Author
The asylum procedure starts with a foreigner´s declaration that he or she seeks international protection in Slovakia, made to the competent police department under the competence of the BBFP PFP.[1] The national legislation does not distinguish between making, registering and lodging an asylum application. These three steps overlap in most cases. The competent police department is under an obligation to record the declaration on an official form – Declaration of Foreigner (Vyhlásenie cudzinca).[2] The form contains personal information about the applicant, including a brief description of the reasons for submitting the asylum application. Subsequently, the police department must send the filled form to the determining authority without delay; however, the law does not set any specific time limit.
The determining authority competent to take decisions on asylum applications at first instance is the MO. After lodging the asylum application, the employee designated by the MO conducts an entry interview during which the asylum applicant must provide the requested information truthfully and completely to enable the MO to decide on the application.[3] The asylum application may be decided solely based on the information provided during the entry interview, or the MO may decide to conduct supplementary interview(s). The MO must make a decision on the asylum application in a due time and without unnecessary delays, no later than 6 months after the commencement of the procedure. The decision-making time limit may be extended up to a total of 12 months, provided that the conditions set out by law are met.[4] The only exception is a decision rejecting the asylum application as manifestly unfounded, which may be issued only within 60 days from the commencement of the asylum procedure.[5] The possible outcomes of the asylum procedure are:
- Decision on granting asylum (Article 8 of the Asylum Act),
- Decision on provision of subsidiary protection (Article 13a of the Asylum Act),
- Decision on granting asylum for the purpose of family reunification (Article 10 of the Asylum Act),
- Decision on provision of subsidiary protection for the purpose of family reunification (Article 13a of the Asylum Act),
- Decision on granting asylum on humanitarian grounds (Article 9 of the Asylum Act),
- Decision refusing to grant asylum and subsidiary protection (Article13 and Article 13c of the Asylum Act),
- Decision on rejecting the asylum application as inadmissible (Article 11 of the Asylum Act) – such a decision is also issued in case the MO determines that another State is responsible for examining the asylum application,
- Decision on rejecting the asylum application as manifestly unfounded (Article 12 of the Asylum Act),
- Decision on termination of the asylum procedure (Article 19 of the Asylum Act).
First instance decisions of the MO may be appealed by submitting an administrative appeal to the administrative courts (Administrative Court in Bratislava or Administrative Court in Košice). Administrative appeal must be filed within 30 days of the notification of the decision.[6] In case of a decision on rejecting the application as inadmissible or manifestly unfounded, a decision on transfer of the applicant to another state and a decision on termination of asylum procedure, the administrative appeal must be filed within 20 days from the notification of the decision. Generally, the submission of an administrative appeal has an automatic suspensive effect,[7] with exceptions laid down in Article 21 of the Asylum Act. If the automatic suspensive effect of the administrative appeal is excluded by the Asylum Act, administrative courts still have the right to grant the suspensive effect upon the applicant´s request (not ex officio).[8] Such a request must be submitted together with the administrative appeal, and the administrative court must decide on it within 15 days of its submission.
Judgments of the administrative courts may be reviewed by the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic, acting as a court of cassation. A cassation complaint must be filed within one month of the notification of the administrative court´s decision. The cassation court examines only points of law.
Return decisions and decisions in asylum proceedings are issued by two different state authorities: the e BBFP PFP and the MO, respectively. The decisions are not issued jointly. If the applicant is not granted international protection and there is no other legal basis for residing in the territory of Slovakia, the police department issues a decision on administrative expulsion and, where applicable, an entry ban to Slovakia and other Schengen States.
[1] Article 3(1) of the Asylum Act.
[2] Article 3(3) of the Asylum Act.
[3] Article 4(1) of the Asylum Act.
[4] Article 20(1) of the Asylum Act.
[5] Article 12(3) of the Asylum Act.
[6] Article 211(1) of the AJC.
[7] Article 213(1) of the AJC.
[8] Article 213(2) of the AJC.