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From a country of emigration to the country of immigration: Case Study Slovenia

Felicita Medved

MIGRATION AND INTEGRATION An eternal topic for the populists, or a chance for liberals to improve their human rights

agenda Belgrade, 2013-06-19

Introduction

In my presentation I shall give a brief historical overview of migration in the present

territory of Slovenia, followed by an overview of the policy and the legislative framework that

regulates and facilitates migration in terms of admission conditions, residence and return as

well other aspects of the migration process, such as integration. Then I shall move on to shed

some light on the most pressing issues raised by immigration and practice and to discuss the

most difficult questions and acute problems in terms of human rights.

1 Historical Overview: from a country of emigration to the country of immigration

Emigration from the present territory of Slovenia started at the mid of the nineteenth

century as a part of the third wave of the European emigration oversees and lasted for a

century and half when Slovenia turned mainly to a country of immigration. It is believed that

more than a third of Slovenian population lives abroad and that the demographic loss due to

emigration can be comparable to the countries of high emigration rate at that period such as

Ireland.

In the period after World War Two Slovenia was one of the republics of the federal

state of Yugoslavia (SFRY), which contrary to the most of the then communist countries

opened its borders after 1965. Up to year 1954, Slovenia was above all an emigration country.

The migration balance was negative: the majority of Slovenian emigrants crossed the border

undocumented, the reason was predominantly political and less economic. In the mid-1950s,

when Western Europe was becoming economically attractive, a rise in economic migration

occurred, which later became the main reason for emigration. In this period, however,

Slovenia stops being only a country of emigration and has turned to a country of immigration.

Especially in the second half of the 1970s, Slovenia faced immigration from former Yugoslav

Republics and temporary migration of Slovenian ‘guest workers’, mostly to Germany and

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Austria. The net migration of Slovenia in comparison to the other Yugoslav Republics was

positive, between 3,000 and 5,000 per year in the period between 1960 and 1974. Between

1975 and 1980 net migration was much higher, between 5,000 to 9,000 immigrants per year.

Migration flows between Slovenia and other Yugoslav Republics were predominantly

the consequence of economic factors. Economical development of Slovenia was an important

pull factor which influenced demand for labour, partly also because of the Slovenian

emigration. Movements were also the consequence of unemployment in other republics. One

feature of migration movements between Slovenia and the rest of Yugoslavia was defined by

trade policy that did not encourage relocation of capital but rather migration of workforce and

some would argue the absence of internal migration policy in Yugoslavia. This migration was

mainly temporary, mostly seasonal, mainly for the needs of construction industry and tourism.

For the temporary migrations there are no statistical data and only scarce research (Mežnarič

1996, Genorio 1989, Malačič 1991). Immigrants to Slovenia mainly came from three

territories of Yugoslavia, firstly from Slovene-Croatian border areas (about 10,000 in the

years 1982-1990); secondly from the “central Yugoslav territory” , consisting of the northern

and western part of Bosnia, Croatian Posavina and eastern Slavonia and Serbian Bačka, Srem,

Vojvodina and Mačva ( 38,000 in the period 1982-90, around 26,000 from Bosnia); and

thridly, from “southern Yugoslav territories” consisting of the central part of Kosovo, north-

eastern part of Macedonia and the area of Sandžak. These immigrants mainly settled in

greater area of Ljubljana, Celje and Velenje, areas appealing due to their location, degree of

economic development and especially for many job opportunities in the so-called industrial

half moon and in the territory bordering Croatia and along Slovenian coast, where immigrants

found work in different industries and tourism (Kodelja 1992). These immigrants were young

people, in majority men between 20 and 39, and women aged between 14 and 34, who

finished at least primary, vocational or secondary education in their home environment and

they mainly worked in transport, metal and construction industries and the health sector

(Kreigher 1992, Jakoš 1994). On the other hand, economic emigration was the most intensive

in the second half of the 1960s and at the beginning of the 1970s, mainly to western European

countries where there were work shortages. Educational structure of emigrants from Slovenia

was somewhat higher compared to immigrants to Slovenia. In the beginning the economic

migration was believed to be temporary. Later, especially since the 1970s it became clear that

the majority of temporary migration was turning into a permanent one.

