The number of illegal migrants in Slovenia doubled to 15,500 between January and September this year
The Slovenian authorities revealed that the police detained around 15,590 illegal migrants in the period from January to September this year.
According to local media reports, this represents a total increase of 115% compared to the same nine-month period in 2021, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.
In addition, police data shows that the largest number of illegal immigrants were Afghan nationals, at 2,691 people.
The number of illegal immigrants who arrived in Slovenia also comes from other countries, such as:
- India with 1,983
- Burundi – 1,821
- Bangladesh – 1,641
- Pakistan – 1,568
Meanwhile, there were more than 540 to 760 people from Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Nepal and Cuba.
Of the total number of illegals, almost half of them, or 7,812 people, were caught in the area of the Koper PU. However, the numbers continue to increase in the areas served by the other two busiest police stations, such as PU Novo mesto and PU Maribor.
Almost a third of all illegal migrants, 5,078, were apprehended in the Novi Sad region, compared to 1,827 in the same period last year.
Between January and September 2021, between 1,103 and 2,006 migrants were caught in the northeastern Maribor region, while the other sectors handled less than 350 of them.
This year, more than three times as many illegal refugees expressed their intention to apply for international protection in Slovenia, a total of 14,981.
As a result, only 5,452 people applied for international protection, which means 157 more than 12 in the same period last year, and around 5,200 applications were canceled or rejected.
As the number of applications from Afghans continues to rise, so do the number of illegal immigrants from India, Burundi and Cuba who do not need a visa to enter Serbia.
Despite the fact that Slovenia received a significant number of applications for international protection, the authorities revealed that they also received more than 6,940 applications for temporary protection, mostly from Ukrainian citizens.
In addition, the number of illegal immigrants returned to their countries of origin by Slovenian authorities decreased from 3,211 to 2,106. In this direction, Slovenia sent the most defectors to Croatia, approximately 1,968, followed by Italy with 47 returns.
In addition, on October 10, Slovenia granted the status of international protection to a total of 943 persons.