Author
The Asylum Act foresees several alternatives to detention, which will be imposed based on an individual assessment prior to detention. Alternatives to detention are the following:
- Prohibition on leaving the Asylum Centre, a particular address, or a designated area;[1]
- Obligation to report at specified times to the regional police department, or police station, depending on the place of residence;[2]
- Temporary seizure of a travel document.[3]
The above-stated measures can last as long as there are Grounds for Detention under Article 87 of the Asylum Act and for a period not longer than 3 months, which can exceptionally be extended for an additional 3 months. An asylum seeker who has violated residence or reporting obligations can be detained in the Detention Centre for Foreigners.[4] The Asylum Office is the authority in charge of ordering alternatives to detention with regard to asylum seekers.
Such measures, however, have never been taken in practice, including in 2023. In general, Serbia can still be considered a country that does not resort to systematic detention of asylum seekers or other foreigners that might be in need of international protection. Still, those detention decisions which were issued in 2023 did not motivate the reasons for which alternatives to detention were not applied.
Alternatives to detention is also possible in line with Article 93 of Foreigners Act. This provision enables the MoI to issue a decision imposing mandatory stay in a particular place (mandatory stay) if the foreign national would hinder to the possibilities for competent authority for to execute the forcible removal. It is also provided that such a measure is to be taken in compliance with the principle of proportionality, taking into consideration whether the mandatory stay is the less intrusive measure for the foreign national concerned.
Mandatory stay may be approved for a period of up to one year and may be extended for an additional year, depending on the persistence of the reasons for which the mandatory stay is ordered. A foreign national under a measure of mandatory stay, must remain at a particular address and report to the competent authority in accordance with the schedule stated in the decision on mandatory stay. When there are valid reasons, the competent authority may issue a decision approving that the foreigner temporarily leaves the place of mandatory stay. If a foreign national obstructs his forced removal or does not respect the schedule of reporting, he can be detained in an immigration detention facility. It is possible to challenge this decision before the MoI as the second instance, and before the Administrative Court as the third instance. A foreigner under the measure of mandatory stay and who has no travel document shall be issued a temporary identity card.
[1] Article 78(1)(1) Asylum Act.
[2] Article 78(1)(2) Asylum Act.
[3] Article 78(1)(5) Asylum Act.
[4] Article 79 Asylum Act.