general overview | resource documents | contacts
1. Migration
During 80's and early 90's economic factors caused migration from other parts of former Yugoslavia to Slovenia, which had been mainly a transit area. Nevertheless, Slovenia is becoming a target country as well, not only for economic migrants and asylum seekers, but also for so called "illegal migrants".
In 2005 and 2006 international migration flows in Slovenia intensified; in 2006 Slovenia recorded the most intensive migration changes since 1994. Compared to the average in 2000-2004, in 2006 almost 2.5-times more people immigrated to Slovenia or emigrated from it: 20,016 people immigrated (18,251 of them were foreigners and 1,765 were citizens of the Republic of Slovenia) and 13,749 people emigrated (11,046 of them were foreigners and 2,703 were citizens of the Republic of Slovenia). In 2005 and 2006 the most frequent reason for migration was the possibility of (better) employment or the possibility to perform seasonal work: in 2005 62.0% of all foreign migrants moved due to this reason and in 2006 74.1%. Among people immigrating to Slovenia from EU Member States those coming from Slovakia prevail representing 20% of all EU immigrants in 2005 and 25.8% of all EU immigrants in 2006. Most of the foreign immigrants came to live in Slovenia for less than a year.
Of all foreigners who immigrated to Slovenia, 85.3% were citizens of ex-Yugoslav republics. In Slovenia a constant annual increase of immigrated citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro has been recorded since 2000. In 2006 most of the 18,251 foreign citizens who immigrated to Slovenia were citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (7,871) and Serbia and Montenegro (4,447). In comparison with the previous year it is also recorded a slight increase in the number of immigrated foreigners-citizens of EU-25; in 2006, 1,339 of them immigrated to Slovenia. Yet, due to the significant increase in immigrated citizens of so called "third countries", citizens of EU-25 represented a smaller percentage of immigrated foreigners.
Among foreign citizens who immigrated to Slovenia men have noticeably outnumbered women since 1995. In 2006, among immigrated foreigners 80.7% were men and 19.3% were women.
In 2006, 2,703 Slovene nationals emigrated abroad, which is almost a third more than in the previous year. The highest number of them emigrated to Germany (19.6%) and Austria (17.4%).
There is one Detention Center in Slovenia placed near Postojna (Veliki Otok 44 Z, 6230 Postojna, ++386 5 701 34 40) which is under the supervision of the Slovene Ministry of Interior and under the direct administration of the Slovene police. In the center there is 58 employees, 41 of them are uniformed and 17 non-uniformed.
Number of settled migrants in Detention Center from 1992 till 2006 was like this:
1992 - 1.178
1993 - 2.797
1994 - 3.048
1995 - 2.403
1996 - 2.095
1997 - 3.747
1998 - 8.869
1999 - 15.559
2000 - 14.576
2001 - 10.034
2002 - 3.272
2003 - 1.908
2004 - 1.544
2005 - 1.639
2006 - 1.117
Source: Ministry of the Interior, Slovenia
Nationalities of migrants settled in Detention Center in 2005 and 2006 was like this:
Nationality 2005 2006
Serbia 564 489
Albania 287 240
Turkey 171 88
Moldova 159 34
Bosnia and Herzegovina 127 104
Macedonia 102 37
Romania 32 18
Bulgaria 27 6
India 19 1
Ukraine 16 20
Bangladesh 16 0
Pakistan 14 4
Russia 10 10
Iraq 10 2
Ecuador 0 1
other countries 85 62
Source: Ministry of the Interior, Slovenia
2. Asylum
There is one Asylum Home in Slovenia which is in Ljubljana (Cesta v Gorice 15, ++386 1 200 84 007).
Number of asylum applications from the year 1993 untill 2000 was as follows:
1993 - 7, 1994 - 30, 1997 - 72, 1999 - 744, 2000 - 9244 (source: Ministry of the Interior, Slovenia).
Until the end of the year 2000 only 14 asylum statuses have been granted. Slovenia is in the EU top by the number of applications for asylum and on the bottom by the number of approval. EU members' approval in average is 15% of all asylum requests.
