Austrian court revokes Iraqi man’s refugee status

A court has revoked a young Iraqi man’s refugee status after six criminal convictions and 22 entries in the criminal police index, ORF reported. He must leave Austria and is barred from re-entering for six years. If he does not leave voluntarily, he will be deported.

The man arrived in Austria with his family in 2015 as a minor refugee. In Vorarlberg, he was convicted in 2019 of attempted grievous bodily harm and in 2020 of robbery, extortion and coercion.

In 2022, he was convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon, burglary, coercion and bodily harm. Last year, he appeared twice before Feldkirch Regional Court, once over bodily harm and property damage and once over several drug offences.

During questioning by the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, he expressed remorse. “I am not proud of what I did. I ruined everything, and that is why I am in prison,” he said. Before his imprisonment, he had been homeless and had no registered address.

He said he had contact only with his mother, had no school-leaving qualification and had not attended integration courses.

The man ruled out returning to Iraq, saying he knew nobody there. He told the authorities he wanted to remain in Austria, repay his debts and receive a second chance. Alternatively, he requested more time to settle his debts and permission to live in another European Union country.

Both the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum and the court rejected his arguments. If he does not leave voluntarily, he will be deported.