Asylum and international protection in Kosovo

Any foreign national or stateless person who fears persecution or serious harm in their country can ask for international protection. The law provides for refugee status in line with the 1951 Refugee Convention and for subsidiary protection for people who do not qualify as refugees but would face serious harm if returned; the principle of non-refoulement applies. Temporary protection may also be granted by Government decision in a mass influx.

The first-instance authority is the migration department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, named DCAM in the law and listed by the Ministry today as the Department for Naturalization, Asylum and Migration, which includes an Asylum Division and runs the Asylum Centre. Appeals go to the National Commission for Refugees, an independent body in which UNHCR sits as an observer, and then to the courts. UNHCR has access to applicants, including at the border, airport and detention facilities.

The application is made on entry at a border crossing point, at a police station or at the asylum department, or at a site designated in a mass influx. Anyone who states the intention to apply is treated as an applicant and allowed into the territory. Registration must take place within three working days when the claim is made to the asylum department, or within six working days when it is made to another authority such as the police, extended to ten in a mass influx. Fingerprints and photographs are taken, an initial form is completed and the applicant is transferred to the Asylum Centre.

At the Centre, officials explain rights, duties and the procedure in a language the applicant understands, including free legal aid and how to contact UNHCR or refugee support organisations, followed by a medical examination. The applicant is then interviewed personally, without family members unless needed, and each adult dependant can be interviewed separately. Applicants must tell the truth, present all available evidence and cooperate. A child can apply in their own name or through a parent or responsible adult.

The first-instance procedure lasts as a rule six months from the application. It can be extended by three months, to nine, for complex cases, many simultaneous claims or delays caused by the applicant, and in justified circumstances by a further three months; if the situation in the country of origin is temporarily unclear, the decision can be postponed with reviews every six months, but must be taken within 21 months at most. The decision recognises refugee status, grants subsidiary protection, rejects the claim or discontinues the procedure, and a refusal states the reasons and how to appeal.

Clearly founded claims and claims considered unfounded or inadmissible can be decided in an accelerated procedure, as a rule within 30 days. Unfounded cases include claims raising only irrelevant issues, applicants from a country on the safe-country-of-origin list, false information or documents, deliberately destroyed identity papers and clearly contradictory statements. The concepts of first country of asylum and safe third country also apply. The accelerated procedure for negative decisions does not apply to unaccompanied children or people with limited mental capacity.

Recognised refugees and people with subsidiary protection may live in Kosovo as long as their status lasts and enjoy the same level of rights as citizens in social assistance, basic shelter, health care, education, employment and vocational training, integration support, access to courts, free legal aid and property ownership. They must be informed of their rights within 15 days of recognition. They receive a residence permit, valid for at least three years for refugees, and a travel document for refugees or for persons with subsidiary protection. They can bring close family members under the family reunification rules without meeting the means and insurance conditions, and after five years of status they can apply for permanent residence.

Applicants have the right to stay in Kosovo until a final decision, together with family members who arrived with them, and to move freely within the country. They may live in the Asylum Centre, at another place assigned by the department or at an address of their choice at their own cost, and receive housing, food and clothing in kind, as allowances or vouchers, plus a daily allowance. They are entitled to emergency and essential health care, basic social assistance, free legal aid if they lack means, freedom of religion and vocational training. Children must have access to primary and secondary school within three months of the application. Applicants may work if no first-instance decision has been taken nine months after the claim and the delay is not their fault. The applicant's identity card serves as a residence permit during the procedure.

Applying for protection is not in itself a reason for detention. The department may detain an applicant only after an individual assessment and when less coercive measures do not work, for example to establish identity, for security reasons or when a claim appears to be made only to delay a return; children are detained only as a last resort. Detention or restrictions on movement can be challenged at the Basic Court within seven working days.

A first-instance decision can be appealed to the National Commission for Refugees within 15 days of notification, or within seven days for decisions taken in the accelerated procedure. The appeal can be based on procedural or legal errors, wrong or incomplete facts, or new substantial facts, and may be sent by fax if the original follows. The Commission decides as a rule within 30 days, or 15 days for unfounded and inadmissible cases, and can confirm, annul or change the decision. Its decision can be challenged by a lawsuit at the competent court. Both the appeal and the lawsuit suspend removal. A person who missed the deadline for a good reason can ask for reinstatement within ten days, and after a final refusal a new application with new evidence is examined first in a preliminary review.

Officials at the border, police stations and detention facilities must inform people about where and how to apply. The Asylum Centre staff explain the procedure and how to reach free legal aid, which is provided by lawyers or refugee-assistance organisations under the Law on Free Legal Aid, and UNHCR. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is at Rruga Luan Haradinaj, Pristina, and its department responsible for asylum can be reached through the Ministry's published contacts.