Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner used the 2026 Munich Security Conference (13-14 February) to signal a sharp acceleration of forced returns to Syria and Iraq. Karner told reporters that Austria wants to turn the removal of convicted criminals and rejected asylum-seekers to those two countries “from the exception into the rule”. In bilateral meetings with the Iraqi and the new Syrian foreign ministers he pushed for more charter flights and for the creation of so-called “return centres” outside the EU where migrants could be processed before being flown home. (kurier.at)
The initiative builds on Vienna’s status as the only EU state to have resumed small-scale deportations to Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. Officials argue that the security situation in parts of Syria now allows case-by-case removals; NGOs insist the move violates the principle of non-refoulement. Austria already maintains a return agreement with Baghdad and removed 412 Iraqis in 2025; the ministry says the target for 2026 is “well above 1,000”. (kurier.at)
Karner also met his German and Swiss counterparts and EU Home-Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner to discuss joint extraterritorial processing hubs, modelled on the Rwanda plan pursued by the UK. While no host country has yet been named, sources in Brussels confirmed that at least two North-African states are “in advanced talks”. (kurier.at)
![Austria plans new deportation drive to Syria and Iraq after Munich talks]()
Amid these fast-moving policy changes, businesses and individual travellers can stay ahead by using VisaHQ’s Austria portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/), which tracks real-time visa requirements and lets users complete and submit work, study or family-reunification applications online—saving valuable time when sudden rule shifts occur.
For employers who use Austria’s Red-White-Red work-permit system the announcement creates fresh uncertainty: corporate mobility managers will have to watch whether tougher removal rhetoric spills over into labour-migration quotas that are due to be set in March. Meanwhile relocation providers expect more identity-verification checks in asylum accommodation, potentially delaying family-reunification applications that run parallel to skilled-worker filings.
Practically, HR teams should verify the residence status of assignees’ dependants and update travel-risk policies for staff with Syrian or Iraqi citizenship. Airlines operating from Vienna may face ad-hoc charter requisitions, which could disrupt belly-cargo capacity on key Middle-East routes.
The initiative builds on Vienna’s status as the only EU state to have resumed small-scale deportations to Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. Officials argue that the security situation in parts of Syria now allows case-by-case removals; NGOs insist the move violates the principle of non-refoulement. Austria already maintains a return agreement with Baghdad and removed 412 Iraqis in 2025; the ministry says the target for 2026 is “well above 1,000”. (kurier.at)
Karner also met his German and Swiss counterparts and EU Home-Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner to discuss joint extraterritorial processing hubs, modelled on the Rwanda plan pursued by the UK. While no host country has yet been named, sources in Brussels confirmed that at least two North-African states are “in advanced talks”. (kurier.at)
Amid these fast-moving policy changes, businesses and individual travellers can stay ahead by using VisaHQ’s Austria portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/), which tracks real-time visa requirements and lets users complete and submit work, study or family-reunification applications online—saving valuable time when sudden rule shifts occur.
For employers who use Austria’s Red-White-Red work-permit system the announcement creates fresh uncertainty: corporate mobility managers will have to watch whether tougher removal rhetoric spills over into labour-migration quotas that are due to be set in March. Meanwhile relocation providers expect more identity-verification checks in asylum accommodation, potentially delaying family-reunification applications that run parallel to skilled-worker filings.
Practically, HR teams should verify the residence status of assignees’ dependants and update travel-risk policies for staff with Syrian or Iraqi citizenship. Airlines operating from Vienna may face ad-hoc charter requisitions, which could disrupt belly-cargo capacity on key Middle-East routes.
