07.04.2022
[EN] TEMPORARY REFUGE As of 1 March, Slovakia provides a special form of protection – temporary refuge status – to people fleeing the war in Ukraine. The provision of temporary refuge grants a tolerated stay permit in Slovakia, the right to work or study, and access to healthcare. Who can apply for the temporary refuge: Ukrainian citizens and their family members who resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022: wife / husband of a Ukrainian citizen minor children of a Ukrainian citizen or minor children of their spouse parents of a minor child, who is a Ukrainian citizen dependent members of their households As of 17 March 2022, the temporary refuge is also provided to non-Ukrainian citizens meeting one of the following conditions: They were granted permanent residence in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 and cannot return safely to their country/region of origin. They were granted asylum or international protection by Ukraine before 24 February 2022. Their family members (spouse, minor children, dependent members of their household) residing in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 can also apply for a temporary refuge status. Where to submit temporary refuge applications: large-capacity centers in Humenné, Michalovce and Nitra operating 24/7 People who crossed the border and wish to apply for temporary refuge are transported from border crossing areas to the centers in Humenné and Michalovce, where they can submit all documents required. After submitting the applications, they are provided shuttle transportation to designated accommodation facilities. any nearest Foreign Police Department (Foreign Police currently operates 7am-7pm.) Temporary refuge will not be granted automatically, you must apply for it either at a border crossing point as you enter the Slovak Republic or at any nearest Foreign Police Office. Minors must also be present when applying for purposes of biometric data acquisition. You can also register electronically using a QR code or via the website Ministry of Interior. After filling in the electronic form “Registration of temporary refuge”, you need to go to the Foreign Police Office or a large-capacity center. A temporary refuge certificate will be issued to the foreigner while one waits. ↗ For information and registration form visit SK / UK / EN . As the police collect biometric data of all the applicants, they need to submit their applications in person. Minors must be present as well. For faster processing of applications for temporary refuge, large-capacity centers have been established in Bratislava, Humenne and Michalovce, which are open 24 hours a day. Applicants for temporary refuge are transported from the border crossing points to the centers in Humenne or Michalovce, where all documents are processed in one place. At the same time, a shuttle service is provided for processed applicants from the large-capacity centers to the accommodation facilities. If you have your travel, ID or other required document with you, the temporary refuge will be granted on the spot (the waiting time depends on the workload of the given Foreign Police office) If you do not have any documents with you, but have an accommodation secured in Slovakia, you can submit your application at any Foreing Police Department. If you do not have any documents with you and do not have an accomodation secured, you need to apply for a temporary refuge at the Asylum Department in Humenne. The application will be processed within 30 days. During this period you can stay at the facility of the Migration Office in Humenné, where you are provided free meals, health care and hygiene supplies. Temporary refuge shall be granted until 4 March 2023 and shall be automatically extended for 6 months, up to a maximum of one year, unless the Council of the European Union decides otherwise. Once you have been granted temporary shelter, you will be issued with a TOLERATED STAY DOCUMENT (sample). Keep the document for the use of your landlord, employer or school. RIGHTS GUARANTEED BY THE TEMPORARY REFUGE STATUS: Tolerated stay permit for a displaced person (“ODÍDENEC”) Right to work without a work permit Access to education (school attendance is compulsory for all minor children) Access to healthcare (provided to those who can present an ID issued to temporary refuge applicants or a document proving that a person has been granted a temporary refuge and a tolerated stay) Accommodation Material Need Benefit and other specific allowances TEMPORARY REFUGE AND TRAVELING If you have been granted temporary refuge in Slovakia, you have the right, but not the obligation, to stay in Slovakia. If you have Ukrainian citizenship, you have the right to travel within the EU for 90 days in one half-year (180 days) on a visa-free basis, and this applies even during the period of temporary refuge. You need to check these 90 days in one half-year period yourself. Leaving the territory of the Slovak Republic does not terminate the temporary refuge. If you are granted temporary refuge in one EU country, you cannot apply for temporary refuge in another EU country, but another EU Member State may grant you another form of protection or residence other than temporary refuge if it chooses to do so. Family reunification is also possible if you have family members in different countries. TEMPORARY REFUGE AND MINORS If a minor is not accompanied by their legal guardian and is staying in Slovakia with a relative or acquaintance, these persons must contact the relevant authority governing social and legal protection of minors – the Office of Labor, Social Affairs and Family – to resolve the custody of the minor child. The Office of Labor, Social Affairs and Family provides them the assistance needed, e. g. helps draft a guardianship petition for a court proceeding, as the guardianship is necessary for a child's access to healthcare and education. As a result, the child can only apply for a temporary refuge after a court appoints their guardian. ACCOMMODATION ADDRESS AND ITS REPORT: You can apply for temporary refuge and it will be granted to you even if you do not yet have a secure address in Slovakia. If you have already secured accommodation in Slovakia when applying for temporary refuge, you must provide one of the following documents when applying for temporary refuge: a declaration of all property owners on the provision of accommodation or, a lease agreement signed with the owner (s) of the property. The signatures on these documents do not have to be certified. We remind you that even a foreigner with temporary refuge is obliged to report his/her address to the locally relevant department of the Foreign Police within 3 working days via this form in person or by post. In the event of a change of address, it is necessary to report this change to the locally relevant department of the Foreign Police of the Police Force. INFORMATION LEAFLET OF THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR OF THE SR (SK / UK / EN) Manual on how to request temporary refuge (SK) Request for temporary refuge (SK / UK / EN) – to be completed in Latin MORE RELEVANT INFO CAN BE BE FOUND AT https://www.ukraineslovakia.sk/
