Refugee crisis: Austria refuses entry to hundreds of migrants for lying about their nationality

Hundreds of thousands of migrants have crossed through Austria since the start of the crisis

The Qasu family, a Yazidi refugee family from Sinjar, Iraq, in a shelter in Salzburg, Austria (AP )

Austria has sent hundreds of refugees back to Slovenia for lying about their nationality, a police spokesman said.

"We assume that some are trying to take advantage of the situation, knowing very well that they have little chance of being granted asylum in Austria and Germany," the police spokesman said.

While carrying out spot checks on the 3,000 daily arrivals, translators and police apparently noticed an increase in people whose nationalities and language skills did not match.

Since the start of the crisis, hundreds of thousands of migrants have crossed through Austria as they travel through to Germany, the chosen destination for most refugees.

In 2014, migrants from Afghanistan and Syria were granted asylum in more cases than anyone else.

The news comes only a month after the home office told The Independent that asylum seekers posing as Syrians in the hope of securing a place in the UK are risking criminal prosecution.