Austria doubles migrants’ repatriation payment to 1,000 euro

VIENNA – Austria’s interior minister is doubling the payment for some migrants who voluntarily return to their home countries to 1,000 euros ($1,080.)

Wolfgang Sobotka says the added financial incentive is part of plans to repatriate 50,000 migrants who do not qualify for at least temporary residence by 2019.

Other officials speaking to reporters alongside Sobotka on Wednesday said that about 10,700 migrants left Austria last year, including some 5,800 who did so voluntarily.

Eligible are those whose refugee status was still unclear as of March 15, with origins from African nations, Afghanistan, Iraq and other non-European countries who demonstrate financial need.