Migration flows have slowed down due to a changed economic situation, reduction of

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GDP, rise of unemployment and have changed radically after the 1990s, especially due to the

independence of Slovenia in 1991, political crisis and break-up of Yugoslavia. Slovenia met

mass influx of people looking for a shelter from war areas of Croatia and Bosnia and

Herzegovina. As Croatian refugees mainly returned due to a tripartite agreement between

Slovenia, Croatia and UNCHR, refugees from Bosnia and Hercegovina either moved to other

countries, partially returned but many stayed under the temporary protection scheme which

left their status in limbo for quite many years. At the same time immigration, particularly of

workers for construction industry continued, maily from the traditional areas, but also became

more diversified.

At the end of the 1990s there were 42,000 foreigners in the country, representing 2.1

percent of the total population (the EU average was 3.6 to 9%). Among them, three quarters

had temporary residence in Slovenia, 16 percent had permanent residence and 10 per cent

were refugees. The majority were from the countries of former Yugoslavia, above all BiH. On

average, foreign nationals with permanent residence were the oldest and refugees the

youngest. Among the latter, the majority were women (Bevc et al, 2000)

According to the 1991 Census there were 53,000 migrant workers abroad, 2 percent

less than a decade ago, representing 2.7 percent of permanent residents of Slovenia. A change

was made in the definition of residence in 1995 therefore people in this category are no longer

recognized as residents of Slovenia (statistics monitor citizens of RS who are temporarily in a

foreign country, i.e. more than three months and have reported their absence). Their number

was smaller at the end of 1999 (30,000) than of the category of emigrants (emigrant workers.

Accession to the EU has led to significant population increases, according to the Slovenian

government's statistics agency (SURS). Immigration has been increasing annually at an

average rate of 50% since 2004. According to Eurostat figures Slovenia has seen the third

highest increase in immigration in the EU in 2007. The first was the Czech Republic, with a

141.8% growth over the previous year, followed by Denmark, with 131.7% growth. With the

exception of 2010, every year more people immigrated to Slovenia than emigrated from it.

The highest net migration was recorded in 2008. In 2011 the second lowest value of net

migration in the last seven years was recorded – 2,059 people more immigrated to Slovenia

than emigrated from it. At the same time, Slovenia has been characterized by negative net

migration of Slovenian citizens for more than a decade, with net migration lower among

women until 2011 when the ratio between genders changed: net migration of men was 97

persons lower than that of women.

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Intra-EU mobility however did not have a substantial impact on the Slovenian labour

market in terms of mobility of Slovenian workers. There are various reasons for the low

mobility of Slovenian economic migrants with migration associated with knowledge of social

and other rights, language and the like. Even better wages do not persuade low-paid workers

to move or commute to another EU Member State. No significant changes are expected in

future, perhaps only slightly increased mobility in the border areas with neighbouring EU

member states.

In regard to impact of Union preference principle on the Slovenian labour market, an

increase of Slovakian construction workers was recorded shortly after the accession of both

the countries to the EU. The Slovenian employers however, as already pointed out prefer

already traditional construction workers in Slovenia, originating from the Western Balkans, in

particular from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

II Slovenian immigration policy

Resolution on the migration policy of the Republic of Slovenia (1999 and 2002) is

the main document defining Slovenian immigration policy. It sets out the core elements of the

policy, which comprises a number of fields subdivided into several sub-policies: asylum,

immigration, immigration management, especially combating irregular migration, smuggling

of migrants and trafficking in human beings and integration. The Resolution stipulates six

core principles that guide immigration policy in Slovenia: the principle of solidarity or

international sharing of burdens and responsibility, which presupposes the duty of protection

and assistance to refugees; the principles of responsibility towards citizens and the state,

which relates in particular to the regular, free movement of people and regulation of the

process of naturalisation; the principle of respect for the rule of law and the protection of

human rights; the principle of long-term macroeconomic efficiency , which determines the

relatively free migrations, in particular the access of foreigners to the Slovenian labour

market; the principle of historical responsibility; the principle of equality, liberty and mutual

cooperation, in particular in relation to integration policy. According to the document, these

principles should be implemented through a variety of measures. These include international

and regional cooperation and, in particular, full compliance with EU law. Special emphasis

should be put on integration policy, especially on the need for de facto integration of aliens

and prevention of discrimination and segregation, while simultaneously ensuring that

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immigrants continue to maintain and practice their cultures and values in accordance with

their personal integrity and dignity, yet within the legal framework of the Republic of

Slovenia.

