legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

The temporary residence permit is granted for a maximum period of one year and is renewable
twice, each time for one year. After the initial three years, it may be renewed for consecutive
periods of maximum three years each.
The permit can be extended for as long as the reasons for which it had been originally granted
prevail. It may be revoked if the alien can reasonably be expected to return to his/her country of
origin, if one of the grounds for the withdrawal of refugee status (to fall under one of the exclusion
clauses of the Geneva Convention, to constitute a danger to the Austrian Republic or to have
been convicted for a particularly serious crime) is established, or if the alien is granted permanent
right of residence in a “safe third country”.
Temporary protection
Section 29(1) of the Aliens Law enables the Federal Government to pass ministerial decrees
“during times of heightened international tension, armed conflict or other circumstances that
endanger the safety of entire population groups, (...) and to order that directly affected groups of
aliens who can find no protection elsewhere shall be accorded a temporary right of residence in
the federal territory.”
This provision was first applied to refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1996, and then to Kosovo
Albanians by Decree of 27 April 1999.
The temporary protection granted to Kosovo Albanians was initially limited to 31 December 1999.
In November 1999, however, it was extended until 31 March 2000 and even until 30 June 2000
for exceptional cases subject to humanitarian consideration. The requisite for obtaining temporary
protection in Austria was to have entered the country before 15 April 1999 or to be in possession
of a permit to enter issued on demand at the occasion of border control. Approximately 5,000 to
6,000 Kosovo Albanians came to Austria. By May 2000, between 3,300 and 3,600 had already
returned to Kosovo.
Residence permit on humanitarian grounds
Pursuant to Section 10(4) of the Aliens Law, a residence permit on humanitarian grounds may be
granted, ex officio, by the authorities in cases deserving special consideration. This includes, in
particular, cases where the alien is exposed to a danger referred to Section 57(1-2) of the Aliens
Law, i.e. inhuman treatment or punishment, death penalty or persecution on account of his/her
race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion (nonrefoulement
provision).
In addition, aliens who have left their country of origin due to an armed conflict may be granted
such permit for a maximum period of three months, renewable for the duration of the conflict.
A humanitarian residence permit, limited to the time needed, may also be granted to witnesses in
order to guarantee the outcome of a criminal prosecution, when the case involves punishable
acts as defined in Section 217 of the Austria Penal Code, as well as to victims of human
trafficking, in order to enforce civil rights claims against the perpetrators.
In practice, the granting of residence permits on humanitarian grounds has been a complicated
issue. An Integration Council (“Integrationsbeirat”) composed of representatives of both the
authorities and NGOs and chaired by the Minister of Interior is responsible for making a
recommendation, and the final decision is made by the Minister of Interior.
In the period 1998-1999, approximately 150 aliens were granted residence permits based on
humanitarian considerations.
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Austria