Joint statement by civil society on the Migration Ministry's bill

A number of organisations reacted to the bill of the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum in January 2026, in particular to provisions related to the NGO registry, what is considered involvement in trafficking and what sanctions this may entail. According to the statement, “working for an organisation registered in the ‘NGO Registry’ of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum becomes a punishable offence with the proposed changes to Articles 24 and 25 of the Migration Code". The statement continues that “mere membership of an organisation registered in the NGO Registry elevates misdemeanours such as facilitation of illegal stay, or refusal to hand a travel document, to felonies punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment and fines of tens of thousands of euros. It is thus considered an aggravating circumstance sufficient to reclassify the offence as a felony, in an affront to fundamental principles of criminal policy and legislation. Mere criminal prosecution suffices for removal of the organisation from the Registry”.

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