Austria halts family reunification for Asylum claimants

The new Austrian Government has discontinued the reunification of family members for asylum claimants in the country with immediate effect citing widespread concerns on immigration.

Referring to EU emergency provisions relating to national security, the government said it would temporarily freeze follow-on rights for asylum claimants already settled in the country.

The head of the three party coalition government Chancellor Christian Stocker explained that the country was no longer able to absorb new immigrants adequately. 

"The capacity of Austria and its systems to take in (people) has limits," said the government headed by Chancellor Christian Stocker of the centre-right People's Party (OVP). "Due to the enormous influx of people, these systems are already at full capacity, or have already exceeded their capacity limits."

Critics have labelled the move a breach of human rights by the Austrian government with Shoura Hashemi, head of Amnesty International Austria saying “It's not a good sign when the term in office begins with a clear violation of applicable international law,".  

Christian Stoker took office earlier in the month after a long stretch of negotiations to form a Government following  a September parliamentary election victory by the far-right Freedom Party (FPO).

The new three-party coalition which includes the People’s Party, the center-left Social Democrats and the liberal Neos, has vowed to implement strict new asylum rules in a bid to address worry over immigration, one of its major campaign points. 

Recent security incidents in the country including a stabbing rampage last month suspected of being carried out by a Syrian asylum seeker that killed a 14-year-old boy has caused negative reactions over immigration to be on the rise. 

The government said that in 2023 and 2024, about 18,000 people came to Austria as part of family reunification, including 13,000 school-age children or minors.

"Given the number, it's obvious we should act responsibly and temporarily press the stop button," Stocker said.

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