36 foreign nationals removed from BiH territory in the past seven days

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Alien inspectors, in cooperation with police officers, are conducting joint activities to control the movement and stay of foreigners, focused on places where migrants gather in the areas of Sarajevo, Bihać, Velika Kladuša, Tuzla, Kalesija, Donji Vakuf, and Travnik.

These activities resulted in the identification of foreign nationals who had illegally entered or were illegally staying in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, announced the Service for Foreigners' Affairs.

The Service for Foreigners' Affairs imposed an expulsion measure on 27 foreign nationals due to illegal entry or stay, with a ban on entry and stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including citizens of Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Morocco, and Algeria. These individuals have been placed under supervision in the Immigration Center or their movement has been restricted to a specific location until their removal from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Service for Foreigners' Affairs facilitated the voluntary return of 22 citizens of Turkey, who were returned to their country of origin, while seven individuals, including citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and Serbia, were returned to the Republic of Serbia under the Readmission Agreement.

As part of measures and activities to counter illegal migration, in cooperation with the Service for Foreigners' Affairs and the International Organization for Migration, seven individuals were removed from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina to their countries of origin through the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme. These individuals include five citizens of Pakistan, one citizen of Tunisia, and one citizen of Egypt. The Service for Foreigners' Affairs imposed an expulsion measure on these individuals due to illegal stay in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a ban on entry and stay for a period of one year.

Currently, 6102 migrants are staying in temporary reception centers. Since the beginning of 2020, the Service for Foreigners' Affairs has processed 12,991 migrants, of whom 12,286 have expressed their intention to apply for asylum. In the last seven days alone, there were 470 migrants, of whom 434 expressed their intention to apply for asylum.

The Service for Foreigners' Affairs will continue with intensified operational activities in accordance with its competencies and capacities in response to the increased influx of migrants into Bosnia and Herzegovina.