Last year, 16,284 asylum applications were filed in Austria—significantly fewer than the 25,360 recorded in 2024, representing a decline of 36 percent. The number of applications was last lower in 2020, when 14,775 claims were submitted. Only 42 percent of the applications filed last year were original applications, meaning they were submitted by people newly arriving in Austria outside the framework of family reunification.
Largest Refugee Group in Austria
For the first time in many years, Afghans—not Syrians—were the largest group of asylum seekers in Austria, with 5,077 applications. Just over 4,000 applications were filed by Syrians. Third to fifth place were occupied by Somalis, Turks, and Russians. Nearly half of all applicants (49.8 percent) were under the age of 18. Almost 59 percent of asylum seekers were male. This roughly matched the 2024 level, but the share of women rose significantly compared with 2023, when more than three quarters of applicants were male.
Asylum was granted 8,246 times last year—less than half the figure recorded in 2024 (17,028). In addition, subsidiary protection was granted in 3,138 cases (2024: 7,790), and 1,315 humanitarian residence permits were issued (2024: 1,455).
Who Has Good Chances of Asylum?
Afghans had particularly high recognition rates, with 74 percent of applications approved. A total of 4,667 Afghans were granted asylum. Among Syrians, the recognition rate fell to 22 percent, well below that of Iranians (67 percent) and Somalis (44 percent). In 2024, 67 percent of Syrian applications had still been approved. In 2025, 22,556 procedures remained pending, nearly half of them involving Syrians.
In family reunification cases—which remain suspended until midyear—1,132 positive decisions were issued, mainly affecting family members from Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan.
Sharp Decline in Basic Care
At the beginning of this year, 52,834 people were housed in Austria’s basic care system. Of these, 57 percent were displaced persons from Ukraine. Compared with the start of 2025, this represents a decline of more than 15,000 people. The system currently includes 1,358 unaccompanied minor refugees, 540 from Syria and 483 from Ukraine.
In 333 cases last year, age assessments were conducted to verify whether applicants were in fact minors. Only just over 39 percent of those examined were confirmed to be underage.
Increase in Departures
The number of departures rose to 14,156 last year, up from 13,568 in 2024 and 12,900 in 2023. A total of 7,335 departures, or 52 percent, were voluntary. Slovak nationals accounted for the largest number of departures, followed by Turks, Hungarians, and Romanians. Syrians followed, with a particularly high share of voluntary departures (805 voluntary compared with 121 forced). By contrast, only 169 of the 1,823 affected Slovaks left voluntarily.
In 13,842 cases, procedures to revoke protection status were initiated last year. Protection status was withdrawn in 2,493 cases, with Russians accounting for the largest share (1,119), followed by Syrians (670). Detention pending removal was ordered in 3,116 cases, while alternative measures were applied in 279 cases.
In so-called Dublin procedures—used to determine which EU member state is responsible for an asylum application—Austria agreed to take over responsibility in 1,882 cases. Conversely, other countries accepted responsibility for asylum seekers who had arrived in Austria in 2,231 cases. In practice, 681 people were transferred to Austria, while 947 were transferred from Austria to other countries.
