Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner presented an initial report on the voluntary return program for Syrians, which provides financial assistance of up to €3,000 to those wishing to return to Syria during July, August, and September this year.

Karner announced that 240 Syrian nationals left Austria in July alone, while preparations are underway for additional departures.

According to Austria’s Interior Ministry, around 2,000 Syrian nationals have left Austria since the fall of the Assad regime at the end of 2024, compared with only 200 people who left during 2023 and 2024.

More than 640 Syrians have returned during the current year, with nearly one-third of them leaving in July.

Elisabeth Wenger-Donig, head of the group responsible for the file at Austria’s Interior Ministry, said the program has attracted significant interest, particularly among families receiving social assistance.

She said preparing for return requires careful planning, especially given the uncertainty returnees face over their future circumstances in Syria, adding that pre-return counseling sessions help clarify these issues.

Preparations are also underway for around 350 additional departures, according to Wenger-Donig.

Asylum Applications Reach Lowest Level

On asylum, Austria’s Interior Ministry announced that the country had recorded its lowest level of asylum applications in ten years.

In July, 244 first-time asylum applications were registered, compared with 697 applications in the same month last year, a decline of nearly 65%.

Since the beginning of the current year, the number of people leaving Austria has exceeded the number of those submitting first-time asylum applications.

A total of 840 asylum applications, including subsequent applications, were filed in July. Syrians accounted for the largest share, with 267 applications, most of them concerning children born in Austria.

During the first seven months of the current year, around 5,743 asylum applications were submitted, compared with 10,442 during the same period in 2025.

Austria’s Freedom Party, FPÖ, criticized the announced figures. The party’s security spokesperson, Gernot Darmann, described the asylum statistics as “inflated” and also criticized the return program for Syrians.

Temporary Protection Instead of Asylum

The granting of subsidiary protection to Syrians in Austria increased during the first half of 2026, surpassing the number of decisions granting asylum status for the first time in years. The shift is linked to changes in Austrian authorities’ assessment of Syrian applications following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime at the end of 2024.

According to figures reported by Austrian media, around 3,100 Syrians received subsidiary protection in Austria during the first six months of 2026, compared with 1,523 Syrians who were granted asylum status during the same period. This means the number receiving subsidiary protection was approximately twice the number granted asylum.

The Austrian newspaper Der Standard reported the figures based on data from the relevant authorities, noting that Syrians topped the list of nationalities whose members received subsidiary protection during the first half of the year.

The shift came after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, a development that affected how Austrian authorities assess asylum applications submitted by Syrians.

According to the newspaper, Lukas Gahleitner-Gertz, spokesperson for Austria’s Asylum Coordination organization, said authorities no longer treat Syrians after the fall of the regime on the basis that the primary danger they face is political persecution linked to the former government.

As a result, the assessment of each application has become more closely tied to the circumstances the individual may face if returned to Syria.