Đurović: Asylum Seekers Will Get Biometric ID Cards, but Not Voting Rights

Asylum seekers granted protection in Serbia will receive biometric identity cards, but the documents will not give them Serbian citizenship or the right to vote, Radoš Đurović said.

Đurović, president of the board of the Centre for Assistance to Asylum Seekers, described the change as procedural but important. Until now, many people held paper identity cards that did not resemble Serbia’s standard identification documents.

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This is purely a procedural matter, but it is very important.

He said that made it difficult for them to prove their legal status and created problems when they sought ordinary services, including healthcare and longer-term forms of assistance.

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With documents that do not look like today's identity card, they have great difficulty proving even the status they have in the country.

Under the previous system, biometric cards were available only to people with asylum status who had permanent residence in Serbia. The new arrangement will cover everyone granted asylum. Đurović said that group remains small, with asylum granted to only about ten people annually.

The Interior Ministry’s decision introduces biometric identity cards for people who have been granted refuge. The cards are intended to make their status easier to document, while leaving their citizenship and electoral rights unchanged.

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Until now, only people who had asylum and permanent residence here could obtain a biometric identity card, and now everyone granted asylum will receive one. There are still not many of them, as only about ten people receive asylum each year.