Austrian Data Protection Authority
Welcome on the website of the Austrian Data Protection Authority
The Austrian Data Protection Authority is the national supervisory authority for data protection in the Republic of Austria.
You can contact the Austrian Data Protection Authority at the following address:
Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde
Barichgasse 40-42
1030 Vienna
Austria/Europe
Phone: +43 1 52 152-0
E-Mail: dsb@dsb.gv.at
Biography Dr. Matthias SCHMIDL
• Born January 5th, 1983
• studied law at the University of Vienna and the Rijkuniversiteit Groningen (ERASMUS), graduation as Magister iuris (Mag. iur) in 2006 and as Doctor of law (Dr. iur.) in 2008
• entered the civil service in 2007
• 2007-2011 research assistent at the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court (2010: 3 months internship at the then European Civil Service Tribunal in Luxembourg)
• 2011-2012 desk officer in the Constitutional Service/Austrian Federal Chancellery
• 2011-2013 desk officer in the former Austrian Data Protection Commission
• 2014-2023 Deputy Director of the Austrian Data Protection Authority; Austrian representative in the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on Data Protection (T-PD) until 2016
• since 2024 Director/Commissioner of the Austrian Data Protection Authority; Austrian representative in the EDPB
Notice from the Austrian Data Protection Authority regarding SIS Alert Deletion Requests
The Austrian Data Protection Authority (DPA) is currently receiving numerous complaints concerning the deletion of Austrian SIS alerts following negative asylum decisions.
These cases typically involve foreign nationals who have received a negative decision on their asylum application in Austria. Since they allegedly neither voluntarily left the Schengen area nor informed the Austrian immigration authorities of their departure, a return alert was registered in the Schengen Information System (SIS). Subsequently, these individuals often request the deletion of their SIS entries, asserting that they are now residing and working in other European countries—particularly in Southern Europe.
The DPA emphasizes that, pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1860 on the use of SIS for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, a specific consultation procedure must be followed for the erasure of such alerts when a residence permit may have been issued by another Member State. In such cases, the Member State that has granted or is considering granting a residence permit must initiate a consultation with the Member State that issued the SIS alert—in this case, Austria.
Therefore, it is strongly recommended that data subjects contact the competent authority in the Schengen country where they currently reside and request that they consult the Austrian immigration authorities regarding the possible deletion of the SIS alert. Please understand that, in the absence of such consultation as required by Article 9 of the SIS Return Regulation, deletion requests cannot be approved, and related complaints will be rejected by the Austrian DPA based on the reasons outlined above.
You can find templates for your data subject rights regarding SIS Return Alerts here.
Attention
Please note that the English website of the Austrian Data Protection Authority is not a direct translation of the official German website. This website provides you only with some general information on data protection and the work of the Austrian Data Protection Authority.
What are the relevant laws in regard to data protection? »
I wish to lodge a complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority »
What rights do I have? »
Is there a Newsletter of the Austrian Data Protection Authority? »
How can I access my data in the Schengen Information System? »
How can I access my data in the Visa Information System »
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) »
The Schengen Information System »
The Visa Information System »
Eurodac »
Europol »