During 2018, 8,436 persons expressed intention to seek asylum and to submit an asylum application in the Republic of Serbia. This represents an increase relative to 2017 when 6,199 persons intending to seek asylum were registered in the same period.
Of the number of persons who expressed intention to seek asylum and to submit an asylum application in Serbia in 2018, 7,507 were men and 929 were women. According to the age structure, 2,475 were children of whom 700 unaccompanied and separated children. The majority of unaccompanied and separated children arrived from Afghanistan (568), Pakistan (74) and Iran (18).
Throughout the year, the number of persons who expressed intention to seek asylum and to submit an asylum application was almost consistent by month, and so 427 persons applied in January, 594 in February, 710 in March, 642 in April, 582 in May, 739 in June, 1,021 in July, 856 in August, 628 in September, 700 in October, 752 in November and 785 in December.
Most of the foreigners who expressed intention to seek asylum i.e., to submit an asylum application in Serbia in 2018 were nationals of Afghanistan (2,627), followed by Pakistan (1,838), Iran (1,627), Iraq (803) and Syria (460). In addition to these, the countries of origin of asylum-seekers were also Bangladesh (218), India (184), Libya (147), Palestine (103), Algeria (81), Somalia (70), Morocco (48), Tunisia (30), Turkey (21), Lebanon Ghana, Sri Lanka (18), Eritrea (15), Nepal (12), Russia (11), Cameroon and Nigeria (9), Yemen (7), Guinea (6), Egypt, China, DR Congo, Kuwait and Mali (4), Albania and Bulgaria (3), FYR Macedonia, Burundi, Israel, Kazakhstan, Rwanda, Myanmar, Ivory Coast, Romania, Ukraine and Vietnam (2) and Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Gabon , Greece, the Netherlands, Croatia, Jordan, Qatar, Cuba, Liberia, Peru, Sudan and Zimbabwe (1 each).
During 2018, 327 persons submitted asylum applications. The majority were nationals of Iran (190), followed by Afghanistan (27), Pakistan (25) and Iraq (18). The Asylum Office interviewed 176 people in the asylum procedure during the same period. In all, 25 asylum applications were upheld, 38 applications for 45 persons were dismissed and 23 asylum applications for 25 persons were rejected. The procedures were suspended in 128 cases for 178 persons, most often because the asylum-seekers had left Serbia or the place of residence in the meantime.
Of the 25 applications upheld, refugee status was granted in 11 cases, and subsidiary protection was granted in 14 cases. Refugee status was granted to nationals of Afghanistan (5), Iran (5) and Nigeria (1). Subsidiary protection was granted to the nationals of Libya (10), Bangladesh (1), Pakistan (1), Syria (1) and Somalia (1). Most of the applications dismissed on the merits were submitted by the nationals of Pakistan (14) and Ghana (7), while the majority of those rejected had been filed by nationals of Afghanistan (6) and Pakistan (5).
The Asylum Office granted refugee status to 55 persons and subsidiary protection to 74 persons since establishment of the national asylum system in 2008 and until 31 December 2018.
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