Austria’s coalition government has approved a package of immigration measures that will allow convicted non-citizens to be deported the moment they complete their minimum sentence, bypassing the current practice of transferring them first to pre-deportation (Schubhaft) detention. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner announced the reform after the 66th cabinet meeting on 14 October 2026, calling it “a central pillar of a strict but fair asylum policy.” The new rules authorise the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA) and the Justice Ministry to issue an expulsion order while the offender is still in custody. Prison authorities will then hand the individual directly to police escorts, who will take them to the airport or land border without an intermediate stay in a detention facility. According to Karner, Austria removed almost 12,000 people in the first nine months of 2026; roughly half left voluntarily, while the rest were forced deportations. Ten convicted criminals per day are currently being removed, a figure the government hopes to increase once the direct-from-prison procedure is in force. The cabinet also endorsed agreements that will let EU nationals serve their sentences in their home countries and allow young Austrian offenders to postpone the start of a jail term until they complete vocational training. These measures, Justice State Secretary Jörg Leichtfried said, aim to ease chronic prison overcrowding—currently running at eight percent above capacity—while improving rehabilitation outcomes. For global mobility managers the change is significant: staff on Austrian assignments who commit serious crimes may now face immediate removal, with little advance notice for employers to arrange repatriation logistics or outstanding payroll matters. Conversely, companies should see a modest reduction in court delays and detention costs when cooperating with forced-return cases. The policy also signals to the wider Schengen area that Vienna intends to keep political pressure on irregular migration ahead of the 2027 federal election. Practically, airlines operating forced-return charters can expect more short-lead bookings from the Ministry of the Interior, while consular posts will need to prepare travel documents faster. HR departments are advised to review their crisis-management checklists and notify any affected third-country assignees of the stricter stance.
Source: Bundeskanzleramt Österreich
