Author
The Asylum Act foresees that persons granted asylum in Serbia shall be equal to permanently-residing foreigners with respect to the right to work and rights arising from employment and entrepreneurship.[1] The Asylum Act guarantees equality in the rights and obligations of persons granted refugee status with those of persons granted subsidiary protection.[2] The Integration Decree further foresees assistance in accessing the labour market as an integral part of integration.
The assistance is to be provided by the Commissariat for Refugees and Migrations and is to form part of every individual beneficiary of refugee status’ integration plan. In 2023, the CRM to design integration plans. The total number of plans designed was 53 and in relation to the individuals granted asylum in the period 2019-2023.[3]
What is also a positive legislative development in 2023 is the amendment of the EFA which simplified access to labour market and abolished the issuance of working permits. Right to work now is guaranteed now for every asylum seeker after the expiry of 6 months only with the certificate of asylum request being submitted by the Asylum Office in a simple procedure, alongside EBS number certificate.[4] The same is valid for people granted asylum who need to obtain EBS number certificate as well as the certificate of being granted asylum. Refugees and asylum seekers do not need to pay for fees anymore.[5]
In spite of the fact that, under the law, persons granted asylum in Serbia should not face significant challenges in accessing the labour market, finding employment is difficult in practice, especially bearing in mind the language barrier that exists between most of these persons and the local community.
It is important to highlight that the Asylum Act imposes upon beneficiaries an obligation to attend classes in Serbian language and script. If the beneficiary fails to do so without a justified reason 15 days from the date of the effectiveness of the decision granting them the right to asylum or stops attending such courses, they shall lose the right to financial assistance for temporary accommodation, as well as the right to one-time financial assistance provided from the budget of the Republic of Serbia.[6]
It should also be added that the National Employment Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for 2011-2020 identifies a number of vulnerable groups, the improvement of whose status with regard to the labour market is to be prioritised in the relevant timeframe.[7] Unfortunately, refugees and asylum seekers are not specifically mentioned as a group whose increased access to employment is a national objective, which is striking bearing in mind the fact that the Strategy covers refugees from other former Yugoslav republics and internally displaced persons. However, a number of identified groups, including persons with disabilities, persons with a low level of education, the young and elderly, women and unemployed, still remain relevant for the current mixed-migration flow through Serbia.
It should be also borne in mind that support to access the labour market is solely provided by CSOs. In other words, State institutions still do not provide organised assistance to refugees for inclusion into the labour market, in contravention of the relevant provisions of the Integration Decree.[8]
[1] Article 65 Asylum Act.
[2] Article 59 Asylum Act.
[3] CRM Response to the request for the information on public importance no. 019-827/1-2024 of 29 April 2024.
[4] Article 3 (3) Employment of Foreigners Act.
[5] See more in AIDA, Country Report: Serbia – Update on the year 2022, May 2023, available here, 195-196.
[6] Article 59 Asylum Act.
[7] National Employment Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for 2011-2020, Official Gazette no. 37/11.
[8] Article 7 of the Integration Decree.