Concrete programmes should be establishes to promote widespread awareness of the

different aspects, causes and consequences of migration The programmes should contribute to

the prevention of xenophobia and would, furthermore, be backed up by an institutional

framework that ensures the horizontal and vertical cooperation or state organs, as well as the

organs of local government. Last but not least, state organs should cooperate closely with

scientific, research and educational institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

working in the field of migration

Strategy on economic migration (2010) is another piece of policy. Slovenia mainly

responded to labour shortages according to current needs of the labour market without a well

thought and long-term vision or strategy of economic migration. With this in mind and in the

view of the changing EU policy landscape, in particular the 2008 European Pact on

Immigration and Asylum from 2008 and the new political mandate of the Stockholm

Programme and an even closer co-operation between Member States with Third countries in

managing migration flows, Slovenia designed and ought to implement policy of legal labour

migration by setting up a set of measures that will: (i) alleviate the effects of demographic

deficit in terms of reduced working age and economically active population as well as reduce

temporary disparities in the labour market; (ii) increase human resources, encourage

innovation and entrepreneurial activity, maintain and promote economic competitiveness; (iii)

enable acquisition of experience of Slovenians working abroad and reduce the brain drain

from Slovenia as well as the countries of origin of immigrants in Slovenia by encouraging the

circular migration; (iv) promote employment of highly skilled migrants; (v) strengthen

relations with third countries of origin of migrants by bilateral agreements, promoting the

return of economic migrants, and their reintegration into society of origin and (vi) enable fair

treatment of immigrants by establishing a more ambitious integration policy that would

include all relevant areas for harmonious integration of migrants into the Slovenian society.

Foreign policy dimension

Economic co-operation with third countries is an important part of the implementation of a

comprehensive migration policy. This co-operation particularly concerns the Western

Balkans, which is of special significance for Slovenia and Slovenian economy. The

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development and lasting stability in the Balkan region is also high on the country’s foreign

policy agenda. In March 2010 the Government adopted the Proposal of guidelines for the

activities of the Republic of Slovenia in the Western Balkans until 2020, defining priority

areas and actions that are necessary for a more coherent and coordinated performance of both

government and economic entities. In accordance with these guidelines, the following

measures relating to legal employment of nationals from the countries in the region are to be

pursued: (i) Identification of advantages and the demand for employment of the nationals of

the Western Balkan countries. These have a comparative advantage over migrants from other

regions due to geographical and linguistic proximity and the traditional presence in the

Slovenian labour market; (ii) Encouragement of immigration in line with the labour market

needs and a simplification and unification of admission procedures for the nationals of the

Western Balkan countries for the purposes of work and employment as well as promotion of

labour mobility. In this process, further efforts will be placed on ensuring social security for

TCNs working in Slovenia; (iii) Conclusion of bilateral agreements with the Western Balkan

countries concerning employment of their nationals in Slovenia will be based on the

principles of Slovenian migration policy as outlined in 2002 as well as following the

reference framework of EU policies on the establishment of a comprehensive migration

policy; (iv) These bilateral agreements will enable Slovenia to satisfy labour demand through

migration and mobility according to the needs of the Slovenian economy and the situation on

the labour market as well as demographic indicators in the forthcoming period. The

Government believes that bilateral agreements could stimulate a debate on the establishment

of an area of free movement of workers within the Western Balkans already before the

accession of all countries of the region to the European Union. At present, there are two

bilateral agreements, one between Slovenia and Macedonia (ratified in 2008), mainly

concerning seasonal worker migrants from Macedonia, and one on the employment of

nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Slovenia. Slovenia emphasises the importance of

development policies in order to encourage new jobs creation and better living conditions as

well as the overall progress of both the countries. Principles of the agreement also follow the

reference framework of the EU policies, with emphasis on strengthening the partnership

dialogue with third countries and the importance of the beneficial effects of circular

migration, voluntary return of migrant workers to the country of origin and ethical recruitment

in favour of reducing the brain drain. The agreement does not apply to “EU Blue Card” or to

nationals of the country of origin under Council Directive of 25 2009/50/EC concerning the

conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly

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qualified employment.

