Austria
With regard to DNA analysis in the context of immigration, there has so far been no intensive political and societal discussion.
The legal situation
Since 2005/2006, Austria has a quite stringent and restrictive approach towards immigration (the so-called Fremdenrechtspaket or 'Alien Law Package', including legislation on asylum, alien police and residence) which provides the legal background for any discussion of the use of immigration DNA analysis as a new way of controlling immigration. Per se, in Austria DNA analysis is regulated by the Austrian Gene Technology Act (1995, last amendment in 2005), a law which addresses central aspects of biotechnology and genetic engineering, including DNA analysis and data protection.
In the version of 2005, the 'Alien Law Package' does not regulate or even mention DNA analysis for family reunification. But the Alien Law Package amendment of 2009 (Fremdenrechtsänderungsgesetz 2009) introduces DNA analysis in the context of family reunification cases (Act on Asylum, § 18 (2), Alien Police Act, § 12a, and also, Nationality Law 1985, § 5 (2)).
With regard to questions of family reunion and immigration of family members, which is of importance in the context of immigration DNA analysis, Austria’s political slogan is 'integration before immigration' which results in a restriction of new immigration. Family reunion is regulated via an annual family reunion quota. Importantly for family immigration issues, Austria has defined relatives in the Federal Act concerning Settlement and Residence n Austria (2005) under § 2 (1) 9 as “A spouse or an unmarried under-age child, including adopted and step children (nuclear family), whereas the spouses, except spouses of Austrian nationals, EEA nationals and Swiss nationals muct have reached 18 years of age; In the event of a polygamous marriage, where the sponsor already has a spouse living with him in the federal territory, the issue of a residence title to a further spouse will not be authorized.” In addition to this definition, the Act on Asylum (2005) mentions under § 2 (1) 22 that the definition of ‘relatives’ also includes persons living in a registered partnership, provided that this registered partnership already existed in the country of origin. It is obvious that DNA analysis as a basis for family reunion excludes members of the second and the third group, which would imply a reduction of the number of relatives who might be permitted to join other members of their family in Austria.
The political and public debate
Given this background, one would expect to see a societal discussion of the issue in Austria. However, DNA analysis in the context of immigration is almost a non-issue in the country. It is very difficult to get information about how common this practice is, how exactly it is performed, and who is affected by it. Nevertheless, some NGOs have found evidence of the use of DNA analysis on immigrants from African countries. This might indicate an overlap between societal perceptions of persons with a certain ethnic background and characteristics of Austrian immigration policy, as several years ago the FPÖ (Austrian Freedom Party) created the equation 'Black=Drug dealer' which is (like 'crime linked to asylum') still present in people’s minds and in the media. in December 2008 the FPÖ proposed a motion for a resolution regarding DNA analysis as a tool to control immigration (Entschließungsantrag betreffend DNA-Tests zur Immigrationskontrolle) which led in the context of a debate about an amendment of the 'Alien Law Package' to a parliamentary debate about this motion in October 2009.
