Family reunification women: challenges and opportunities in Austria

Family reunification women: challenges and opportunities in Austria

A new study by the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), published by the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF), illuminates significant integration disadvantages for family stragglers in Austria. On the basis of data that affects 12,500 asylum and subsidiary beneficiaries between 2018 and 2024, the report shows alarming findings: The majority of the family members who have followed are women who often live in precarious conditions. It is particularly revealing that 46 percent of these women are unemployed, compared to 30 percent of those who themselves applied for asylum, the .

The language barrier also remains an obstacle. Completed women attend rare German courses and learn the language slower than their male predecessors and as women who have made an asylum application directly. The report states that only 41 percent of the men who have followed are employed, in contrast to 57 percent of those who applied for the first time. It turns out that the knowledge of German women improves with the length of stay; After five years, however, only half rate their knowledge as good or very good. These inequalities in the integration raise questions and require urgent attention to increase support for these vulnerable groups, as the