The fall in the number of asylum seekers in Austria continued in July, with 1,766 applications being the lowest monthly number since the beginning of 2024. With these applications, the total number of applications for this year is 15,245, the Austrian news agency APA reported today. This is significantly less than the previous two years (down 47% compared to 2023), but significantly more than the total number of applications for 2018, 2019 and 2020 combined, BTA cited.
At the same time, the number of people receiving basic care has fallen significantly. While at the beginning of the year nearly 79,000 people received such care, at the moment there are about 7,000 less. About 52% of people receiving basic care are from Ukraine.
From the data for the first seven months, it is clear that the submitted asylum applications are mainly for family reunification, especially at the beginning of the year. In terms of age groups, the most numerous are those under the age of seven, and 53% of applicants are under the age of 18. It is also noteworthy that 45% of asylum applicants are women, which is an unusually high level.
Illegal migration to Austria has decreased significantly, most clearly shown by the number of people detained in the province of Burgenland. By mid-August this year, 757 people had been detained. By comparison, over 33,000 people were detained in this province during the same period in 2022, and last year – nearly 16,000 people.
In terms of countries of origin, the statistics for July do not reveal much: 50% of applications in July were from Syrians, and for the first seven months, 61% of applications were submitted by citizens of Syria. The second largest group is the citizens of Afghanistan.