Safe country of origin

Author

Human Rights League

Article 2(l) of the Asylum Act defines a safe country of origin as a stable State governed by the rule of law with a democratic system, of the foreigner’s citizenship or, in the case of a stateless person, of the foreigner´s former residence:

• in which the State power protects human rights and fundamental freedoms and ensures their observance,
• which is, in general, not left by its citizens or stateless persons residing in it for the reasons of persecution or serious harm
• which ratified and complies with international treaties on human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
• which allows performance of activities by legal entities overseeing the observance of human rights in the country.

Apart from the legal definition of ’safe country of origin’, there is no public information on the procedure followed for the designation of countries or the criteria for the designation of safe countries of origin that are taken into consideration.

The safe country of origin is recognised by national legislation as a ground for rejecting the application as manifestly unfounded.[1] The decision may be issued within 60 days from starting the asylum procedure, and if the time limit is not respected, the application can no longer be rejected as manifestly unfounded.[2] The determining authority cannot reject the application as manifestly unfounded in case the applicant comes from a safe country of origin, but the country in his or her case cannot be considered as a safe country of origin.[3] The conditions for accessing legal aid and reviewing the decision on rejecting the application as manifestly unfounded are the same as described in the Accelerated Procedure.

Article 53 of the Asylum Act provides that the Slovak Government shall issue a list of countries which it considers safe countries of origin and safe third countries. The list of safe countries of origin was thus set by the Regulation of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 716/2002 (Regulation of the Government No. 716/2002). The list is, however, not used in practice, mainly due to the fact that there are generally no applications submitted by asylum seekers coming from countries designated as safe countries of origin. Currently, the following countries are included in the list of safe countries of origin:

The list does not mention any exceptions for specific geographical areas or profiles of asylum seekers within a country of origin.

The process of reviewing the conditions in the countries designated as safe countries of origin is not clear.   Lastly, the list was updated in July 2013, when the Commonwealth of Australia and Montenegro were added to the list, and Croatia was removed from the list.

The safe country of origin concept is not applied in practice. In 2025, the MO did not issue any decision rejecting an application as manifestly unfounded under Article 12(1)(b) of the Asylum Act.[4]

[1]          Article 12(1)(b) of the Asylum Act.

[2]          Article 12(3) of the Asylum Act.

[3]          Article 12(1)(b) of the Asylum Act.

[4]          The Response of the MO to a request for information submitted on 11 March 2026.