Serbia currently has up to 100,000 legally employed foreign workers, while only around 160 refugees remain accommodated in reception centers across the country, according to Radoš Đurović, head of the Asylum Protection and Assistance Center.
Speaking ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20, Đurović said refugees in Serbia mainly come from Afghanistan, Egypt, Russia, Ghana, Turkey and Syria. Since the beginning of the year, 161 people have applied for asylum in the country.
Eight asylum seekers have been granted refugee status so far this year, including people from Syria, Burundi, Sierra Leone and Iran, while two Syrians received subsidiary protection, he said.
More than 32,000 Ukrainians and over 43,000 Russians are currently residing in Serbia for shorter or longer periods, according to the organization. Among them, 1,028 Ukrainians benefit from temporary protection status.
Đurović said refugees continue to face challenges related to lengthy administrative procedures, access to healthcare and insufficient integration support.
“Systematic assistance for employment, education, language learning, social integration and understanding rights and obligations remains limited,” he said.
He also warned that World Refugee Day is being marked amid growing international instability and an increasingly hostile anti-migrant narrative in parts of the developed world.
According to Đurović, such rhetoric is being promoted by far-right populist political groups and risks further complicating the situation for refugees and asylum seekers.