Austria carried out the forcible return of a 33-year-old Afghan national in the early hours of 25 January 2026, flying him via Istanbul to Kabul. The man had accumulated six criminal convictions—including serious assaults—since entering Austria in 2015 and had spent five of his ten-and-a-half years in the country in prison. He was one of several individuals positively identified by an Afghan delegation that visited Vienna last year to issue travel documents for returnees.
Announcing the operation, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner declared that deportations to both Afghanistan and Syria are moving “from the exceptional case to the rule”. The statement underscores Vienna’s hard-line stance: despite security concerns in both countries, Austria resumed limited returns in 2023 and has steadily expanded them.
![Interior Ministry continues ‘deportation offensive’ with removal of violent Afghan offender]()
Why it matters for global mobility:
• Employers sponsoring Afghan staff on humanitarian or subsidiary-protection grounds should expect heightened scrutiny of criminal records and stricter compliance checks.
• The message is also political; by spotlighting high-profile removals, the ministry reinforces public support for extending Austria’s temporary freeze on asylum-related family-reunification, which currently runs to July 2026.
• For multinational companies the reputational stakes are rising—any involvement, even indirect, in shielding staff with criminal convictions can draw media attention.
One practical resource for companies and individuals navigating these developments is VisaHQ. Through its Austria portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/), the platform offers up-to-date guidance on visa categories, residence-permit renewals, and Red-White-Red or EU Blue Card applications. VisaHQ’s documentation checklists and case managers can streamline filings, flag compliance gaps early, and help HR teams stay ahead of shifting enforcement priorities.
Practical advice: HR teams should audit internal processes to verify that residence cards of Afghan employees remain valid and that any pending renewals are filed well ahead of expiry. Where possible, consider Red-White-Red or EU Blue Card routes, which signal stable employment and integration and are generally viewed more favourably by authorities.
Announcing the operation, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner declared that deportations to both Afghanistan and Syria are moving “from the exceptional case to the rule”. The statement underscores Vienna’s hard-line stance: despite security concerns in both countries, Austria resumed limited returns in 2023 and has steadily expanded them.
Why it matters for global mobility:
• Employers sponsoring Afghan staff on humanitarian or subsidiary-protection grounds should expect heightened scrutiny of criminal records and stricter compliance checks.
• The message is also political; by spotlighting high-profile removals, the ministry reinforces public support for extending Austria’s temporary freeze on asylum-related family-reunification, which currently runs to July 2026.
• For multinational companies the reputational stakes are rising—any involvement, even indirect, in shielding staff with criminal convictions can draw media attention.
One practical resource for companies and individuals navigating these developments is VisaHQ. Through its Austria portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/), the platform offers up-to-date guidance on visa categories, residence-permit renewals, and Red-White-Red or EU Blue Card applications. VisaHQ’s documentation checklists and case managers can streamline filings, flag compliance gaps early, and help HR teams stay ahead of shifting enforcement priorities.
Practical advice: HR teams should audit internal processes to verify that residence cards of Afghan employees remain valid and that any pending renewals are filed well ahead of expiry. Where possible, consider Red-White-Red or EU Blue Card routes, which signal stable employment and integration and are generally viewed more favourably by authorities.
