Author
Under the new Asylum Act, the Republic of Serbia shall ensure conditions for naturalisation of refugees, commensurate to its capacity.[1] The conditions, the procedure and other issues relevant to their naturalisation shall be defined by the Government on a proposal by CRM.[2] Until 2023, the Citizenship Act[3] and Foreigners Act were not harmonised with the Asylum Act. For that reason, the issue of naturalisation was one the questions put forward by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2019.[4] Thus, none of these two acts recognised foreigners granted asylum as persons who are entitled to acquire Serbian citizenship. The relevant amendments of the Foreigners Act were adopted in 2023 changing the situation.
The amended Foreigners Act introduced the new provision which allows persons granted asylum to apply for permanent residency which is the final step before the possibility for obtaining citizenship. Namely, the Article 68a of the Foreigners Act prescribes that permanent residence will be granted to a foreigner who has resided in Serbia continuously for more than three years on the basis of the approved right to asylum. The conditions for applying for permanent residency are simple and they are basically related to the expiry of the three year period. General requirements from the Article 70 of the Foreigners Act are not imposed on persons granted asylum. First decisions on permanent residency have been granted in the first quarter of 2024.[5]
[1] Article 71(1) Asylum Act.
[2] Article 71(2) Asylum Act.
[3] Official Gazette no. 135/04, 90/7 and 24/18.
[4] CESCR, List of Issues in relation to the third periodic report of Serbia*, 12 November 2019, E/C.12/SRB/Q/3, para. 12.
[5] Practice-informed observation by IDEAS.