October 2025 was the month in which asylum applications fell the most compared to the same period last year. The 1,293 applications submitted represent a 49 percent decrease compared to October 2024. According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, a total of 14,325 applications were filed in the first ten months of the year, a decline of more than one-third.
In October, most applications came from Syrians. Of their 359 applications, the majority were for children born in Austria (220). In general, young people continue to make up the largest group of asylum seekers. In the first ten months, almost one-third of applications came from individuals under seven years old. More than half of all asylum seekers were minors.
Family Reunification Nearly Halted
Family reunification has nearly come to a standstill, as it has been restricted except in exceptional cases. In October, according to the Ministry of the Interior, only nine entries under this category occurred. In the same month last year, there were 384.
The FPÖ nonetheless criticized the situation: according to a parliamentary response, a total of 921 family reunification applications have already been approved this year, said MP Harald Schuh in a press release. Almost 60 percent of these concerned Afghans and Syrians. “That alone is far more than the handful whose deportation the failed ÖVP Interior Minister celebrated!” Therefore, there can be no talk of a widely announced halt to family reunification. The Interior Ministry, however, rejected this claim. Since the enactment of the family reunification regulation in July, only ten people have been permitted to enter Austria under this legal basis during the reporting period. This mainly concerns children whose only relatives live in Austria.
Asylum Approval Rates
Citizens from Afghanistan currently have very good chances of receiving asylum, although recently men have again been deported to the country governed by the radical Islamist Taliban. Seventy-five percent of Afghan applications were approved. In contrast, prospects for Syrians are currently poor, with only 21 percent of applications resulting in asylum status.
Over 10,000 Granted Protection Status
So far this year, a protection status has been granted just over 10,000 times. Most positive outcomes—almost 7,200—concerned asylum. Subsidiary protection was granted nearly 1,800 times, and the remainder involved humanitarian residence permits. One factor this year is that Afghan citizens now more easily receive asylum following a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which has often allowed them to move from subsidiary protection to full asylum. Among recognized Afghan nationals this year, significantly more than half were women.
Relief in Basic Care
Meanwhile, there has been some relief in basic care. Currently, 54,702 people are being supported, over 30,000 of whom are war-displaced from Ukraine. At the beginning of 2023, almost 93,000 people were in basic care; at the beginning of this year, the number was over 68,000.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) sums up the situation positively. According to a written statement, the smuggling mafia now avoids Austria. To ensure this continues, border security must continue to be developed both technically and tactically. The goal is clear: to push illegal migration close to zero.
