Social Services for Migrants: The Case of Serbia

Abstract

The paper focuses on the current migrant situation and the provision of welfare to irregular migrants in Serbia. The theoretical framework stems from the concept of social rights and their references to irregular migrants. It is scrutinised through the lens of social services provided by the public and the civil sector. The emphasis is on the regulation of the provision of basic support: accommodation, food, and clothing, but also psychological support, cash benefits, legal advice, and the like to irregular migrants. The main challenges the sectors will be facing are identified, along with obstacles to improvement. Some of the challenges are at the macro level and may be attributed to the overall decline of the national welfare state. Those relating mainly to the lack of cooperation mechanisms between the public and the civil sector are meso-level challenges. Finally, micro-level challenges refer to the capacities of the sectors per se.