Although the UN maintains a presence in Kosovo with the establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, it is not a UN member state. Consequently, it is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, which provides the internationally recognised definition of a refugee and outlines the legal protection, rights and assistance a refugee is entitled to receives.

However, it remains obliged to respect the international customary legal principle of non-refoulement prohibiting any country from deporting an individual to a country where they face persecution. 

Article 22 of the Kosovan Constitution further provides that the following international human rights instruments are directly applicable and ‘have priority over provisions of laws and other acts of public institutions’: 

1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 
2. European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its Protocols; 
3. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Protocols;
4. Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities;
5. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; 
6. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; 
7. Convention on the Rights of the Child; 
8. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; 

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has diplomatic recognition from 117 countries (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). It is now a potential candidate for accession to the EU, and its national legal framework is now largely in line with EU law (European Commission, 2020). Asylum is regulated by the 2018 Law on Asylum (No.06/L-026). 

The 2018 Law sets out three forms of protection available for applicants in Kosovo:

Refugee status, granted to individuals who fulfil the criteria laid down in Article 3, sub-paragraph 1.18: ‘a person who owing to the well-founded fear of persecution for the reasons of race, religion, nationality, political conviction or belonging to a particular social group, is outside their country of nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, or a stateless person, who, being outside of the country of former habitual residence for the same reasons as mentioned above, is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to return to that country’.

Refugee status is not granted to applicants presently receiving the assistance of UN bodies and agencies other than UNHCR. If that protection ceases for any reason, those applicants are entitled to benefit from refugee status in Kosovo (Article 8(3)). 

Subsidiary protection is available to foreign nationals or stateless persons who do not come within the criteria for refugee status but have shown ‘substantial grounds […] believing that should they return to their country of origin, or […] former habitual residence, they will face a real risk of suffering serious harm’ (Article 3, sub-paragraph 1.19). Serious harm includes the death penalty, torture or inhuman treatment, and serious threat to life due to armed conflict. 

Once subsidiary status has been granted, applicants are issued with a residence permit, renewable and valid for at least one year (Article 9). 

Temporary protection is an exceptional measure designed to respond to situations of mass displacement from a specific country or geographical area by providing immediate and temporary protection. 

In deciding to grant temporary protection, the Kosovo government will define the group of persons to which temporary protection will apply and the date from which such protection will be effective (Article 80(3)).

The 2018 Law also codifies the principle of non-refoulement in Article 5, although sub-paragraph seeks to exclude persons ‘for whom there are strong reasons to believe’ pose ‘a danger to the security of the Republic of Kosovo, or who, having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime, constitutes a danger to the security of the Republic of Kosovo’. 

The Department of Citizenship Asylum and Migration (DCAM) is responsible for decision-making on Refugee Status Determination (RSD), although Article 20 of the Law on Asylum provides for UNHCR’s continued supervisory role, and the body maintains access to all applicants. 

Information for asylum-seekers on how to apply for asylum

Applications can be submitted from the moment of entry into Kosovo. They can be made at a border-crossing point, at a police station or at the DCAM (Article 52(1), Law on Asylum). See the Civil Rights Program Kosovo (CRPK) for more information on the application procedure.

After completing the form, applicants are transferred to the Centre for Asylum Seekers in Vranidoll. Applicants can choose to be accommodated elsewhere, though this will be at their own expense (Article 55(2), Law on Asylum). 

The DCAM will give a written decision within 6 months from the date of application, although it can take up to 9 months. If the decision is negative, it must state the factual and legal reasons for this. See Articles 62 – 64 of the Law on Asylum for the grounds on which applications may be rejected. 

Appeals against first-instance decisions must be lodged within 15 days of the first-instance decision (Article 74 of the Law on Asylum). They are decided by the National Committee for Refugees. A decision is usually given within 30 days of lodging the appeal (Article 79 of the Law on Asylum).