The legislative framework

The legislative framework for the management and administration of migration first

developed after Slovenia's independence in 1991 when the Aliens Act was adopted as a part

of Slovenia’s independence legislation.1 The act defined the conditions for and methods of the

entry into, departure from and residence of aliens in the Republic of Slovenia. In August 1999

it has been replaced by the new Aliens Act, which has been revised and amended several

times after its adoption, mainly transposing directives and implementing regulations of the

EU. A new Act was adopted in 2011 and, inter alia, defines conditions for the entry of aliens

into the country, visas, residence permits for temporary and permanent residence of aliens,

annulment of residence, departure from the country, deportation and permission to remain,

procedures and competent bodies, processing and protection of personal data and the

establishment of the identity of an alien, the provisions on travel and other documents and

permits and assistance in the integration of aliens. The Ministry of the Interior and the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs are the main competent bodies executing the Aliens Act, the

former also including the Police.

The system of economic migration management was set up by the Employment of

Aliens Act. The first act was adopted in July 1992. In order to provide a better mechanism for

identifying and regulating various forms of work of migrants, a new Employment and Work

of Aliens Act, came into force in 2001 and has been since that date amended twice. A new act

was adopted in 2011 and still keeps work permit as a fundamental mechanism for regulation

of work of TCNs in Slovenia. Responsible institution for implementing this Act is the

Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs with the supervision of the implementation

being the responsibility of the Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia.

Acute problems in terms of human rights

III Pressing issues

The main challenges for the liberal migration policy agenda are the following: the

absence of a coherent and comprehensive strategy addressing immigration problems; the

discrepancy between the proclaimed normative framework and its application and

effectiveness in practice; the maltreatment and economic abuse of migrant workers and the 1 Here I do not discuss legal acts in the field of international protection.

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challenges presented by trafficking in human beings and irregular migration.

Irregular migration, smuggling and trafficking

Slovenia is primarily, due to its geographic position, at the crossroads between the

West and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, a transit country and to a lesser extent a source and

destination country of irregular migration. This mainly takes form of smuggling of migrants

and trafficking in human beings, for the purposes of commercial sexual and labour

exploitation. In particular following the full implementation of the Schengen acquis, the

police have detected another form, of exploitation of trafficked persons, whereby, the most

vulnerable individuals, the disabled and children, are forced into begging.

Given the seriousness of the problem, Slovenia has had since 2004 a National action

plan against trafficking in human beings. Its objective is to define the key counter-

trafficking activities to be implemented within a period of two consecutive years. These

normally involve the adoption of new legislative measures, the investigation and prosecution

of criminals offences related to trafficking in human beings, prevention in the form of

awareness-raising and research activities, and assistance to and protection of trafficked

victims, as well as training and international cooperation. Much of the effort to combat

trafficking in human beings has been invested in educational and general awareness-raising

programmes (since 2007, the theme of human trafficking is also introduced into the standard

Slovenian primary school curriculum as a part of the sevenths and eights grade course on

Citizen’s Education and Ethics).

Considering irregular migration more generally, legislation has been brought into

compliance with EU law. A TCN shall be deemed to reside illegally in Slovenia if he/she has

illegally entered the country, if his/her visa was annulled or has expired, if he/she is not in

possession of a residence permit or if his/her permit has expired, if he/she resides in Slovenia

in contravention of the entry title or if the time for which he/she has been permitted to reside

Slovenia on the basis of a legal act or international treaty has expired. If such a migrant fails

to leave Slovenia within a specified period, the competent authority will start the procedure

for voluntary return, meaning cooperation with the police. One who does not voluntarily

return to one’s country of origin will be deported from Slovenia i.e. be brought to the state

border by the police, directed across the border and handed over to the bodies of this country.

Furthermore, return may also be implemented on the basis of agreements which Slovenia has

concluded with other countries.

As for economic migrants, whose residence is bound to their job or work, no other

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concrete measures or incentives for return of economic migrants have been adopted. There is

also scarce information on the extent of ‘illegally’ resident and working migrants in specific

sectors such as agriculture, construction, housekeeping and related domestic works. It is

estimated that their number is low as also suggested by data on illegal border crossing as well

as return of persons to foreign law enforcement. Therefore, with a view to increasing the

effectiveness of inspections, there seems to be no risk assessment on basis of which the

sectors of activity in which the employment of ‘illegally staying’ migrants from third

countries would be regularly identified.

There are some administrative and judicial avenues in place for the protection of

irregular migrants. However, there are some aspects of the treatment of irregular migrants that

call for improvement.

