Since 2000, around 3.2 million foreign nationals have newly settled in Austria. About half returned home or moved on to another country, according to a report by the Austrian Integration Fund.
That makes the question of who stays increasingly central for Austria. Since 2020, the country’s population growth has come entirely from migration gains, as deaths have outnumbered births. Over the past two decades, the foreign-born population has doubled from 1.1 million to 2.1 million people, rising from nearly 14 percent of the population to about 23 percent.
But the chances of staying vary sharply depending on where people come from, why they moved and what legal status they have once they arrive.
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EU citizens are the most mobile
People moving to Austria from other EU countries are the least likely to stay long-term.
Among EU citizens who moved to Austria at the age of 15 or older, around 76 percent of women and 67 percent of men were still in the country after one year. After three years, about half had already left.
Of those who arrived in 2015 and 2016, only around one-third were still living in Austria after eight or nine years. The report said that, in the end, fewer than 30 percent are likely to remain permanently.
The report links this to the workings of the EU labour market. EU citizens can move freely between member states, so leaving Austria for a job elsewhere is relatively easy. They also retain the option to return later without having to rebuild their residence status from scratch.
That flexibility seems to shape decisions. Some people come for work, others for study, and not all of them plan to settle for good. Men from other EU countries tended to stay a little less long than women.
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Non-EU migrants without a refugee background are much more likely to remain
The picture looks very different for people from outside the EU who moved to Austria through regular channels and don’t have a refugee background.
Only about 15 percent left during the first year, followed by another 10 percent in the second year. Five years after moving to Austria, around two-thirds of women and about 60 percent of men were still living in the country.
Among those who arrived in 2015 and 2016, more than half were still in Austria eight or nine years later.
One reason is legal. Third-country nationals who leave Austria for a longer period risk losing their right to live and work here. EU citizens don’t face the same problem because they can settle again much more easily.
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Among refugees, the picture is much less uniform
For people who came to Austria with a refugee background, the chances of staying depend heavily on the year they arrived, their country of origin and whether they came through family reunification.
Among those who arrived during the large refugee movement of 2015 and 2016, just over half, 53 percent, were still living in Austria eight or nine years later.
Women were more likely to stay than men. Of the relatively small number of women who applied for asylum in Austria in 2015 and 2016, almost three-quarters remained. Among men, fewer than half did.
There were also major differences by origin. Around 80 percent of Syrian men and women from the 2015/16 cohort were still in Austria years later. The same was true of Afghan and Somali women. By contrast, around half of Afghan men and about 70 percent of Somali men stayed.
For later asylum cohorts, onward movement was often much higher. Of those who applied for asylum in 2019, more than half had left within two years. Among people who applied for asylum in 2022 and entered basic care, nearly 70 percent were no longer in Austria the following year.
The 2023 group looked very different, with almost 90 percent still in Austria after one year. The report said this was linked to a higher share of people arriving through family reunification, who were more often women and children and more likely to remain for the long term.
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Ukrainians have mostly stayed so far
People displaced from Ukraine form another distinct group. Of those granted temporary protection after arriving in 2022, 71 percent were still in Austria in 2024. Among those who arrived in 2023, 91 percent were still in the country one year later.
Unlike asylum seekers, Ukrainians with temporary protection had access to the labour market from the start. But the report noted that many still didn’t move into work quickly, in part because of language barriers or childcare responsibilities.
The adult Ukrainian arrivals were also mostly women, partly because of restrictions on men leaving Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
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So who is most likely to stay?
EU citizens are the most mobile and the least likely to remain long-term. Regular migrants from outside the EU are far more likely to stay, partly because leaving can mean losing residence and work rights. Among refugees, long-term stay rates differ sharply, with especially high retention among Syrians from the 2015/16 cohort and among people arriving later through family reunification.
That means Austria’s future population won’t be shaped by immigration alone. It will also depend on who decides to build a life here, who moves on, and how different groups are able to settle after they arrive.
Key vocabulary
die Zuwanderung – immigration
die Abwanderung – emigration or onward migration
der Drittstaatsangehörige – third-country national, meaning a non-EU citizen
die Familienzusammenführung – family reunification
der Fluchthintergrund – refugee background
der Aufenthaltstitel – residence permit
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