Author
General (scope, grounds for accelerated procedures, time limits)
The Asylum Act does not provide for a separate accelerated procedure; however, under circumstances defined by law, the MO may, in regular procedure, reject the asylum application as manifestly unfounded. The asylum application may be rejected as manifestly unfounded only within 60 days from the beginning of the asylum procedure.[1] Upon the expiry of this time period, the MO must continue the regular procedure. The asylum application of an UAM cannot, under any exception, be rejected as manifestly unfounded.[2]
According to Article 12(1) of the Asylum Act, the MO, within the regular procedure, rejects the asylum application as manifestly unfounded if the applicant:
- substantiates his or her application with reasons that are not relevant for granting asylum, subsidiary protection or for granting national protection status (asylum for the purpose of family reunification or subsidiary protection for the purpose of family reunification),
- comes from a safe country of origin. This does not apply if that country cannot be considered safe in the applicant’s case.
According to Article 12(2) of the Asylum Act, the determining authority may also reject the asylum application as manifestly unfounded if the applicant does not meet the conditions for granting asylum or subsidiary protection or for granting national protection status (asylum for the purpose of family reunification or subsidiary protection for the purpose of family reunification) and:
- entered the territory of Slovakia irregularly and, without a serious reason, did not apply for international protection immediately upon entry,
- refused to submit his or her fingerprints,
- provided false information or documents, forged or altered documents, or withheld essential information or documents important for the asylum procedure with the intention of hindering the assessment of the application,
- justified the application with statements that are manifestly irrelevant, contradictory, false, or improbable, and which are inconsistent with verified country of origin information,
- it is likely that the applicant has destroyed or disposed of his or her travel document or other identity document with the intention of creating a false identity in the procedure or otherwise hindering the assessment of the application,
- submitted the application solely for the purpose of averting an imminent threat of expulsion from Slovakia,
- submitted a subsequent application, but the determining authority cannot reject the application as inadmissible because the facts of the case changed substantively,
- poses a threat to the security of the Slovak Republic,
- poses a threat to society.
The authority that issues the decision to reject the asylum application as manifestly unfounded is the same as in the regular procedure. In 2025, the MO rejected one asylum application as manifestly unfounded.[3]
Personal interview
The interview of an asylum seeker is mandatory, also before issuing the decision to reject the application as manifestly unfounded, and is conducted by the determining authority in the same way as described under Regular Procedure: Personal Interview.
Appeal
The decision to reject the asylum application as manifestly unfounded may be appealed by filing an administrative appeal to the administrative courts. The administrative appeal must be filed within 20 days of the notification of such a decision.[4] Filling the administrative appeal against the decision to reject the application as manifestly unfounded does not have an automatic suspensive effect. The only exception to this rule occurs if the decision to reject the application as manifestly unfounded was issued on the ground that the applicant entered the territory of Slovakia irregularly and, without a serious reason, did not apply for international protection immediately upon entry (Article 12(2)(a) of the Asylum Act). The claimant may request the granting of the suspensive effect of the administrative appeal. Such a request must be filed together with the administrative appeal, and the administrative court must decide on it within 15 days of its submission.[5] Otherwise, the appeal system, including the time limits for issuing the decision, oral hearing and onward appeal, is the same as in the Regular Procedure: Appeal.
Legal assistance
Free legal assistance for asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected as manifestly unfounded is provided under the same conditions and in the same context as described in Regular Procedure: Legal assistance. The free legal assistance is guaranteed only in an appeal procedure by the Centre for Legal Aid. Legal assistance in the first instance and appeal procedure is predominantly provided by NGOs (mainly HRL and SHC), which are funded through projects.
[1] Article 12(3) of the Asylum Act.
[2] Article 12(4) of the Asylum Act.
[3] The Response of the MO to a request for information submitted on 11 March 2026.
[4] Article 211(2) of the AJC.
[5] Article 213(2) of the AJC.