{"id":5669,"date":"2026-07-12T18:02:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T16:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/?p=5669"},"modified":"2026-07-12T18:02:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T16:02:54","slug":"legal-assistance-to-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-in-serbia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/legal-assistance-to-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-in-serbia\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Assistance to Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Serbia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

IDEAS, in partnership with UNHCR, implements a project providing free legal aid to refugees, asylum seekers and persons in Serbia who are in need of international protection and at risk of refoulement. The project covers access to territory and the asylum procedure, legal counselling and representation, support in obtaining documentation and exercising rights, strategic litigation, information provision and advocacy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Context and objective<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Serbia lies on the Balkan route. In the first eleven months of 2025, 537 people expressed the intention to seek asylum in Serbia, while 114 lodged asylum applications. Those seeking protection in Serbia are people who left their countries of origin because of persecution, armed conflict or serious human rights violations, and who see here safety and a chance to continue their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The asylum procedure is legally complex and can take a long time, and support remains necessary after protection is granted, during inclusion in society and the exercise of rights. Qualified legal assistance therefore plays a key role: it enables people to access the procedure, contributes to the fair examination of every claim, and helps those granted protection to exercise their rights in practice, obtain the necessary documents and lead an independent life in Serbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The objective of the project is to provide beneficiaries with free legal aid and representation in the asylum procedure and other related procedures, and to contribute to the application of domestic and international standards in the field of asylum and protection from refoulement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project activities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Information on the right to asylum. <\/strong>Information on the right to asylum is available in several languages on the IDEAS website and social media and is regularly updated in line with changes in legislation and procedures. Once a month, the legal team visits asylum and reception centres to advise asylum seekers in person, and printed information materials are available in the centres in cooperation with UNHCR and partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Access to territory and the asylum procedure. <\/strong>Legal counsellors provide urgent information and consultations to persons deprived of liberty in airport transit zones when there is a risk of return to the country of origin or a third country. The team assesses the risk of a violation of the principle of non-refoulement<\/em>, gathers the facts needed for domestic or international legal submissions, and responds through a dedicated telephone line. In cooperation with UNHCR, support is also provided in cases where people are forcibly returned across the border without an individual assessment of their international protection needs (pushbacks<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representation in the asylum procedure. <\/strong>In cases where IDEAS takes over representation, legal counsellors provide information on the right to asylum, prepare the application, gather evidence and country-of-origin information, and prepare the client for the hearing before the Asylum Office. Against negative decisions they lodge appeals with the Asylum Commission and, where necessary, engage an attorney to conduct administrative dispute proceedings before the Administrative Court. Throughout the procedure they maintain regular contact with clients and monitor deadlines and changes in legal status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Documentation and access to rights. <\/strong>IDEAS helps refugees and asylum seekers obtain identity cards, travel documents, the foreigner registration number certificate (EBS) and permanent residence. Where asylum is not an available legal option but there are lasting international protection needs or particular vulnerability, the team, within available resources, assists in regulating temporary residence on humanitarian or other grounds. As agreed with UNHCR, IDEAS also contributes to the collection of data on protection needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategic litigation. <\/strong>Where necessary, IDEAS initiates strategic proceedings in cases that point to systemic problems in the protection of the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. In appropriate cases, constitutional appeals are lodged with the Constitutional Court, applications with the European Court of Human Rights and submissions to United Nations treaty bodies, particularly concerning the prohibition of refoulement, the prohibition of collective expulsion and the right to liberty and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocacy. <\/strong>Within the project, IDEAS produces a report on the respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of persons in need of international protection in the Republic of Serbia. It takes part in public consultations on asylum and migration legislation, addresses recommendations to the competent authorities for the improvement of practice, and cooperates with the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partnership and support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The project is implemented in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IDEAS, in partnership with UNHCR, implements a project providing free legal aid to refugees, asylum seekers and persons in Serbia who are in need of international protection and at risk of refoulement. The project covers access to territory and the asylum procedure, legal counselling and representation, support in obtaining documentation and exercising rights, strategic litigation, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"grupa":[136],"intervencija":[],"program":[],"vrsta-sadrzaja":[],"class_list":["post-5669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","grupa-izbeglice-i-trazioci-azila"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5669"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5670,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5669\/revisions\/5670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5669"},{"taxonomy":"grupa","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/grupa?post=5669"},{"taxonomy":"intervencija","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/intervencija?post=5669"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=5669"},{"taxonomy":"vrsta-sadrzaja","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideje.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vrsta-sadrzaja?post=5669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}