My Filipino girlfriend is currently staying in Croatia. She was allowed to enter the EU and work in Croatia based on a work permit in 2023. Due to bad luck (stolen passport and ID card on the day she was applying for a new job) and lengthy bureaucratic processes (to get her documents back, to apply for another work permit), she is now in the situation to have overstayed. So, she didn't get a new work permit. Instead, she received a letter from the police informing her to leave the country.

She's terrified of leaving the country and now I'm evaluating all options to bring her to Austria. I'm an Austrian citizen. There are several options and all of them are fine to us (marriage, education, work in shortage occupation job) but Austrian officials don't easily allow non-EU residents to entry the country. I will do everything to help her to get an education or work but usually language skills are required at minimum. Even for marriage language skill A1 is required.

My questions are:

• Is it reasonable to fight the deportation note to buy time? During this time, she could get the certificate for A1 language, and I could prepare all documents and even find work.
• Is it more reasonable to go back to Philippines? We are both very worried about the Schengen entry ban, that would prevent her from re-entering in a reasonable amount of time. Also, she's worried about sexual harassment because she was already facing severe issues in her country.

Things that we can rule out:

• She doesn't have any relatives in Austria or the EU.
• She doesn't have any recognized education would get her work easily in Austria - though she finished college with a bachelor degree.

My Filipino girlfriend is currently staying in Croatia. She was allowed to enter the EU and work in Croatia based on a work permit in 2023. Due to bad luck (stolen passport and ID card on the day she was applying for a new job) and lengthy bureaucratic processes (to get her documents back, to apply for another work permit), she is now in the situation to have overstayed. So, she didn't get a new work permit. Instead, she received a letter from the police informing her to leave the country.

According to the letter her overstay is 90 days and the consequences, besides leaving the country, is a Schengen entry ban of 6 months.

She's terrified of leaving the country and now I'm evaluating all options to bring her to Austria. I'm an Austrian citizen. There are several options and all of them are fine to us (marriage, education, work in shortage occupation job) but Austrian officials don't easily allow non-EU residents to entry the country. I will do everything to help her to get an education or work but usually language skills are required at minimum. Even for marriage language skill A1 is required.

My questions are:

• Is it reasonable to fight the deportation note to buy time? During this time, she could get the certificate for A1 language, and I could prepare all documents and even find work. However, I'm afraid that we need to wait for the outcome of the case before she is free to go? And of course there's the possibility that the court ruling is not in her favor and then deportation takes place anyway.
• Is it more reasonable to go back to Philippines and wait until her Schengen ban is lifted? During that time we could prepare everything for her entry to Austria. But it would be far away and it's more difficult to support her there, financially as well as mentally. Also, she's worried about sexual harassment because she was already facing severe issues in her country.
• Or is it more reasonable to go to a 3rd country (ie. Serbia) and wait until her Schengen ban is lifted?

Things that we can rule out:

• She doesn't have any relatives in Austria or the EU.
• She doesn't have any recognized education would get her work easily in Austria - though she finished college with a bachelor degree.

My Filipino girlfriend is currently staying in Croatia. She was allowed to entry the EU and work in Croatia based on a work permit in 2023. Due to bad luck (stolen passport and ID card on the day she was applying for a new job) and lengthy bureaucratic processes (to get her documents back, to apply for another work permit), she is now in the situation to have overstayed. So, she didn't get a new work permit. Instead, she received a letter from the police informing her to leave the country.

She's terrified of leaving the country and now I'm evaluating all options to bring her to Austria. I'm an Austrian citizen. There are several options and all of them are fine to us (marriage, education, work in shortage occupation job) but Austrian officials don't easily allow non-EU residents to entry the country. I will do everything to help her to get an education or work but usually language skills are required at minimum. Even for marriage language skill A1 is required.

My questions are:

• Is it reasonable to fight the deportation note to buy time? During this time, she could get the certificate for A1 language, and I could prepare all documents and even find work.
• Is it more reasonable to go back to Philippines? We are both very worried about the Schengen entry ban, that would prevent her from re-entering in a reasonable amount of time. Also, she's worried about sexual harassment because she was already facing severe issues in her country.

Things that we can rule out:

• She doesn't have any relatives in Austria or the EU.
• She doesn't have any recognized education would get her work easily in Austria - though she finished college with a bachelor degree.

My Filipino girlfriend is currently staying in Croatia. She was allowed to enter the EU and work in Croatia based on a work permit in 2023. Due to bad luck (stolen passport and ID card on the day she was applying for a new job) and lengthy bureaucratic processes (to get her documents back, to apply for another work permit), she is now in the situation to have overstayed. So, she didn't get a new work permit. Instead, she received a letter from the police informing her to leave the country.

She's terrified of leaving the country and now I'm evaluating all options to bring her to Austria. I'm an Austrian citizen. There are several options and all of them are fine to us (marriage, education, work in shortage occupation job) but Austrian officials don't easily allow non-EU residents to entry the country. I will do everything to help her to get an education or work but usually language skills are required at minimum. Even for marriage language skill A1 is required.

My questions are:

• Is it reasonable to fight the deportation note to buy time? During this time, she could get the certificate for A1 language, and I could prepare all documents and even find work.
• Is it more reasonable to go back to Philippines? We are both very worried about the Schengen entry ban, that would prevent her from re-entering in a reasonable amount of time. Also, she's worried about sexual harassment because she was already facing severe issues in her country.

Things that we can rule out:

• She doesn't have any relatives in Austria or the EU.
• She doesn't have any recognized education would get her work easily in Austria - though she finished college with a bachelor degree.