for granting and withdrawing international protection.
In the spring of 2016, amendments to the Asylum Act, the Aliens Police Act and the BFA Procedures Act were adopted in response to the so-called Asylum Crisis 2015. Some of these changes represent far-reaching tightenings, and they entered into force on 1 June 2016.
Source (June 2019): http://www.asyl.at/de/information/infoblaetter
The asylum procedure
In the Austrian asylum procedure, the principle of individual procedure applies. This means that each application for international protection (asylum application) is examined on a case-by-case basis to determine whether there are grounds for persecution under the Geneva Refugee Convention, for subsidiary protection or for a humanitarian stay.
The asylum procedure consists of two parts:
- admission procedure: Here it is examined whether Austria or another country is responsible for the asylum procedure. If Austria is responsible, then starts the
- substantive procedure: Here the Federal Office of Foreign Affairs and Asylum (BfA) examines the reasons for flight. The decision of the BfA is issued in the form of an official decision and may include the granting of asylum or subsidiary protection or a rejection of both.
In the event of a rejection, an appeal can be lodged with the Federal Administrative Court (BVwG) within 2 weeks. The case will then be re-examined.