Minister of Interior Gerhard Karner said at a press conference in Vienna on 21 March 2024 that in 2023 more people were returned than ever before in the history of the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (12,900 people).

Minister of Interior Gerhard Karner emphasized that a credible and fair asylum policy “must be strict so that it can also be fair - because someone who has no right or has forfeited the right to stay in Austria must leave our country”.

Karner said: “However, returns and quick procedures are only two of the measures that are necessary in the fight against asylum abuse, illegal migration and migrant smuggling. Another important point are comprehensive controls at the border and the area around the border, for example with Operation Fox, where 725 smugglers were arrested last year.”