Relation of number of requests and approve of status are like this:
Year Requested Approved
2001 1511 25
2002 640 3
2003 1066 37
2004 1173 39
2005 1597 26
2006 579 9 (1 by Geneve Convention, 8 by subsidiar protection)
2007 434 9 (2 by Geneve Convention, 7 by subsidiar protection)
Source: Ministry of the Interior, Slovenia
From 1991 onwards, there were about 70,000 people seeking temporary protection in Slovenia due to the wars in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. A new Law on Temporary Protection was adopted in July 1997, as well as a decree on the gaining of temporary protection for citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The conditions were modified in April 1998.
In June 1998, 4,201 displaced people were still registered in Slovenia. In addition, UNHCR estimates that 150 refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina remain in Slovenia without any kind of status. This decrease is composed of voluntary returnees to Bosnia, people who have left for third countries and people who have had the opportunity to regularize their status in Slovenia in a different way by getting work permits and temporary residence permits according to the law on foreigners.
3. Procedure and legal basis
The Republic of Slovenia has concluded agreements on readmission with all neighboring states (Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia). Besides Italy and Austria, other EU Member States with which Slovenia has concluded readmission agreements are Denmark, the Benelux states, France and Greece and, as regards non-EU Member States, the Swiss Confederation, Slovakia, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic. The readmission agreements signed with Canada, Romania and Germany deal only with nationals of the contracting countries. Agreements with Bulgaria, Latvia and Macedonia are in preparation.
The Republic of Slovenia ratified both the 1951 Geneva Convention and its Protocol of 1967 without any reservations. Refugee status is granted on the basis of the criteria of the Geneva Convention and the provisions of Article 34 of the Law on Foreigners, which stipulates that refugee status in the Republic of Slovenia may be ratified for a foreigner who has abandoned a country of which he is a citizen, or in which he had permanent residence as a person without citizenship, in order to avoid persecution because of his political opinion, his cultural or scientific activities or because of his national, racial or religious affiliations.
Designed on the EU model, Slovenian legislation is primarily restrictive. Primary legislation is based on Aliens Act (1999, amended in 2006) and International Protection Act which replaced the Law on Asylum (1999, amended in 2006). International Protection Act which came into force on 4th of January 2008 caused strong UNHCR's concern which has submitted during the drafting and legislative review process many detailed comments and suggestions to improve the draft law, but most of them were not accepted. New law, which transposing European Union asylum directives is actually reducing legal standards below international levels and restricting the prospects of asylum seekers to find protection in Slovenia. UNHCR has previously warned that the EU directives had already set minimum norms - some of them below international norms - and the UN refugee agency feared this could thus lead EU member states to subsequently lower their own national legal standards.
Slovenia has some of the lowest refugee recognition rates in Europe. Only one asylum seeker was recognized as a refugee in 2006, and two in 2007. Among the most worrying provisions of the new law is the increased substitution of accelerated procedures for full-scale asylum procedures. UNHCR believes accelerated procedures should only be applied in exceptional, specifically defined cases.
At some critical stages in the new asylum process, appeals do not have a suspensive effect. This means that even before their case has been properly evaluated, asylum seekers could find themselves returned to another country where their life or freedom may be threatened. In addition, the law foresees the widespread use of detention for asylum seekers, with no exemption for persons with special needs such as families with children.
- European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE): Memorandum to the Slovenian Presidency
Common European asylum system raises several concerns concerning asylum seekers and refugees in EU, including the fact the refugees and persons under temporary protection have fewer rights than other third-country nationals who are long-term residents in EU, lack of integration programs, extended use of detention, and lack of statuses of people who cannot be returned. These concerns are raised in a memorandum prepared by ECRE and addressed to the Republic of Slovenia for the period of the EU presidency.
