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

SOCIAL CONDITIONS FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS
Introduction
According to the provisions of the Federal Law regulating the provision of federal care to asylum
seekers, only needy asylum seekers may be eligible for federal care and maintenance until the
final and conclusive termination of the refugee determination procedure. Such federal care and
maintenance is the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior and includes accommodation, food,
medical care and pocket money, as well as other necessary measures of assistance.
The eligibility criteria are very strict and, on average, only about 30% of asylum seekers are
granted federal assistance during the asylum procedure. The decision to grant or deny federal
care is discretionary. Since they have no enforceable right to receive assistance, asylum seekers
have no legal remedy against a refusal.
On occasion, children may be considered by the Austrian authorities as extremely vulnerable and
may therefore be granted federal care and maintenance even if they do not meet the required
criteria.
Asylum seekers who are not granted federal care and maintenance and are not self-sufficient are,
to some extent, entitled to public relief in some of the nine federal provinces. However, the laws
on social aid (“Sozialhilfegesetze”) are different in each federal province, and some of them, such
as Vienna, deny all assistance to asylum seekers.
Several hundred needy asylum seekers, without any federal or provincial assistance, as well as
many rejected asylum seekers who cannot be deported, must rely on the support of charitable or
religious organisations or of private individuals.
Accommodation
There is no compulsory accommodation on arrival in Austria. Federal care (accommodation, food,
health insurance, pocket money), if granted, is only available after the interview with the Federal
Asylum Office, however the Ministry of Interior has the authority to grant provisional care to newly
arrived applicants from their arrival until the interview with the Asylum Office. In such cases, this
provisional accommodation is made available in refugee camps, pensions or hostels.
Asylum seekers under federal care are provided with accommodation but, in practice, conditions
often depend on the local and regional situations. There are five reception centres, amongst
which the Traiskirchen centre is the largest (159 asylum seekers were living there on 1 November
1999). Accommodation is also provided in hotels, hostels and “care centres”. On 1 November
1999, 4,008 asylum seekers were provided with accommodation through federal care, including
387 applicants who had not yet had the interview with the Federal Asylum Office (provisional
accommodation).
Asylum seekers without federal care have to rely on the assistance provided by NGOs, charitable
organisations or churches, and may be accommodated in private inns, hostels or even rooms in
parish buildings, etc. The capacity of NGOs' accommodation facilities is limited. Caritas Austria
runs two emergency shelters, and the Protestant Refugee Aid one, where asylum seekers without
federal care, as well as rejected asylum seekers without legal protection and other aliens, may be
accommodated for a short period only.
Asylum seekers apprehended by the police can be placed in detention. The police have the
authority to order less restrictive measures than detention if they consider that there is no risk that
the alien will avoid deportation. Such measures may include accommodation in a specific place
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Austria