ECRE published an updated report on Slovenia, which provides a detailed overview of developments in legislation and practices in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2024.
The report includes an annex which provides an overview of temporary protection. The main developments for 2024 include:
A new immigration strategy was adopted in March 2024. Applicants processed in the regular procedure waited up to 2 years for a first instance decision and up to 5 years for a final decision due to court backlogs.
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 combined with short time limits for judicial reviews meant that, in some instances, asylum applicants were unable to exercise their right to a legal remedy.
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. 58 asylum applicants were detained in 2024.
According to statistics compiled by the Administrative Court, 34 of the 58 people who were detained lodged a judicial review. In practice, asylum applicants face difficulties in accessing legal representation within the 3-day time limit to lodge a judicial review envisaged by the International Protection Act.