Author
Asylum seekers acquire the right to free access to the labour market nine months after they have lodged their application if the decision in their procedure has not yet been taken by the Migration directorate and the delay cannot be attributed to the asylum seeker.[1]
Once asylum seekers have the right to free access to the labour market, they can access self-employment, employment and work without meeting other requirements such as consent to the single residence permit and work permit or EU Blue Card or seasonal work permit. The Ministry of Interior only issues them a notice stating that they meet the above-mentioned conditions.[2]
In practice, asylum seekers face systematic and practical obstacles when searching for work and employment such as the language barrier, cultural differences, lack of certificates bringing evidence of education, lack of work experience, medical problems, discrimination, structural imbalances in the labour market and lack of employers’ trust.[3] In addition, asylum seekers are often unable to open the bank accounts that will be necessary if they obtain employment, as Slovenian banks are reluctant to accept asylum seekers as their clients. The statistics on the number of employed asylum seekers are not available.
When the UOIM was established in 2017, one of its responsibilities was integration of asylum seekers into the labour market. In practice, NGOs also help asylum seekers find employment. The employment offices in Ljubljana and Maribor also employ special staff who are responsible for asylum seekers and other migrants.
After nine months, applicants are also allowed access to vocational training.[4] In practice asylum seekers prefer to find employment and enter vocational training after obtaining international protection.
[1] Article 87(1) IPA.
[2] Article 6 Employment, Self-Employment and Work of Foreigners Act, Official Gazette of RS, No. 47/15 and 10/17.
[3] EMN, Focused Study: Integration of beneficiaries of international/humanitarian protection into the labour market, 2015, available at: https://bit.ly/3Y914mf.
[4] Article 87(2) IPA.