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AUSTRIA
If petitioned, expulsion can be postponed for three months to give the person the possibility to
settle his/her personal affairs.
Rejection at the Border
The most important tool to prevent illegal entry is rejection at the border (Zurückweisung) as
laid down by Article 52 of the Aliens Act. Rejections may be enforced, among others, if a
residence ban has been enacted, or the foreigner attempts to re-enter Austria despite a prohibition
on re-entry (Article 52 (1)), or the migrant does not avail of sufficient means to maintain
him/herself (Article 52 (4)). The rejection may be marked in the rejectee’s passport.
Push Back
If a foreigner evades border controls and is detected within a period of seven days, he/she may be
pushed back (Zurückschiebung) according to Article 55 of the Aliens Act, if he/she transited
through any of Austria’s surrounding safe third countries. A stamp with the words “push back”
may be placed into the rejectee’s passport to prevent future re-entry.
Administrative Expulsion Order
Rejection of asylum claims is tied to expulsion and immediate departure from Austrian territory.
Article 33 (3) stipulates: an expulsion order eay be enforced before it becomes legally binding
and the expelled foreigner must depart promptly. Yet the authorities can decide at their own
discretion, when to enact an expulsion. The authorities must also take into consideration the
expelled foreigner’s family ties, as extenuating circumstances.
Austrian legislation distinguishes betweej expulsions of foreigners without residence permits
(Article 33 of the Aliens Act), expulsions of foreigners with residence permits (Article 34 of the
Aliens Act), expulsions of foreigners with a settlement permit (Article 35 of the Aliens Act) and
the residence ban.
Residence Ban
Article 36 of the Aliens Act allows a residence ban (Aufenthaltsverbot) to be imposed on aliens
who are deemed to:
Constitute a threat to law and order or public safety;
Contravene with their presence other publac interests, as specified by Article 8 of § 2 ECHR.
A residence ban has to be enacted by an individual order. According to Article 37 of the Aliens
Act, it is basically at the authorities’ discretion when a residence ban may be imposed. It can be
imposed for an unlimited period (in cases of serious criminal offences and/or trafficking) or up
to five years (for shame marriage) and generally to a maximum period of ten years.