Posted on 03/04/2002 5:01:27 AM PST by NativeNewYorker
Vienna (dpa) - Immigrants from outside the E.U. will have to pass German courses within four years or else be expelled from Austria, the government said on Monday.
Foreigners arriving in the country would also have to show a health certificate.
Presenting a new ``integration contract'', the government said the foreigners would have to pay 50 per cent of the cost of the language courses themselves.
The other half would be paid out of public funds or by the foreigner's employer. |
The German courses would be mandatory for non-E.U. citizens who had arrived in Austria after January 1, 1998, said top government officials including Interior Minister Ernst Strasser.
The courses would be 100 hours at least, and the cost nearly 400 euros (345 dollars) per person. Taught would be not only the German language, but also ``basic organizational processes, and knowledge of the country and state''.
If the immigrant completed the course in 18 months, the residence permit would be extended for two years, if not, for one year.
Those failing after 18 months would be sanctioned. They would have to pay 75 per cent of the further courses themselves, and after two years, 100 per cent.
There would be an additional ``administrative fine'' of 100 euros after two years, and 200 euros after three.
If the immigrants had not started their course after three years, or completed it after four, they would lose their residence permits altogether.
The other new introduction was the health certificate. The government said that when submitted on entry to the country, it must not be more than 90 days old.
The exact content was still to be decided on. It would be orientated on ``a European catalogue''.
Presenting its new ``integration'' program, the government did not comply with frequent opposition demands that all foreigners who are allowed to live in Austria should automatically be allowed to work as well.
The new regulations also expanded the use of temporary ``seasonal'' workers.
These workers would no longer be limited to the traditional areas of tourism and agriculture, but could also be employed elsewhere.
A seasonal worker would get a work permit for six months, which could be extended for another six months.
But after that, at least two months must lapse before a further permit could be applied for.
Strasser said the new regulations would go into force on January 1 next year.
...and must be able to cite the lyrics to every song in "The Sound Of Music".
The young students who lived next door to me all attended the University of Alaska, Anchorage. They understood the Guaranteed Student Loan/Pell Grant/'System'(Welfare) better than any American. They teach one another.
The one fellow I knew best married another foreign student before he graduated and they promptly had their 'anchor baby'. He is presently working in one of those jobs that Americans are too lazy, or uninterested in working ... as a Flight Instructor at Merrill Field.
I once told the individual that if he and his buddies had any integrity, they would buy guns and ammo up here where they can, and go back home and fight their own damn revolution. We cannot do that for them, and they only muck up our situation by overstaying their welcome and SUCKING off of us.
eschulten sie bitter, voh est der banhoff?
Sorry, but I just learned enough German so that I wouldn't get lost coming back to base from the latest frau's house!
"Fashistischen Schwachkopf !"
"Kommunistische Schwein !!"
Thanks for the ping. That is the way it should be here.
By helping to pay while learning the language they also learn something about work ethics.
That is something our neighbors from the south know little or nothing about.
Must be strictly a local thing.
Maybe about a third of the people I know speak Spanglish. It's an interesting language, most who speak it have problems making themselves understood in English and in Spanish. They are so used to mixing the two that they are unable to use one language or the other. You hear phrases like "esta working" or "la troca". It's funny when someone tells a Spanish speaker "vengo por atras" to mean they're returning.
randystone
Foreigners in Austria will be forced to learn German or face deportation, under new legislation passed yesterday.
Non-EU citizens who arrived in Austria after 1 January 1998 will be obliged to attend 100 hours of tuition in German language and culture. Those immigrants who can prove they already have German language skills, and high-ranking managers and other professionals who stay for less than two years can be excused.
Participants will be obliged to pay half of the estimated €350 (£230) cost of the course. The state's contribution drops to a quarter after 18 months for foreigners who do not comply with the regulations, and to zero after two years. After three years, anyone who has not completed the course will be fined and after four years of non-compliance their residence permit will be withdrawn.
The "integration contract" has been heavily criticised by the opposition Social Democrats and Greens.During the parliamentary debate on the Bill, the Greens' migration spokeswoman, Terezija Stoisits, appealed for MPs to vote "no to the de-integration package, yes to integration".
But the centre-right People's Party, which governs in a coalition with the far right-wing Freedom Party, argued that the government was merely addressing the concerns of ordinary Austrians.
Peter Westenthaler, the Freedom Party's parliamentary leader, described the new law as "one of the most modern pieces of legislation on foreigners in Europe".
In autumn 1999 there was an international outcry when the Freedom Party ran an election campaign with posters calling for an end to Überfremdung ("being swamped by foreigners"). Several months later, diplomatic sanctions were imposed on Austria by the EU when the Freedom Party entered national government.
Now, the party is relishing the swing to the right in recent European elections. The party's de facto leader, Jörg Haider, said such election results were "the best confirmation" of far right-wing ideas.
Recent ideas from within the Freedom Party include paying new immigrants only as much social security benefits as they would receive in their home country, and making asylum-seekers clean up dog faeces. With general elections due next year, this is probably just a taste of what is in store.
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