Attachments
Operational Context
The Constitution of Montenegro (2007) guarantees the right to asylum as a fundamental human right, while the 2018 Law on International and Temporary Protection of Foreigners (asylum law) established a two-step asylum application procedure: initial registration of asylum intention with the Border Police, valid up to 2 weeks, followed by a formal asylum application submitted to the Directorate for Asylum (DfA) of the Ministry of the Interior (MoI).
The MoI’s DfA, located in the Capital city of Podgorica, serves as the primary adjudication body for asylum claims. Decisions made by the DfA can be appealed before the Administrative Court of Montenegro, with the appeal having a suspensive effect.
The MoI’s Directorate for Reception (DfR) manages two accommodation centres: one in Bozaj, near the Albanian border and another in Spuz, in central Montenegro, with a total capacity of 164 beds.
The MoI’s Directorate for Integration (DfI), in charge of integration of persons granted international protection, is located in the same building with the DfA in the Capital city of Podgorica.
Since November 2023, Frontex border guards have been deployed in key border areas of Montenegro, to support the national border police.
Since the establishment of the asylum system in 2006, Montenegro has received 16,770 asylum applications, with 147 individuals receiving international protection (Graph 4 in the PDF). As of 2018, asylum intention is introduced as a binding step in the asylum application procedure (Graph 5). Montenegro has been part of the Western Balkans mixed movement route since late 2011, with the primary entry point from Albania and the main exit point towards Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH). However, since the beginning of March, a new entry point was open in the north of Montenegro, with migrants/refugees arriving to Montenegro from either Kosovo or Serbia.
By the end of 2024, 2,970 persons registered asylum intention, representing a 40% decrease in comparison with the same period in 2023. However, the increase of UASCs is also recorded, with over 70% being from Egypt and Afghanistan. Contrary to the trend of decrease of asylum intentions in 2023 and 2024, there is a trend of increase of people granted international protection in Montenegro in the last three years (9 in 2022, 14 in 2023 and 24 in the 2024).
During 2024, Syrians become the leading nationality among those expressing intention to seek asylum, followed by Afghans, who used to be the leading nationality in 2022/23. Among those who lodged formal asylum claims, the largest group continued to be from Russia. Russian nationals are also predominant among persons granted international protection currently residing in Montenegro.