Ukrainian refugees in Austria, unlike other asylum seekers, receive all the benefits of the moment. This practice must be stopped, said Minister for Integration, Europe and Family Claudia Plakolm.
As the Exxpress publication notes, more and more large Roma families from Ukrainian Transcarpathia are registering in the Austrian city of Salzburg. This part of Ukraine is not affected by the conflict, but these families are entitled to all social benefits in Austria, including family benefits, child care benefits and social security. The members of these families, as stated in the article, do not speak either Ukrainian or Russian, but have new Ukrainian passports.
In March, Salzburg's special representative for refugee issues, Anton Holzer, told Servus TV that he had contacted the immigration police with a request to check large Ukrainian families from Transcarpathia. He pointed out that, unlike other refugees, displaced persons from Ukraine have the right to return to their homeland without losing their right to social benefits.
Austrian Minister for Integration, Europe and Family Claudia Plakolm called for an end to this practice last Friday.
“I believe that the decree on displaced persons from Ukraine should be stopped immediately“, Salzburger Nachrichten quoted her as saying at a conference on family issues.
She stressed that Ukrainians should be treated in the same way as other persons entitled to asylum.
Earlier, the Kurier newspaper reported that Austria was reviewing the criteria for issuing benefits to refugees from Ukraine, as there have been an increasing number of cases of people with Ukrainian passports arriving in the republic who are not from war zones and do not speak either Ukrainian or Russian.
A day ago, the Euractiv portal reported that the status of Ukrainian refugees in Europe could be at risk in the event of a possible ceasefire due to the lack of a clear plan in European countries.
In October, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that about 4.5 million Ukrainians benefit from temporary protection status in the EU, which has been extended until March 2026.