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Austrian minister wants foreigners to improve German level to keep social benefits

Austrian's Integration Minister, Susanne Raab, from the conservative ÖVP, has floated the idea of making it mandatory for immigrants to reach a certain level of German if receiving social benefits to better integrate them into the labour market.

Published: 24 August 2023 16:47 CEST
A person studying.
A person studying. Photo by lilartsy on Unsplash

Raab, of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), said she could envisage a system that saw people receiving certain types of social welfare support – known as Sozialhilfe – having to reach a “certain level of language proficiency” within a period of time to keep their benefits.

At the moment, she said, only attendance is compulsory in order not to lose social assistance.

Raab was speaking out at a presentation of the ‘Integration Report’ on Thursday, reported Austrian newspaper Der Standard.

“We are thinking about how to map this in law,” Raab said. 

The minister also advocated for a waiting period for immigrants to be able to access social assistance in Austria based on the Danish model. 

As The Local reported, the ÖVP has stated that foreigners should live in Austria for five years before being eligible to claim benefits.

READ ALSO: How the ÖVP wants to make it harder for foreigners to access benefits

Raab said the social system should “not be an incentive” for immigration.

She said she had “no understanding” why so many people don’t make the leap into the labour market despite completing several courses and are instead stuck in an “endless course loop”.

“I think it is unacceptable, especially in the current labour market situation, that people spend years in the welfare system,” Raab said, adding that it’s not always about “German at university level”, but about basic skills.

Of the foreign nationals who arrived in Austria in 2022, seven out of 10 had literacy needs, Raab said. This proportion is highest among Syrians, at 78 percent.

Katharina Pabel, chairperson of the integration advisory board, said there was a need to provide immigrants with more assistance. 

Pabel called for a more flexible German language offer, such as the online German learning units organised by the Integration Fund (ÖIF), which are tailored to entry-level jobs. 

However, there’s strong opposition. 

The liberal NEOS party integration spokesman Yannick Shetty accused Raab of “further pandering to the FPÖ (Freedom Party) with the populist demand for cuts in social benefits”.

Experts also hit back at the idea of establishing a ‘performance requirement’.

Christoph Riedl, asylum expert at the Diakonie social welfare organisation, said he doubted linking performance in courses to benefits would be allowed under international law. The Geneva Convention on Refugees provides for equal treatment of refugees and citizens, he told Der Standard. 

According to Lukas Gahleitner-Gertz of the Asylkoordination group for asylum seekers, this requirement would have to apply to every nationality coming to Austria from abroad in order to be in line with EU law.

How many people with a migration background live in Austria?

Austria is a diverse country. The latest figures show that every fourth person in Austria has a migration background.

A total of 2.35 million people with a migration background lived in Austria in 2022, Tobias Thomas, Director General of Statistics Austria said on Thursday. The share of those whose parents were both born abroad rose from 25.4 percent the previous year to 26.4 percent of the total population at the end of 2022. 

The largest group of the 1.7 million foreigners living in Austria as of January 1st this year were German citizens (225,000), followed by Romanians (147,500), Serbians (121,900), and Turkish nationals (119,700).

The countries of origin Croatia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syria, Ukraine, and Poland are ranked in fifth to 10th spot. The strongest increases since 2015 in absolute numbers were among Romanians (with an increase of 74,100), Ukrainians (a hike of 71,000), Syrians (plus 70,900) and Germans (an increase of 54,500).

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POLITICS

Reader question: Can I vote in Austria’s national elections?

Austria’s national elections are scheduled for September 29th, but not everyone will have a say. Find out who can vote in these crucial elections and how foreigners can still make their voices heard.

Published: 20 September 2024 09:57 CEST
Reader question: Can I vote in Austria's national elections?

On September 29th, Austria will hold its highly anticipated national elections to elect a new parliament, marking a crucial moment for the country’s political future. 

The election comes at a time of growing political polarisation, with the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) leading in the polls, followed closely by the centre-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP). The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) remains in third place, trailing behind its rivals.

READ ALSO: Austrian elections: Who could be the next chancellor?

As political tensions rise and critical issues like immigration and inflation dominate the discourse, these elections could significantly shift Austria’s political landscape. 

However, while the stakes are high, a large segment of the population won’t be able to vote, mainly because of Austria’s restrictive citizenship laws. 

Who can vote in Austria’s national elections?

The only people allowed to vote in Austrian federal elections are Austrian citizens aged 16 or above. This means foreigners – even those who have lived in Austria for decades – are not entitled to vote unless they have acquired Austrian citizenship. 

The country’s strict naturalisation process typically requires at least ten years of legal residence and a high income. Applicants must also give up their original nationality, as dual citizenship is rarely permitted.

While Austria is home to a large foreign-born population, many cannot participate in the political process. In Vienna, for example, as many as one in three residents of voting age cannot vote due to their non-Austrian citizenship. This leaves around 1.5 million people nationwide unable to vote in the upcoming elections, representing around 19 percent of the population aged 16 and over.

READ ALSO: What makes Austrian citizenship so hard to get?

How can foreigners “vote” in the elections?

A symbolic alternative for the many residents excluded from Austria’s national elections has been offered: the “Pass Egal” election, organised by the non-governmental organisation SOS Mitmensch. Since 2013, the Pass Egal election has given foreigners a platform to ‘vote’ and express their political preferences.

The Pass Egal election is open to anyone aged 16 or older who lives in Austria but does not have Austrian citizenship. Even Austrians who wish to show solidarity with non-voters can participate. This symbolic election gives a voice to those otherwise excluded from official polls, allowing them to vote for the parties running in the National Council elections.

In 2022, for example, more than 8,500 people from 86 countries participated in a mock election for federal president. 

While the vote doesn’t impact the actual elections, it highlights the political engagement of Austria’s foreign residents and adds visibility to the debate on voting rights and citizenship reform.

READ MORE: How foreigners can ‘vote’ in the Austrian national elections

What’s at stake in Austria’s national elections?

This year’s elections will shape the composition of Austria’s National Council and influence the country’s future political direction.

With the FPÖ leading in the polls, the possibility of a far-right resurgence is a crucial issue, while the ÖVP and SPÖ are working to gain ground in what is expected to be a highly competitive election.

For the large segment of Austria’s population that is excluded from voting due to the country’s citizenship laws, the Pass Egal election provides a way to engage politically, even if only symbolically. 

As the number of non-citizen residents in Austria grows, the debate over expanding voting rights to non-citizens and making the naturalisation process more accessible will continue.

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