20.03.2022
At the Human Rights League, we have been trying to help people on the run coming to us from Ukraine since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. We have already invested considerable human and financial resources in helping them, which today: We operate a hotline 0800 222 350, partnered by Slovak Telekom we run an information email ukrajina@hrl.sk we run the information website https://www.ukraineslovakia.sk/ together with Mareena together with the Capital City of Bratislava, we operate an information hotspot at the main train station in Bratislava, helping with the coordination of aid in Košice, and together with the Asylum Law Clinic of the Faculty of Law of the University of Trnava, we are helping at the Foreigners Police Department of PPZ Trnava. All these and other activities would not be possible without the great financial and non-financial support we receive. Therefore, we would like to thank: to the volunteers who are with us, we appreciate it very much. to the lawyers who are involved in legal advice on the line, via email or at the station, you are amazing :) To the Legal Aid Centre who have provided us with their staffing capacity on both the station and the line Thank you to Slovak Telekom for their material and financial help in setting up and running the 0800 222 350 helpline, we couldn't have done it without you and we really appreciate your help. Accenture Slovakia, thank you for all the help and support you have given us so far. We also thank the Sigrid Rausing Trust for providing an extraordinary grant of £90,000 to support our activities. The grant will assist us to to support national and local efforts to assist people arriving from Ukraine, including providing legal information and accommodation referrals, advocacy for particularly vulnerable groups, as well as re-opening the organisation’s Kosice office. Allen and Overy is a large law firm who provide their solicitors and barristers with the opportunity to volunteer for our activities and assist us with legal documents, thank you very much. Thank you to the Who Will Help Ukraine initiative for their support and help, Tesco Slovakia for the 1000 bottles of water to the station (you saved us when it was very much needed) and the Capital City of Bratislava for their excellent cooperation. We must not forget the great Ukrainian community that does the impossible, Slava Ukraini. We also thank the Migration Office of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic for the excellent cooperation and the Slovak Bar Association and all the lawyers involved. Together, we will definitely make it.
13.01.2022
A new accredited service has been available to victims of hate crimes since January 1, 2022, which was started by the NGO Human Rights League. Accreditation was granted by the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic in December 2021, based on a request from the HRL, which contained a detailed description of the Victims' Assistance Project and the HRL's previous experience. Since January, victims of hate crimes, especially foreigners and refugees, will find free legal and social assistance, or the assistance of a cooperating psychologist and lawyer in the HRL. Provision of the free aid is currently facilitated by project "SalamSK" funded by the European Union. Information materials (leaflets and explanatory videos) are available in six language versions - in Slovak, English, Arabic, Persian, Ukrainian and Serbian, and will be distributed to all places where potential victims may come into contact with them. Persons who have experienced or are experiencing hate treatment or attacks can contact the Human Rights League in person during each working day, at an address in Bratislava, by email or by telephone. "The project of assistance to victims of hate crimes fills a gap that has existed in the field of providing this assistance in Slovakia so far, especially in relation to foreigners. Already during 2021, we were approached by several clients from different countries who experience hateful or discriminatory treatment in their lives due to their origin or religion. Obtaining accreditation will allow us to help them in a targeted and effective manner and thus improve the enforceability of their rights ", said HRL director, lawyer Zuzana Števulová. "The latest report from ECRI - the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance of the Council of Europe on Slovakia (2020) reports on the increase of the attacks on foreigners and Muslims and the high latency - that is, their distrust in justice and thus the non-reporting of these acts to the police - and we believe that we will soon be able to improve the situation ", she concludes. The Crime Prevention Department of the Office of the Minister of the Interior of the Slovak Republic also collaborated on the explanatory video for foreigners. Its director Mr. Jozef Halcin says: “The Ministry of the Interior has set up 16 information offices for victims of crime throughout Slovakia, in which citizens of other nationalities, foreigners, victims of hate crimes and extremism will also find help, basic information or guidance in further proceedings. We must not forget that there must be no borders in helping (not only) foreigners in need. It is therefore our duty to increase their confidence in our services." A spokeswoman for the Bratislava Municipal Police also appears in the video, who explains to foreigners how the municipal police can help them. A record of the webinar presenting available services is also available on the HRL website. It also presents a survey by the Islamic Foundation in Slovakia on the experiences of foreigners and Muslims with hatred in Slovakia. "According to the survey, almost 60% of Muslims in Slovakia have experienced hate speech," said Mr. Mohamad Safwan Hasna, director of the Islamic Foundation in Slovakia. "We are working with the HRL to improve the situation, find solutions and help, and support this community," he added. The results of the survey can be found in the publication "Refugees and Migrants as Victims of Hate Crimes - Prevention, Assistance and Protection" (2021), which is available here. Project SalamSK-Combating the Islamophobia and Supporting the Victims of Hate Crime in Slovakia is funded by the European Union´s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014 - 2020).
05.11.2021
The seminar on migrant women draws attention to the need to address the situation of migrant women in Slovakia and their gender equality.