Austria deports 2 Somalis for 1st time in 20 years

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - Austria has deported two Somalians convicted of criminal offenses for the first time in 20 years, the country’s Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

The Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), in collaboration with Somali authorities, deported two men to Somalia on Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement.

Both Somalis had previously been convicted in Austria for various offenses, including drug crimes, it said.

Austria has become one of the first European countries to carry out deportations to Somalia.

“Deportations are part of a tough and fair asylum policy, which we will continue to pursue consistently in the future,” Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner is quoted as saying in the press release.

Meanwhile, the ministry said Karner and German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt agreed over the phone on Tuesday to make future deportations from Austria and Germany to various countries even more efficient.

Somali nationals made up the third-largest group of asylum seekers in the country during the first seven months of the year, with 648 applications filed.

The current approval rate for Somali asylum cases is 44%. So far in 2025, 463 Somali citizens have been granted asylum, 334 have received subsidiary protection, and 12 have been granted humanitarian residence permits.

The interior ministry described the move as part of a "consistent, tough, and fair asylum policy."

Austria became the first European country to deport people to Syria in early July.

At the time, a man who had committed a crime in Austria was transported from Vienna to Damascus, Syria, by scheduled flight with a stopover in Istanbul.