{"id":86,"date":"2018-04-26T09:58:01","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T09:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/austria\/?page_id=86"},"modified":"2024-08-07T12:54:49","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T12:54:49","slug":"where-to-seek-help","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/austria\/where-to-seek-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Where to seek help?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Due to COVID-19 authorities and NGOs have special procedure in place and opening hours might be different. More info can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum<\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>The Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA) is the only public authority deciding on asylum applications and related procedures in Austria<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The BFA has regional offices (Regional Directorates) in all 9 Austrian provinces while its headquarter (the Directorate) is based in Vienna. Contact details for all Provinces (in German) can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more information on the BFA and its tasks please see the official brochure<\/a> of the BFA which also gives an overview of the asylum procedure in Austria.<\/p>\n

On the website of the BFA, you can also find various official forms<\/a> necessary for asylum applications and related procedures (click on \u201cEnglisch\u201d for forms in English).<\/p>\n

Counselling Services<\/h2>\n

Counsellingy by BBU<\/strong><\/p>\n

All asylum-seekers who received a negative first instance decision are assigned a free-of-charge legal counsellor from the BBU<\/a> GmbH. The assigned legal counsellor assists asylum-seekers with lodging an appeal with the Federal Administrative Court. Upon request, they also provide representation in the appeal procedure and accompany asylum-seekers in case the court decides to hold a hearing. The BBU has offices in all of Austria. You can find more information on opening hours and contact details here<\/a>. The BBU<\/a> also offers counselling on voluntary return.<\/p>\n

Counselling by NGOs<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are several NGOs in all 9 Austrian provinces, providing legal counselling in the asylum procedure:<\/p>\n