- UNHCR Comments and Recommendations on the Proposed new Law on International Protection of the Republic of Slovenia
While asylum legislation follows the common EU asylum policy, the newly adopted International Protection Act, which transposes all EU asylum directives, raises some serious human rights concerns. The main one is the restricted access to asylum procedure, caused by accelerated procedures and possibilities to conduct procedures without a personal interview. Further, basic human rights of migrants are at stake due to extended possibilities of detention and the lack of free legal aid at the first instances of the asylum procedure. More information can be found in the UNHCR comments and recommendations on the proposed new Law on International Protection of the Republic of Slovenia (which in the meantime was adopted and entered into force).
- Border Monitoring in Slovenia Report (prepared by Peace Institute and Legal information Centre for NGOs - PIC)
The lack of unimpeded access of migrants to asylum procedure remains a serious human rights concern. For that reason border monitoring projects have evolved in a number of EU countries, strengthening the right of migrants to have their application taken by the border guards or other officials if they wish to apply for asylum. This is the report, prepared by the Peace Institute and Legal Information Centre for NGOs - PIC on the border monitoring project carried out in Slovenia.
- U.S. State Department: Country Report on human rights practices 2006 - Slovenia
In 2006 US state department reported on the lack of information provided for asylum seekers that fist instance decision could be appealed, and on the extensive detention measures imposed to the asylum seekers. This is an excerpt from the report:
"The law provides asylum seekers with the right to appeal decisions on their applications, but many asylum seekers were not informed of this right. The independent ombudsman for human rights and several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that the government put excessive restrictions on refugees' freedom of movement by requiring asylum seekers to sign a statement renouncing their claim to asylum if they left the premises of the asylum center."
- ECRI - European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (Council of Europe): Third Report on Slovenia adopted on 30 June 2006, made public on 13 February 2007
In its 2006 report ECRI examined the status of respect for human rights of asylum seekers and refugees in Slovenia, particularly the right to non-refoulement, the right to work, the right to free legal aid, health care, and integration.
[excerpt from the report] [full web document]
-
Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia Reports on asylum and alien centers
Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia, as a part of his regularly work visits prisons, psychiatric hospitals, asylum centers, alien centers and other institutions with restricted freedom of movement and following these visits he always produces a report on what should be improved in order for these people to be ensured of their human rights has not forgotten, either, about those that have been deprived of their liberty.
Ms. Mag. Neža Kogovšek, human rights lawyer
Organization: Peace Institute, Metelkova 6, SI-1000 Ljubljana
E-mail: neza.kogovsek(at)mirovni-institut.si
Phone: ++ 386 (0)1 234 77 33 (direct phone office), ++ 386 (0)1 234 77 20 (general phone office)
.
Ms. Dr. Mojca Pajnik, researcher on migration and trafficking
Organization: Peace Institute, Metelkova 6, SI-1000 Ljubljana
E-mail: mojca.pajnik(at)mirovni-institut.si
Phone: ++ 386 (0)1 234 77 20
.
Ms. Vita Habjan, asylum lawyer and managing director
Organization: Legal Information Centre for Non-Governmental Organizations - PIC, Povšetova 37, SI-1000 Ljubljana
E-mail: vita.habjan(at)pic.si
Phone: ++ 386 (0)41 897 476 (cell), ++ 386 (0)1 587 42 76 (office)
Ms. Sonja Sikošek, asylum lawyer
Organization: Legal Information Centre for Non-Governmental Organizations - PIC, Povšetova 37, SI-1000 Ljubljana
E-mail: sonja.sikosek(at)pic.si
Phone: ++ 386 (0)41 693 105 (cell)
Mr. Mag. Franci Zlatar, head of Centre for Psycho-Social Assistance for asylum seekers and refugees
Organization: Slovene Philanthropy - Association for Promotion of Voluntary Work, Poljanska 12, SI-1000 Ljubljana
E-mail: franci.zlatar(at)filantropija.org or info(at)filantropija.org,
Phone: ++ 386 (0)1 430 12 88 (office), ++ 386 (0)51 351 340 (cell)
Mr. Mag. Matevž Krivic, former Constitutional Court judge, lawyer working on cases of erased and asylum seekers
E-mail: m.krivic(at)siol.net
Phone: ++ 386 (0)31 626 914