Integration agreement (Austria)
The integration agreement is part of the law on aliens in Austria and, according to the text of the law, aims to enable migrants to participate in social, cultural and economic life in Austria by acquiring language skills.
The integration agreement is regulated in Section 7 of the Integration Act (IntG) and the Integration Agreement Ordinance.
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As part of the integration agreement, third-country nationals are obliged to acquire knowledge of the German language as well as the democratic order and the basic principles that can be derived from it (Section 7 IntG).
History and earlier versions
The integration agreement has been in force since 2003; a reformed version came into force in 2011. Until the introduction of the Integration Act, it was in § 14 NAG a. F. established.
In the run-up to its introduction, the integration agreement - in contrast to the purpose stated in the law - was often presented as a measure to limit immigration.
Specifically, Austria requires migrants to demonstrate German language skills at A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages within two years . In order to achieve this goal, special literacy and German integration courses are planned as required . The migrants have to pay for these courses themselves. Depending on the residence permit, the Republic of Austria will refund up to 50 percent of the costs for German integration courses and 100 percent of the costs for literacy courses if the course participants pass the final exam within a certain time. The migrant has thus fulfilled the integration agreement and his or her residence permit can be extended.
The Austrian Integration Fund is responsible for quality assurance and administrative handling of the literacy and German integration courses as well as the final exams and for the payment of support payments .
Since 2011, third-country nationals who want a residence permit for Austria have had to confirm four things: their identity, a place of residence, their language skills or a school leaving certificate.
In October 2017, amended rules of the Integration Act came into force through the Integration Agreement Ordinance 2017.
Amounted to
In March 2018 it became known that the four required documents (identity, place of residence, language skills or school leaving certificate) were said to have been fraudulent on a large scale. First of all, the Aliens Police and Detention Department ( Landespolizeidirektion Wien ) detected fraud in 8,000 cases in investigations that had been ongoing since 2015. However, the investigators assume that this is only the "tip of the iceberg".
For forged documents and certificates alone (the state refunded part of the alleged training costs), a single-digit million amount is said to have flowed. For the time being, it is unclear how much social welfare was stolen from it, but damage in the tens of millions is suspected.
See also
Web links
- General information from the Federal Ministry of the Interior about the branch in Austria
- Austrian Integration Fund
- Summary of the City of Vienna on the Integration Agreement, valid from July 1, 2011
- Summary, contact point for people with qualifications acquired abroad (AST)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Julia Mourão Permoser: The Integration Agreement in Austria: Exclusion in the name of integration? In: Ilker Ataç and Sieglinde Rosenberger (eds.): Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion , Vienna University Press, 2013, ISBN 978-3-89971-914-7 . P. 155 ff.
- ^ Dominik Schreiber: The mafia business with residence permits in Austria. In: kurier.at. March 30, 2018, accessed February 23, 2019 .
- ^ Republic of Austria: Integration Agreement 2017. Accessed April 4, 2018 .
- ^ Integration Agreement Ordinance 2017 - IV-V 2017. Austrian Integration Fund, accessed on February 23, 2019 .
- ↑ Integration Agreement Ordinance 2017 - IV-V 2017. Ordinance of the Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs on the Integration Agreement (Integration Agreement Ordinance - IV-V 2017). Federal Chancellery: Federal Law Gazette No. BGBl. II No. 242/2017 Part II, accessed on February 23, 2019 .
- ^ Dominik Schreiber: The mafia business with residence permits in Austria . March 30, 2018 ( kurier.at [accessed April 3, 2018]).
- ^ Dominik Schreiber: The mafia business with residence permits in Austria . March 30, 2018 ( kurier.at [accessed April 3, 2018]).
