Austria: Information for stateless people and those at risk of statelessness fleeing Ukraine • • • • • • City of Vienna, Information for people from Ukraine Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (contact: +43 59133 98 7004; BFA-Einlaufstelle@bmi.gv.at) Government of Austria (contact: buergerservice.oegv@brz.gv.at) Bundesagentur für Betreuungs- und Unterstützungleistungen (BBU) (contact: +43 1 2676 870 9460) KIND & Child Circle, Note on unaccompanied children fleeing Ukraine Right to Protection, Who are stateless persons who fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion on 24 of February, 2022 3. STATELESSNESS DETERMINATION AND PROTECTION STATUS For stateless people, it is important to determine both a claim for international protection and their statelessness. Each application should be assessed and both types of status should be explicitly recognised so that even if international protection ceases, the person remains entitled to protection as a stateless person. Statelessness determination should be conducted either in parallel with or following the refugee status determination, with due regard to the primacy of the asylum claim and the principle of confidentiality for refugees in statelessness determination procedures. For more information, see: ENS briefing on statelessness determination & protection in Europe. Austria does not have a dedicated statelessness determination procedure and statelessness protection status. Statelessness may be identified through other administrative procedures, including international protection or the procedure for acquiring a residence permit, a foreigners’ passport (Fremdenpass) for legally residing stateless people (or those with undetermined nationality) who do not hold a valid travel document, or in an application for a ‘Tolerated Stay Card’ (Duldungskarte) if the person cannot leave/be removed from Austria. None of these procedures has the stated objective of determining statelessness nor provides for a right of residence based on statelessness alone. The burden of proof for applications for Tolerated Stay or a Fremdenpass lies in practice with the applicant. Procedural safeguards such as access to legal aid, interviews and interpreting vary. Rights are dependent on residence status, not on the identification of statelessness. Without legal residence on another basis, stateless people have access only to emergency medical care and primary education. Stateless persons are advised to seek legal advice on their options in Austria (e.g. from Asylkoordination Österreich or Diakonie Flüchtlingsdienst). For more information, see: ENS Statelessness Index Austria 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR ONWARD TRAVEL TO THIRD COUNTRIES Beneficiaries of temporary protection with the Blue Residence Card and stateless persons with a Fremdenpass may travel within the Schengen area without a visa for 90 days within 180 days and may re-enter Austria at any time. Refugees with a travel document may travel to third countries (excluding their country of origin). Asylum seekers can leave Austria, but their asylum procedure will be closed. People who entered on humanitarian grounds but are ineligible for temporary or international protection can apply for legal and financial assistance, but they may be required to leave Austria and it is unclear whether they would be allowed to enter again. 5. OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION Reports from civil society indicate that it often takes several weeks or months until people benefitting from temporary protection receive basic welfare support. In the meantime, access to support is only available through volunteers and NGOs. Reform of the basic welfare system for asylum seekers and beneficiaries of temporary protection is currently being discussed.