Vienna will close its last arrival center for Ukrainian refugees at the end of the year, the office of Social Councilor Peter Hacker confirmed on 20 October. The facility, operated by the charitable organization Volkshilfe at Schlossberg in Vienna-Hietzing, has been operating at full capacity for some time.
More than 200 people can be accommodated at the center, which has been completely full for an extended period, according to the report. Vienna is now the last federal state with its own arrival center for Ukrainian refugees following the closure of a comparable facility in Vorarlberg, ORF and Kronen Zeitung report.
Since opening, the center has provided assistance to 8,900 Ukrainians. Refugees receive short-term accommodation, meals, counseling, and support with police registration and onward travel to other federal states. The Austrian government pays a one-time initial care allowance of 190 euros per person for this service.
"This amount has not been adjusted since 2022 and covers only a fraction of the costs," the Vienna Social Fund reported. Currently, 10,786 Ukrainians receive basic care in Vienna. Across Austria, that figure stands at around 30,000.
The Vienna Social Fund had announced the program's closure multiple times, including at a press conference in July. "We informed the Interior Ministry, which is responsible for initial reception, about this already in the summer," Hacker's office said.
"We always fulfill our tasks knowing that as the federal capital, we have a special role. But that doesn't mean we fulfill these tasks alone," the councilor said. "The Interior Minister has been informed of the intended closure for months. I assume that he—together with the Federal Care Agency—will provide the appropriate measures."
According to Kronen Zeitung, if nothing changes before the center closes, newly arrived Ukrainian asylum seekers will be without shelter for at least several days unless they can find accommodation on their own, such as with relatives or friends. In September, 2,000 refugees from Ukraine arrived in Austria, and given the approaching winter and the continuation of Russian aggression, it is unlikely this number will decrease in the coming weeks, the newspaper noted.
