Rados Djurovic, executive director of the Centre for the protection and assistance of the asylum seekers, explained that the stay of people from Kosovo is regulated by the decree of the Serbian government from 2011. “On the basis of this regulation Kosovo citizens who do not have Serbian documents when crossing the administrative line receive a certificate that allows them to stay in the territory of Serbia 15 days. Therefore, people who move through Serbia towards the EU are not here irregularly. At the same time, they cannot seek asylum in Serbia, because from the legal point of view they are the citizens of Serbia,” said Djurovic.
According to him, although citizens of Kosovo cannot apply for asylum, they can apply for the Serbian documents.
The asylum seekers from Kosovo would commit irregular offence only in case they attempt to cross the border of Serbia with another country. According to the Law on the protection of the state border, Serbian citizen who is caught irregularly crossing the border shall be punished by a fine of 5,000 to 50,000, or imprisonment for up to 30 days.
