Innsbruck residence office sees hours-long queues before opening

People seeking residence services in Innsbruck are waiting for hours and sometimes leaving without a ticket, ORF Tirol reports. The city says legal changes have increased paperwork and the number of applications.

The city magistrate’s residence affairs department handles questions about the right of foreign nationals to reside in Austria. One person waiting, Anastasia Chachibaia, said she arrived at 7.15am one day to find about 100 people ahead of her in a small room. The next day, she arrived at 4.15am. Although fewer people were there at first, more arrived around 5am, including people with prams who had to wait outside.

People waiting have begun organising themselves before the office opens, said Petra Falkner, a volunteer who has accompanied people to the department. She said they had handed out handwritten tickets on the cold entrance steps to prevent pushing and arguments when the doors opened.

In a written response to ORF Tirol, the city cited changes to asylum and migration laws at state and federal level, saying they had increased administrative work and the number of applications. It said it had added two positions and opened a new waiting room. The room is not open at 5am.