Irregular Migrants in the Slovak Republic: Return and Readmission

Abstract

Not long ago, the Slovak Republic was in the position of being a country of origin of irregular and regular migrants seeking opportunities in countries of the Western Hemisphere. After the accession of the Slovak Republic to the European Union (EU), it has mainly become a transit country not only for asylum seekers, but also for irregular migrants trying to reach wealthier countries, such as the USA, Germany, France, or Great Britain. Moreover, as a member of the Schengen area, the Slovak Republic has an obligation to secure its external border with Ukraine. However, border control management within the Schengen area is not leak-proof, and this is not only the case for the Slovak Republic. To address irregular migration, the Slovak Republic cooperates with other EU Member States and third countries. The cooperation is not always smooth and oftentimes fails, as evidenced by readmission agreements. Based on the analysis of the judicial review, we conclude that although Slovakia’s procedures of detention, return, or readmission are not perfect, the issues of readmission or return of foreigners do not cause security problems for the Slovak Republic. Rather, it creates legal issues regarding the violation of the national or international law obligations; this is because, in case of an incorrect decision, a migrant may possess various rights at the time of detention according to her/his status. However, the final section of the study analyses statistical numbers that confirm that the Slovak Republic still holds the position of a transit country. Controlling the persons who stay illegally within the territory of the Slovak Republic (after the expiration of the permission to stay) and illegally cross its internal borders to or from other states in the Schengen area remains to be the main focus of the Slovak return and readmission policy.