This year, 27,000 more migrants passed through reception centers and asylum centers than in 2021, said the Commissioner for Refugees and Migration of Serbia, Nataša Stanisavljević.
“This year, more than 95,000 migrants were registered compared to 68,308, as many as there were throughout 2021. Currently, there are 5,241 migrants staying in the aforementioned centers and we estimate that there are another 2,500 outside the reception centers,” Stanisavljević told Politika.
As she noted, staying in Serbia is not a priority for people who come to Europe from Asia and Africa, because since 2008, only 228 migrants have received asylum in our country.
She also stated that most migrants through Serbia come from Afghanistan 34.8 per cent and Syria 34.5 per cent, and that the Commissariat also takes care of refugees from Ukraine by placing 76 Ukrainians in the Asylum Center in Vranje, and helping another 3,500 of them who are in private accommodation.
From the beginning of the war until now, 117,637 Ukrainians have passed through Serbia on their way to other countries,” Stanisavljević said.
Officially, there are a total of 6,000 places in 12 reception centers and seven asylum centers, and in case of an increased influx of migrants, that capacity can increase to 8,000 places. At the moment, as she said, the state does not plan to expand the accommodation space, but that if necessary, centers that are not currently active can be activated.