Migration policy is a field that is constantly evolving. Legal frameworks change, new priorities are set, and public debates continue to develop. The Asylum and Migration Overview 2025 by EMN Austria captures what happened in Austria over the past year – fact-based, accessible, and drawing on a range of perspectives from politics, civil society, and the media.
What is the Asylum and Migration Overview?
The Asylum and Migration Overview is an annual report produced within the framework of the European Migration Network (EMN). The EMN is a network of national contact points in all EU Member States (except Denmark) that provides comparable and reliable information on migration and asylum. In Austria, this report is prepared by the IOM Country Office for Austria in its role as the national contact point – for the twenty-second consecutive time in 2025. The report covers the period from 1 January to 31 December 2025.
A year of change
In terms of migration policy, the year 2025 in Austria was shaped by a new Federal Government and a new government programme. This resulted in a wide range of initiatives in the areas of asylum, regular migration, integration, and return. At the same time, budget cuts had an impact on some migration-related policy areas.
One of the central developments was the suspension of family reunification for beneficiaries of international protection. To this end, Austria amended the Asylum Act 2005 and issued a regulation suspending the decision-making deadline and the obligation to decide on applications for family reunification. This measure triggered intense legal and social debates, particularly in view of concerns relating to fundamental and human rights.
Another key topic was the intensification of removals: in the second half of 2025, removals to the Syrian Arab Republic were carried out for the first time since 2011, to Somalia for the first time in around 20 years, and to Afghanistan for the first time since the Taliban took power in the summer of 2021. These steps were subject to controversial debate – above all due to human rights concerns.
Labour migration also remained a central issue in 2025. As in previous years, the demand for skilled workers continued to shape Austrian labour market policy. New measures facilitated, for example, the recruitment of researchers from the United States or simplified cross-border employment for third-country nationals from neighbouring countries through a new type of residence permit. In addition, the so-called list of shortage occupations – the basis for recruiting skilled workers from third countries to fill positions in occupations with a shortage of labour – was updated. The overarching aim of all these measures was to simplify the admission procedure and make Austria a more attractive location.
In 2025, the Federal Government also presented a plan for a mandatory integration programme based on three pillars: the German language, employment, and values. The programme was assessed by stakeholders in the integration sector as partly positive and partly critical. Further integration measures included the expansion of German language support, the funding of additional teachers, and the introduction of orientation classes for newly arrived school-age children. In addition, a headscarf ban for female pupils under the age of 14 was enshrined in law following intense debates.
What do the figures show?
Over the past year, the share of residence titles and residence permits issued for the purpose of employment and education increased, although it remained lower than the number granted for family-related and other reasons. The number of applications for international protection declined again in 2025.
The majority of applications were not submitted by newly arriving individuals but were so-called non-initial applications – for example from children born subsequently in Austria or follow-up applications in already concluded proceedings. In basic care, there was a significant decline in the number of people receiving support, while new regulations in Vienna and Tyrol indicate an expected increase in the number of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection in basic care. The number of Ukrainians with temporary protection remained high. Return statistics for 2025 showed a slight increase in both forced and voluntary departures.
Why does this report matter?
The Asylum and Migration Overview provides a fact-based picture of migration policy developments in Austria. It is aimed at policy makers, practitioners in public administration, researchers, civil society actors, and all those who want to understand what is happening in Austrian migration policy – beyond the headlines. The full report is available for download below. Further analyses on migration and asylum in Austria and Europe can be found in the EMN Austria publications overview.