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An application for international protection can be made before an agent of the public security service or a security authority on Austrian territory.[1] The asylum application is registered as soon as asylum is requested. There has been no possibility to apply for asylum at Austrian embassies or consulates abroad since 2001. A first interview has to be conducted by the public security service.[2] All documents have to be sent to the BFA to obtain guidelines on the next steps to be taken. This includes sharing the minutes of the first interrogation as well as a report showing the time, place and circumstances of the application, information on identity and the travel route, in particular the place where the border was crossed, as well as the result of the identity screening.
Based on the information submitted by the police, the BFA orders the transfer of the applicant to an EAST or regional directorate of the BFA. The BFA can also order the applicant to go to the EAST or regional directorate on their own, and transfer costs will be covered.[3] Through this instruction on the next steps to be followed, the application is officially lodged.[4]
Persons legally staying in Austria (i.e. through a residence permit) must submit their asylum application at the public security service too. The BFA orders applicants to appear before the branch office within 14 calendar days.[5] Otherwise, the application will be terminated as being no longer relevant.
Asylum applicants parents of children born in Austria are obliged to inform the BFA within two weeks of the birth of the child. Upon receipt of this information, the application is automatically registered and lodged for the child.[6]
In 2025, a total of 16,668 applications for international protection were lodged in Austria. This marks yet another decrease of about 30% compared to 2024 and represents about 10% of the number of applications that were lodged in 2022 (112,000). In 2022 the number of discontinued cases hit a record high due to onward movement to other members states (42,549). The number of discontinued or suspended cases has dropped significantly since then: in 2025, only around 2,000 cases were discontinued.
Each member of a family has to submit a separate application for international protection. During the interview, they are asked whether they have individual reasons to apply for protection or whether they want to rely on the reasons of one of their family members. Accompanied children are represented in the procedure by their parents, who are requested to submit the reasons on behalf of their children.
[1] Article 17 (1) AsylG states that a request for asylum can be made in front of any public security agent in Austria.
[2] Article 17 (2) AsylG.
[3] BFA, The Asylum procedure, available in German here, 10.
[4] Article 17 (2) AsylG in connection Article 43 (1) BFA-VG
[5] Article 43 (1)(1) BFA-VG
[6] Article 17a (2) AsylG.