Austria plans more deportations to Syria and Afghanistan

Austria intends to step up deportations to Syria and Afghanistan, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said on Friday.

In 2025, the Alpine country was one of the first in the EU to start sending back asylum seekers from the two countries, in Syria's case since the fall of the al-Assad regime in late 2024.

Such deportations should be the norm, said Karner, who belongs to the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), noting that the United Nations had now identified safe regions in Syria.

Overall, 40 people a day in all categories were deported last year - "more than ever before," said Karner, vowing "zero tolerance" for those who abuse the country's immigration laws.

Some 6,850 people had made initial asylum applications to Austria, the ministry reported, a big drop from the previous year. Some 4,000 asylum seekers were deported in total, leaving on balance just under 3,000 more asylum-seekers in the country over the year.

The number is still too high, said Karner, stating that the goal remains a zero balance.

One indication of the success in the fight against illegal migration is the sharp decline in the number of smugglers arrested, said the minister.

In 2022 and 2023, the number was around 800 in Austria, while last year 115 smugglers were reportedly arrested.

As in Germany, illegal migration is one of the thorniest domestic policy issues in Austria. According to experts, combating illegal migration is an area where the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) stands to score well with citizens.