|Published on: 19th August 2025|Categories: News|
The updated AIDA Country Report on Slovenia provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2024. It is accompanied by an annex which provides an overview of temporary protection.
A number of key developments drawn from the overview of the main changes that have taken place since the publication of the update on 2023 are set out below.
(A) International protection
Asylum procedure
- Statistics: 44,383 people expressed an intention to apply for international protection in 2024 but only 5,634 applications were ultimately lodged (141 of them by unaccompanied minors). Most people (88%) absconded before registering and lodging their applications. The absconding rate amongst applicants who lodged their applications was also high (82%). 150 decisions granting refugee status and 34 subsidiary protection were issued in 2024. 33 of the 34 beneficiaries that were granted subsidiary protection were from Ukraine and 85% of the decisions issued were taken under the Dublin procedure.
- General developments: A new immigration strategy was adopted in March 2024. At the beginning of 2024, the government announced a plan to open two more branches of the ‘Asylum Home’ in Brežice and Središče ob Dravi. However, neither branch was opened by the end of the year due to strong opposition from local communities.
- Length of the procedure: The length of the procedure remained one of the systematic challenges in 2024. Applicants processed in the regular procedure had to wait up to two years for a first instance decision and up to five years for a final decision due to court backlogs.
- Legal assistance: Access to free legal assistance and representation before the Administrative Court remained a challenge for most asylum applicants in 2024. In addition, difficulties in accessing refugee counsellors (including unclear information provided by the Migration Directorate and language barriers) combined with short time limits for judicial reviews, meant that some asylum applicants were unable to exercise their right to a legal remedy.
Reception conditions
- Overall: Although the number of new arrivals decreased in 2024, reception conditions did not improve significantly due to a continued lack of capacity. People who were waiting to lodge their applications were accommodated in containers in both the Asylum Home in Ljubljana and its Logatec branch.
- Unaccompanied minors: The first centre for the systematic accommodation of unaccompanied children was opened in April 2024. It serves as both a reception and accommodation centre, and can accommodate up to 70 unaccompanied minors.
Detention of asylum applicants
- 58 asylum applicants were detained by the Ministry of the Interior and the Government Office for Support and Integration of Migrants (UOIM) in 2024. According to statistics compiled by the Administrative Court, only 34 of the 58 people who were detained lodged a judicial review. In practice, asylum applicants face difficulties in accessing legal representation within the three-day time limit to lodge a judicial review that is imposed by the International Protection Act.
Content of international protection
- Family reunification: 178 applications for family reunification were lodged in 2024. This represented a significant increase from the previous year due to the high number of applicants from Burundi who were granted international protection (115 of the 178 applications for family protection were lodged by applicants from Burundi).
- Integration contracts: While all beneficiaries of international protection in Slovenia are entitled to basic rights (e.g. healthcare, access to the labour market, education, etc.), they are required to sign an integration contract if they want to access the full range of rights (e.g. accommodation in the integration house, social support for accommodation, etc.).
(B) Temporary protection
- Statistics: 1,899 people, including 1,864 Ukrainians and seven Russians, applied for temporary protection in 2024 and temporary protection was granted to 1,810 people, including 1,790 Ukrainians. 19 applications for temporary protection were dismissed, 10 were rejected and 76 procedures were stopped before they were completed. Ukrainian citizens also submitted 123 applications for international protection.
- Backlog: While most administrative units issued decisions within an average of 30 days, some significantly exceeded this time limit (the longest average processing time in 2024 was 159.4 days). It is likely that most delays were the result of administrative units being overloaded with applications whilst also understaffed. However, it is also possible that incomplete applications may have contributed in some cases.
- Second instance decisions: Five second instance decisions were issued in appeal procedures lodged against rejections of applications for temporary protection in 2024. Only one of these appeals resulted in a positive decision while the average duration of the appeal procedure was 63 days.
- Family reunification: Beneficiaries of temporary protection were still unable to exercise their right to family reunification in 2024.
- Housing: Access to affordable private accommodation also remained a key challenge, particularly for vulnerable groups, due to both a shortage of housing options and an increased risk of exploitation in private settings. Conditions in container housing at the accommodation centre in Logatec remained a cause for concern, although efforts were made to relocate residents.
- Healthcare: Access to healthcare remained limited as temporary protection beneficiaries are only entitled to certain forms of medical care and treatment unless they are employed and covered under the compulsory health insurance scheme. Other practical issues, including language barriers, insufficient knowledge of the rights of people under temporary protection among healthcare providers, and long waiting times for non-urgent medical services were also reported.
- Human Trafficking: The risk of exploitation and human trafficking remained an area of concern in 2024. Although no new cases were detected, both government institutions and NGOs continued to conduct awareness-raising campaigns targeting displaced people, particularly women and children.
- Transition from temporary protection to other residence statuses: A notable systemic issue in 2024 was the absence of legal pathways for transitioning from temporary protection to other residence statuses (e.g. for employment or education) under the Foreigners Act. Under the legislation in force at the time, such a transition would require the applicant to first renounce their temporary protection status then leave Slovenia and initiate an application process from abroad in order to obtain another type of residence permit. This presented a significant legal and practical barrier, particularly for people who were already integrated into Slovenian society or engaged in employment or education.
- Temporary protection identity cards: Recognition of temporary protection identity cards by foreign border control authorities also continued to present difficulties in 2024. A possible explanation for this related to the physical characteristics of the cards (i.e. laminated material).
- Withdrawal of temporary protection: In addition, a provision in the legal framework that allowed for the withdrawal of temporary protection on grounds of public order violations was also identified as problematic, particularly due to its significant disproportionality.
The full report is available here and the annex on temporary protection is available here.
For more information about the AIDA database or to read other AIDA reports, please visit the AIDA website.
