Austria's Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum has said that deportations to Afghanistan are permissible on a case-by-case basis due to the "changed security situation" in the country.
ADVERTISEMENTFollowing Germany's lead, Austria said it intends to start deporting Afghanistan nationals with criminal records back to their home country.
This comes after Germany deported 28 convicted criminals to Afghanistan on Friday, the first such deportations to the country since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Vienna says it intends to cooperate closely with Berlin on joint deportations.
"The minister of the interior has been in negotiations with the German minister of the interior for a very long time about how we can solve the problem of deportations to Afghanistan because Austria is also deporting Afghans and Syrians right now," said Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
Now the next step is to be able to deport people directly to Afghanistan or Syria."
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner called Germany’s decision "very good".
In March, he called for talks on whether to reassess the EU-wide ban on deportations to Afghanistan and Syria as "necessary and urgent".
"Currently, we are not able to repatriate anyone to countries like Syria or Afghanistan, as it would be against EU law," Karner said in Brussels in March. "In Austria, these two countries account for about three-quarters of all asylum applications."
'I am pleased this is happening'
Austria's Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum has already said that deportations to Afghanistan are permissible on a case-by-case basis due to the changed security situation in the country.
In a July ruling, the Constitutional Court confirmed that this assessment was made by the immigration authorities.
The ministry and the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs are working intensively on implementing deportations to Afghanistan, and talks are underway with several European countries.
"The fact that deportations to Afghanistan are possible again is a demand that I, that Austria, have been making for a long time, and I am therefore very pleased that this is happening. It is crucial that we deport people to Afghanistan and Syria again," Karner said on Friday.
"And that is why this will also happen departing from Austria in the future."
"The fact that a terrorist regime is in charge there, namely the Taliban, was the reason why it was suspended. That's why it's so important to work closely with partners in the region so that we can also bring people back to Kabul or Afghanistan directly," he added.
Human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, have criticised the move as a "breach of international law".
ADVERTISEMENTSince the takeover of Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have been accused of systemic oppression against women and girls, sexual and other minorities, and acts of vengeance against purported collaborators with the previous, pro-Western regime.
'We will not allow ourselves to be divided'
Like Germany, Austria hasn't deported anyone directly to Afghanistan since 2021. The country has deported Afghan nationals before, but always to third countries.
While the idea of joint deportations with Germany has found favour among many across Austria’s political spectrum, some have cautioned that cases must be carefully scrutinised.
"We are strong as a society and will not allow ourselves to be divided by Islamism and terrorism," said Alma Zadić, the minister of justice for the Greens.
ADVERTISEMENT"We have strong laws, we have tough laws and these must be applied in this case. And all constitutional options must be exhausted, even when it comes to deportations."
Almost 9,000 Afghan nationals applied for asylum in Austria last year, according to the Austrian immigration agency.