Arigona Zogaj Allowed to Stay

Arigona Zogaj, the Kosovar teenager with perfect German who went into hiding to avoid deportation, received residence rights in Austria on 6 Feb., after her family’s decade-long struggle for asylum.

Zogaj, now 20, became the face for asylum seekers in Austria when she disappeared and threatened suicide following the deportation of her father and four siblings to Kosovo in 2007, six years after they first sought asylum in Austria.

Following her resurfacing, Zogaj, her mother, and two siblings were allowed to stay in Linz, Upper Austria, until July 2010, when they left voluntarily for Kosovo, under a negotiated agreement with the Austrian Interior Ministry.

They returned on a visa several months later and have now received a temporary residence permit, which will become permanent after five years provided they face no criminal charges, Der Standard reported.