THE QUEUES in front of the Office of the Border and Alien Police in Bratislava’s Petržalka borough are so long that people are arriving 15 hours before business hours and sleeping outdoors on the ground or in tents.
According to the police, people have started arriving at Petržalka’s office earlier since the beginning of September because of an increase in the number of people seeking temporary residence in Slovakia due to student, business or personal activities. In the past, people arrived just one hour before the office opened, according to Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák, the Sme daily reported on September 30.
“When they now come at midnight to [reach the officers] at 8:00, it almost resembles waiting for an iPhone,” Kaliňák said, as quoted by Sme.
The foreigners' police office is currently able to handle only 50 people in a single day, which is allegedly due to having to train and instruct new officers. In the past, the office handled 150 people a day and the queues were not as bad, said one of the foreigners in front of the office, according to Sme.
Moreover, foreigners complain that students sometimes come early to wait for appointment tickets issued by the office and then sell them for around €80, and claim that even police officers are selling the tickets.
Kaliňák responded that the police have no control over what happens outside their premises. He admitted that the situation has worsened and blamed it on having to train new people and on the poor state of the building, according to Sme.
(Source: Sme)
Compiled by Roman Cuprik from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
