Austria: 1,763 Family Reunification Applications Stuck at BFA
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Family reunification for recognised refugees in Austria remains effectively frozen, according to a report published on Wednesday 28 October 2026. Last year the government stopped family reunification by emergency ordinance and extended the stop several times. This year only 60 people were allowed to join family members, half of them children under 14.
The emergency ordinance expired in the summer and the new asylum law took effect, but the government has not yet produced a new ordinance. Since Friday 7 August a quota rule applies: in addition to the earlier conditions, a free quota place is now required. Before, recognised refugees could in practice bring their closest relatives, meaning spouses, children and parents, without such a limit.
Applications are not being decided. According to documents seen by the media, 1,763 entry applications were pending at the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA) as of 1 August. EU law expert Walter Obwexer says Austria is required under EU law to regulate family reunification, and that having no rule is unlawful. Without an ordinance, he says, the EU directive applies, and in theory every application should be approved if the applicant can prove a close family tie to a recognised refugee.
The asylum coordination group Asylkoordination, together with two other organisations, has filed a complaint with the European Commission. Under administrative law a six-month processing deadline applies, Obwexer explains, so from mid-December the BFA could receive a large number of complaints about missed decision deadlines. He advises the government to activate the announced quota rule quickly.
If you are waiting for relatives to join you, keep your application documents ready and ask a legal counselling service about your options.
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