Author
In principle, there is no differential treatment of asylum seekers coming from different countries and the challenges of the national asylum system equally affects almost all foreign nationals who seek international protection in Serbia. In general, the quality of the credibility assessments realised in 2023 significantly deteriorated, to the point of risking affecting the overall effectiveness of the asylum system.
However, in the past there have been several cases in which certain nationalities or persons claiming specific grounds were easily recognized as refugees by the Asylum Office. More recently, however, it became impossible to obtain international protection on identical or similar grounds. These trends have been observed in the past 16 years, and were characterised by large groups of nationals from the same countries who had been applying for asylum due to flexible visa regimes with their countries of origin (Iran and Burundi) or close ties which implied cooperation in the field of education (e.g. Libyans).
For instance, Iranian converts from Islam to Christianity were granted refugee protection without major problems in the period 2016-2019, while afterwards it became impossible to be recognized on those grounds. To put it in more simple words, the same people who were granted refugee status on the basis of their conversion from Islam to Christianity in the period 2016-2019, would likely see their asylum applications rejected as unfounded in the present. Something similar can be outlined in relation to Tutsi political activists from Burundi or people perceived to be politically active against the major ruling party in this country. They were able to obtain international protection quite easily in the period 2017-2019, after which the restrictive approach was gradually increasing (as the number of applicants was increasing), to the moment in which in 2023, it was impossible to obtain asylum for people claiming political (political opposition) and ethnic persecution (Tutsi) in Burundi. Regardless of the quality of evidence provided (which sometimes includes forensic medical examinations, witness statements, corroborative CoI), Burundian nationals are currently rejected when seeking asylum in Serbia, which is a shift in practice, the reason for which is not evident when taking into account the previous practice. It should be highlighted that this shift occurred at the same time as Serbia introduced a visa regime for Burundian nationals, in April 2023.
It is also important to note that based on current practice, Turkish nationals, who could be political activists, journalists, academics, members of Fetullah Gulen movement, activists of Kurdish origin and others have no prospect of receiving international protection.
In 2022, and for the first time in the history of the Serbian asylum system, temporary protection has been introduced as a form of international protection for refugees fleeing Ukraine. This can only be described as differential treatment and in relation to more then million Syrians who transited through Serbia in 2015/2016 but the temporary protection system was not triggered.
Since the entry into force of the Asylum Act in 2008, the asylum authorities in Serbia have issued 165 decisions granting asylum (refugee status of subsidiary protection) to 234 persons from 28 different countries,[1] including from Libya (47), Syria (39), Afghanistan (33), Iran (20), Iraq (16), Ukraine (15), Cuba (13), Burundi (10), Sudan (5), Somalia (5), Pakistan (4), Ethiopia (3), Russia (3), Cameroon (3), DR Congo (3), Nigeria (2), Türkiye (2), Stateless (2), Egypt (1), Tunisia (1), South Sudan (1), Lebanon (1), Kazakhstan (1), Bangladesh (1), China (1), Mali (1), Niger (1) and India (1)
For detailed information on the practice regarding each nationality, please see Regular Procedure – General.
[1] The author of this Report has collected 153 out of 165 decisions. The number of decisions and applicants was counted by the author of this Report and on the basis of a unique database which is established in IDEAS. Namely, the official number of persons who received international protection in Serbia is 248. However, this number includes the cases which were not final in the given year. For instance, there is at least 7 asylum procedures in which legal representatives appealed the decision on subsidiary protection claiming that their clients are entitled to a refugee status. The Asylum Commission or Administrative Court upheld appeals and onward appeals respectively and sent the case back to the Asylum Office. However, the Asylum Office issued the same decision, granting subsidiary protection, with regards to the same persons. The lawyers appealed again. There were instances in which 1 person received 3 decisions on subsidiary protection in the period of 7 years and was eventually granted refugee status. However, it is possible that the statistics provided by the author of this Report are not 100% accurate. Still, the author believes that this is the most accurate statistics which can be provided for now and potential variations cannot be higher than maximum 3 decisions regarding 3 applicants.