Even before the office was officially established in 1993, Slovakia had already begun assisting refugees fleeing the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. Between 1992 and 1993, it accepted refugees from Croatia—primarily children from the Vojvodina region—and later also from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was assumed that once the war ended, these individuals would voluntarily return home; therefore, they were not granted permanent residency but were provided with temporary protection. They were housed in a humanitarian center in Gabčíkovo, where they awaited repatriation, that is, their return home. The first groups returned to their country of origin in 1996. Thirty-five people remained in Slovakia—mixed families who could not return and who were granted refugee status in 1997.
One of the first specific resettlement programs in Slovakia involved the resettlement of Ukrainian citizens of Slovak origin affected by the Chernobyl tragedy. The resettlement concerned families of Slovaks who had been displaced to the Chernobyl-affected area as early as 1947. Between 1993 and 1998, more than a thousand people were resettled in this manner pursuant to a government resolution. Through the Migration Office, the Slovak government created conditions for housing, education, and health and social security for them in 19 districts. They are now citizens of the Slovak Republic.
In 2003–2004, Slovakia experienced its own “migration” crisis. During that period, an average of 11,000 asylum applications were registered annually. As part of crisis management, the Migration Office, in cooperation with civil protection and the army, set up tents in the existing facilities in Gbely – Adamov and Rohovce, thereby expanding the insufficient capacity of these asylum facilities. Since 2015, the migration crisis hit Europe, the “New Horizon” military exercises have been held regularly under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense. Their aim is to test joint cooperation and prepare for collaboration among various agencies, including the Migration Office, in protecting and defending the state border during such occassions.
In 2009, the Migration Office began implementing a pilot project for humanitarian transfers. On July 20, 2009, the “Agreement between the Government of the Slovak Republic, UNHCR, and IOM on the Humanitarian Transfer of Refugees in Need of International Protection through the Slovak Republic” was signed. In the agreement, the Government of the Slovak Republic committed to providing accommodation, meals, and basic hygiene supplies to refugees and persons under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) until their resettlement to a third destination country, which were mostly the United States, Canada, Norway, or Sweden. The first persons under UNHCR protection to arrive in our country on August 26, 2009, were Palestinian refugees. These were predominantly three-generation families with children. Other groups included Afghan mothers with children, as well as refugees from Somalia, Eritrea, Lebanon, and other countries. Since 2009, a total of 1,047 people have been resettled through the Slovak Republic, including 502 children; 17 children have been born on Slovak territory. The humanitarian transfer was a unique project of its kind, implemented by only two countries: Slovakia and Romania.
During the so-called migration crisis of 2015–2016, the Migration Office cooperated with the Republic of Austria on the basis of the signed “Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic and the Federal Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Austria on the Provision of Temporary Accommodation for Applicants for International Protection in the Republic of Austria,” which served as the basis for providing temporary accommodation and meals to applicants for international protection from Syria. The aim was to alleviate the pressure on accommodation in Austrian facilities and to enable applicants for international protection to remain in dignified conditions at the purpose-built facility in Gabčíkovo while their asylum applications were processed and assessed by the Austrian authorities. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on July 21, 2015, with a validity of two years. Its validity was not extended due to the improving situation in Austria. During the duration of this unique cooperation, Syrian families with children totaling 1,228 people were placed in Gabčíkovo.
The Migration Office also participated in a project to resettle 149 internally displaced Assyrian Christians who were staying in a refugee camp in the city of Erbil, Iraq. The Slovak Republic carried out this resettlement as a one-time, voluntary initiative in December 2015.
As part of the relocation program, a total of 16 people—women with children—have been voluntarily accepted into the Slovak Republic since 2016 from hotspots in Greece.
As early as 2010, the Migration Office began deploying its staff to assist Member States in need of support at the time, particularly Greece.
Since the migration crisis in 2015, the number of Migration Office experts deployed has been gradually increasing. For the Slovak Republic, deployment to the so-called “asylum support teams” of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA, formerly the European Asylum Support Office – EASO) is an expression of solidarity. This helps countries facing disproportionate pressure from migration waves and a sharp increase in asylum applications. Assistance is provided on the basis of operational plans signed between the Executive Director of the EUAA and representatives of the relevant Member State. Since 2015, Slovak national experts have been nominated for various positions in EU Member States—Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Lithuania, and the Netherlands. Experts seconded by the Migration Office assist in the Dublin procedure, in processing information on the countries of origin of asylum seekers, in reception activities—such as providing information, social work, and identifying vulnerabilities—as well as in registering asylum applications.
Since its establishment, the Migration Office has also been involved in shaping migration policy. The first “Principles of the Migration Policy of the Slovak Republic” were adopted as early as 1993. Following the Slovak Republic’s accession to the European Union, these were replaced by the Concept of the Migration Policy of the Slovak Republic. Currently it is the document called National Strategy of the Slovak Republic for Asylum and Migration Management. The material is a framework strategic document for the next 5 years, which contains measures to support the management of asylum and migration in the territory of the Slovak Republic and follows up on the Migration Policy of the Slovak Republic with a view to 2025. The role of the Migration Office is to ensure the fulfillment and coordination of tasks arising from this document.
The Migration Office also coordinates cooperation among central government agencies in the field of asylum and migration. The platform for this coordination is the Steering Committee for Migration, Integration, and Inclusion of Foreigners, chaired by the director of the Migration Office.
In providing care for asylum seekers, as well as in integrating asylum and subsidiary protection beneficials into Slovak society, the Migration Office cooperates not only with other state and local government agencies, but also with churches, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organizations. The asylum facilities of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic provide accommodation, meals, basic hygiene supplies, pocket money, healthcare, social, legal, and psychological counseling, Slovak language and cultural orientation courses, assistance with school placement and entry into the labor market, and leisure activities, taking into account the applicant’s vulnerability and special needs. If a foreign national did not have or does not have any type of residence in the Slovak Republic prior to being granted asylum or subsidiary protection, a one-time allowance is provided to cover accommodation and basic living expenses, along with an integration allowance for a period of 6 months. At the same time, they have the opportunity to access social, psychological, or legal counseling, as well as Slovak language and cultural orientation courses, which the Migration Office provides in cooperation with a non-governmental organization implementing the project primarily using EU funds.
The Migration Office also cooperates with several international organizations and authorities in the field of asylum and migration: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). Following the Slovak Republic’s accession to the European Union, EU agencies and offices—EASO (later EUAA) and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX)—became key partners in international cooperation. As part of the Slovak Republic’s National Contact Point for the European Migration Network (EMN), the Migration Office has long been involved in the activities and projects of this platform.
An important aspect of the work, whether with asylum seekers or with persons granted asylum or subsidiary protection, is familiarizing them with the way of life and living conditions in Slovakia. To this end, the Migration Office has published a handbook for asylum seekers and persons granted international protection titled “A New Start in the Slovak Republic.” The handbook is based on the practical experience and proposals made by foreigners who themselves identified what they considered to be essential and the most important in order to familiarize oneself with upon arrival in a new country. (The publication is available in various language versions in the “Publications” section.)
As part of efforts to raise awareness among both professionals and the general public about migration and asylum issues, representatives of the Migration Office participate in various outreach activities: providing information at festivals and cultural events, and participating in discussions and lectures at schools.
