Austria breaks the silence: Syrians deported for the first time in 15 years!

Austria breaks the silence: Syrians deported for the first time in 15 years!

On Thursday, Vienna took a clear step towards a tougher asylum policy. For the first time in 15 years, a Syrian citizen was deported. The 32-year-old, who was convicted of propaganda for the terrorist organization IS and whose asylum status was revoked, was flown to Damascus via Istanbul. The man was originally sentenced to seven years in prison in 2018 and had been in custody awaiting deportation since mid-May. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner emphasizes that this measure is part of a consistent asylum policy and that the deportation of convicted criminals will continue. This attitude is intended to promote security in Austria and target the return of people with serious crimes, reports Mercury.

The deportation was originally scheduled for the previous week, but had to be postponed because Syrian airspace was closed. This development shows how complex the return of refugees and asylum seekers within the EU is. Austria presented a deportation plan for Syrian refugees last year to ensure security and order in the asylum process daily news.

The framework of asylum policy

The EU has a clear goal when it comes to asylum. It wants to guarantee international protection for third-country nationals and introduce a Common European Asylum System (CEAS). This is done under the Geneva Convention of 1951 and is intended to ensure that asylum law is uniform for all member states. The measures to develop this policy have been pursued more intensively since the 1990s and now also include reforms to improve asylum management, such as EU Parliament reported.

There are currently around 100,000 Syrians living in Austria. In comparison, Germany has tightened its rules regarding asylum procedures for Syrian nationals. What is particularly interesting is that by the end of May 2025, over 51,700 asylum procedures were pending for Syrian nationals. The repatriation of Syrian asylum seekers in Germany is also under discussion, despite concerns about security in Syria and the international truth of the asylum system.

A farewell to the protective asylum law?

The deportation of this Syrian citizen is a clear signal in Austria's asylum policy - apart from the specific legal framework, the question arises as to how asylum law in the EU should be further developed. Interior Minister Karner would like to use these measures to send a signal that crimes will not be tolerated. Even if the German side cannot yet demonstrate any concrete results for returns to Syria, communication between the countries in this area is an important basis for future decisions.

The developments in the asylum law situation show that these issues are highly topical. While Austria is already taking the first concrete steps, it remains to be seen how the discussion about returns and asylum procedures will develop in the future and what role other former and current conflict hotspots such as Afghanistan will play in this.