Julia Buchner

Austrian Integration Fund

The Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) is a fund of the Republic of Austria and a partner of the federal government in promoting integration. In its activities, the ÖIF addresses: • those who qualify for asylum, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and nationals of third countries • people with a migrant background • institutions, organisations and disseminators in the integration, social and educational sector • Austrian society Establishment & tasks The ÖIF was established in 1960 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and by the Austrian Federal Ministry for the Interior (BM.I) under the name "United Nations Refugee Fund". The Hungarian crisis of 1956 and the associated wave of refugees had made it clear that Austria needs a corresponding institutional framework to support refugees. After it was separated off from the BM.I in 1991, the year 2002 marked a milestone in the history of the ÖIF. From this point in time onwards, the service profile of the ÖIF was specifically expanded and the ÖIF has since been co-responsible for the implementation of the integration agreement. Within this framework, the ÖIF handles German tests at various levels of language competency throughout Austria and evaluates German integration courses for ongoing quality assurance. With integration centres in Vienna, St. Pölten, Eisenstadt, Linz, Graz, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, Innsbruck and Bregenz as well as mobile advice centres in municipalities, the ÖIF supports refugees and migrants in their integration process in Austria with advice and information.