The maltreatment and economic abuse of migrant workers

Recently, particularly the exploitation of legally employed migrant workers has been

highlighted, notably living conditions and their legal situation, particularly with securing their

rights. It was found that economic migrants in possession of either an employment permit or a

permit for work represent a vulnerable group of migrants, exposed to unequal treatment and

violations of their rights. Partly this is so because adequate and understandable information is

lacking. Employers rarely inform migrants of the opportunities provided by law as for

example about a possibility that enables a migrant to obtain a personal work permit for a

period of three years after two years of continuous employment with the same employer. Such

a permit allows a free access to the Slovenian labour market. This is not in the employers’

interest since they wish to keep migrants tied to work permits that they had obtained for their

workers. Consequently, this may lead to lower standard of rights for migrants as well as for

domestic workers. Representatives of trade unions have pointed out that migrant workers

often work under worse conditions as defined by Slovenian labour legislation causing the so-

called social dumping. To tackle this problem the Employment Service of Slovenia together

with the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs took a pro-active approach which led

to a project which promotes employability, education and social integration of migrant

workers and their families. Within this project and with the assistance from the European

Social Fund, a new communication channel was set up to provide migrants with relevant

information on the conditions of employment and work in Slovenia. The aim of information

centres, the so-called INFO-points is to prevent exploitation, discrimination and possible

unemployment of migrants after the expiry of work permits, while also allowing better access

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to new jobs by making migrant workers more competitive in the labour market.

Another topical issue which has been exposed is the accommodation or adequate

housing of labour migrants. In 2008, organisations of civil society attracted the media and

public attention to the problem of unsuitable housing conditions of migrants on temporary

work in Slovenia, such as inadequate accommodation facilities or high cost of rents. Partly

this problem came to the fore because of the substantial increase in employment of migrant

workers as a result of major labour demand. In 2009, the Inter-departmental Working Group

was established to regulate the field of housing of migrant workers.

Various stakeholders also pointed out that labour migrants are abused by their

employers. As already indicated, workers are tied to their employers and this dependence

increasingly leads to certain forms of economic exploitation of migrants. In some cases

employers do not pay health insurance or other contributions for their workers or even wages

while workers are being deported because their work permits have expired. Some forms of

exploitation are very serious and reminiscent of slavery-like situations characteristic for

trafficking in human beings. This also led to desperate reactions of migrant workers such as

hunger strikes.

IV Future challenges

The current situation and trends on the labour market suggest that there will be a

shortage of domestic labour also in the future. This will particularly concern construction,

manufacturing, electric and motor vehicle activities, restaurant services and tourism. The need

for skilled and highly-skilled workforce exists in information and communication

technologies, biotechnology as well as forestry and in the health sector.

In the latter in particular, Slovenia faces similar problems as a significant number of

other EU Member States as well as some other European states. In 2009, there was an

estimated 20 per cent shortage in nursing professionals with only 40 new jobs per year taken

by TCNs. Annual needs for medical doctors are estimated from 517 to 970. A further decline

of medical doctors is expected from 2010 due to retirements and insufficient number of

graduates from medical schools. Some measures to remedy this situation have already been

taken: the enrolment to medical schools on annual basis increased for about 45 per cent (from

600 in 2004 to 1050 students in 2010) and several new schools were established in 2008 and

2009. In accordance with the draft Health Services Act and the Resolution on National plan of

health care 2008-2013 a network of providers of public health activities at all levels should be

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laid down, including calculation of precise needs for labour and skills. The recruitment of

medical doctors and nursing professionals from abroad and the problems there off are also

related to eligibility requirements for employment, specifically language skills and recognised

qualifications. However, there is a perception of a degree of resentment from the professional

chambers to “import” foreign workers.

In addition to these needs, demographic trends suggest that we can expect that during

the whole of the 21st century Slovenia as well as the EU will have to cope with the rapid

shortage of domestic labour. The demographic challenge will have to be addressed with a

constructive set of different yet interdependent policies. One of these policies is an active

immigration policy, where liberals should promote and actively work for the improvement of

human rights of migrants, thus a policy that enables fair treatment of migrants from third

countries and their harmonious integration into the Slovenian society. Therefore, it is

recommended to establish an ambitious policy which would include a comprehensive and

coherent integration of all relevant areas for integration of immigrants with legal and other

measures for legal security and residence of foreign nationals, protection of their family, non-

discriminatory access to institutions, goods and services, labour market inclusion and for

social integration such as access to education, social welfare, health care, housing and

participation in a democratic process. This would have to include also a proper institutional

infrastructure for the integration policy implementation.