Your rights as an asylum-seeker:
No matter where you are in the asylum process, you always have the following rights:
- You have the right to receive information about your asylum application, rights and duties in a language you understand.
- You have the right to access basic assistance including shelter and food.
- Usually, you can legally live in Austria until the asylum authority and court have made a decision on your asylum case. This means you cannot be returned to another country against your will, while you wait for the final asylum decision. For detailed information on your situation, please contact a legal counselling organisation.
- Children can go to school (at least until the age of 15 years)
- You can visit people in other Austrian Provinces, but you cannot take up residence in another Austrian Province than the one assigned to you.
- You can get the same access to primary health care as Austrian citizens.
Your obligations as an asylum-seeker:
- You must respect and follow the law of the country; breaking national laws may result in the suspension of your rights as an asylum-seeker as well as criminal proceedings.
- You are obliged to cooperate fully with the Austrian authorities.
- Upon your asylum application the Austrian authorities are allowed to take the cash money you carry with you (if it is more than 120€). They are, however, only allowed to take up to 840€. This money is used to cover parts of the costs of your accommodation. In case not all of the money is needed to cover the costs of your accommodation, you have the right to be issued the remaining amount. For further information, please contact a legal advisor.
- Upon your asylum application the Austrian authorities are allowed to take data storage devices (e.g. mobile phone) you carry with you and to process the contained data to determine your identity or travel route to Austria. After the data processing is completed, the devices have to be returned to you as soon as possible.
- You must tell the asylum office immediately every time your address changes.
- You have to stay in Austria. If you leave without permission to another European country while your asylum application is still pending in Austria, the authorities of that country have the right to return you to Austria. For more information, see: “Can my application for asylum be examined in another European country?”.
- You cannot permanently move to another Province (in German: Bundesland). This also applies, if you have already been granted subsidiary protection but your appeal with regards to refugee status is still pending at the Federal Administrative Court.
- If you leave your accommodation facility for more than 48 hours, you may have to inform the staff or the owner of the facility.