For the first time in over two decades, the government of Austria has deported more people than it received new asylum applications, following pressure from the populist right.
Figures released this month from Vienna have revealed that the first half of 2026 saw a 44 per cent decline in asylum applications compared to the same period last year, with an estimated 4,900 asylum applications being submitted between January and June, Kronen Zeitung reported.
In comparison, there were over 7,000 deportations and other removals of migrants during the first half of the year. This means that for the first time in over 20 years, the number of removals outpaced the number of new asylum applications, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) said.
According to the government statistics, migrants from Syria and Afghanistan were the most likely to apply for asylum in Austria during the first six months of the year, both representing around a quarter of all applications.
However, only around one-third of Syrian applications have been accepted so far this year, compared with 67 per cent just two years ago. The government has also begun a voluntary repatriation scheme in June for Syrians living in Austria, but Karner said that it is too soon to tell how successful the programme will be.
In total, 27 per cent of all asylum requests were rejected outright in the first half of the year, compared to 16 per cent which were granted outright and a further 15 per cent received subsidiary protection upon first hearing. Iranians and Afghans were the most likely to receive asylum protection at 76 and 69 per cent approval, respectively.
The government attributed the turnaround primarily to increased border controls and the suspension of the family reunification scheme, otherwise known as chain migration, which allowed asylees to bring in their spouses, registered partners, and unmarried minor children to the country. The scheme was suspended for refugees last year, and the government also recently imposed a quota cap on familial visas for migrants starting last month.
On top of national immigration reforms, the Austrian government is also among those European Union nations seeking to establish an agreement with a third-party country to establish migrant return hubs, as has long been advocated for by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government in Rome.
The significant shift in immigration policy in Vienna began in earnest in the wake of the 2024 legislative elections, in which the populist anti-mass migration Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) won a stunning victory, with 28.8 per cent of the vote, its strongest ever performance.
Rather than pairing with the FPÖ, the supposed conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) chose instead to form a coalition with the left-wing Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and the neo-liberal NEOS party, effectively preventing Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl from forming a government.
Nevertheless, the shock success of the FPÖ put immense pressure on the establishment coalition government to finally begin cracking down on mass migration.
Still Kickl has called on the government to go further. Citing the alleged Islamist attack in Berlin on Saturday, the Freedom Party leader said on Monday: “Austria must draw the right lessons from these developments. It needs effective border protection, consistent measures against illegal migration, and a determined approach to combating radical Islam. The safety of the people must be the top priority.”
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