Asylum in Serbia: procedure and rights

Asylum in Serbia means the right of residence and protection given to a foreigner granted refuge or subsidiary protection. Refuge goes to a person with a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, sex, language, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; subsidiary protection to a person who would face serious harm if returned. In a mass influx, the Government can grant temporary protection by decision.

The Asylum Office, an organisational unit of the Ministry of the Interior, conducts the procedure and takes all first-instance decisions. The Asylum Commission, a chair and eight members appointed by the Government, decides on appeals. Final decisions can be challenged before the Administrative Court. The Commissariat for Refugees and Migration provides material reception conditions, runs the asylum centres and organises integration and voluntary return programmes.

You express the intention to seek asylum, orally or in writing, to an authorised police officer of the Ministry of the Interior during a border check on entry or anywhere inside Serbia; exceptionally you can do it at an asylum centre, another designated facility or the reception centre for foreigners. The law does not provide for claims at Serbian embassies abroad. The police register you at once, take your photograph and fingerprints (not from children reliably under 14), may search you and your belongings for identity documents, and issue a registration certificate.

You must hand over passports, ID cards, visas, residence permits, birth certificates, tickets and other relevant documents. After registration you are referred to an asylum centre or other facility and must report there within 72 hours; the Commissariat confirms your arrival on the certificate. Failing to report without a justified reason, or leaving the centre before the deadline for the application, brings you under the ordinary rules on foreigners.

The procedure starts when you submit the asylum application on the prescribed form to an authorised officer of the Asylum Office, at the latest within 15 days of registration. If the Office does not let you do so in time, you may fill in the form yourself within eight days after that deadline. You must be present in person even if an authorised representative files for you. Before you apply, the authority tells you about your rights, in particular to residence, a free interpreter, legal aid and access to UNHCR.

A trained officer interviews you as early as possible about your identity, the grounds of your claim, your travel routes since leaving your country and any earlier asylum claims elsewhere; on request, the interview is held by a person or through an interpreter of the same sex unless that is not possible. A UNHCR representative may attend if you do not object. In the regular procedure a decision is due within three months of the application. The deadline can be extended by three months for complex cases or many simultaneous claims, and by a further three months if needed for a complete assessment. A subsequent application is decided within 15 days.

A person granted asylum has the rights to residence, accommodation, freedom of movement, health care, education on equal terms with Serbian nationals, labour market access, legal aid, social assistance, property, freedom of religion, family reunification, personal documents and integration assistance, and must attend Serbian language classes. Accommodation is provided within Serbia’s means for up to one year from the decision, as housing or financial help, unless the person has money of their own. After more than three continuous years with asylum while living in Serbia and holding a valid asylum ID card, permanent residence can be requested.

Applicants have the right to reside and move freely in Serbia during the procedure, to material reception conditions, social assistance, health care, primary and secondary education, personal documents, a free interpreter, and to be informed of their rights and obligations, including on reception conditions within 15 days of applying. They can use free legal aid and representation from organisations that assist asylum seekers and from UNHCR. Labour market access follows the law on employment of foreigners. Minor applicants get access to education immediately and at the latest within three months.

The Commissariat for Refugees and Migration accommodates applicants in asylum centres, such as Banja Koviljača, Bogovađa, Sjenica, Tutin and Krnjača in Belgrade, and in other designated facilities, where residents receive a bed, bedding, hygiene items, clothing and meals. Applicants must report a change of address to the Asylum Office in writing within three days and follow the house rules.

A first-instance decision of the Asylum Office can be appealed to the Asylum Commission within 15 days of receipt, unless the law sets another deadline; certain decisions taken in specific procedures carry an eight-day deadline. The appeal suspends enforcement of the decision. Final decisions of the Commission can be challenged in an administrative dispute before the Administrative Court.

The Commissariat for Refugees and Migration is at Narodnih heroja 4, 11070 Belgrade, telephone +381 11 311 72 72. The asylum centres it runs are the first contact point after registration. Free legal aid is available from organisations that assist asylum seekers and from UNHCR, as stated in the law.