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According to the Slovenian news
agency STA, the Slovenian police stopped more than 32,000
illegal immigrants at the border with Croatia in 2022. This was
a 214% increase from the year before. Recent statistics show
that most of the increase is due to a large number of people
from Afghanistan, Burundi, India, Pakistan, and Russia taking
the so-called Balkan Route. According to STA, Afghanistan was
the largest single source country, with 6,010 migrants recorded,
nearly doubling the number recorded a year ago. More than 5,000
came from Burundi, where nationals took advantage of a
now-closed loophole that allowed them to travel visa-free to
Serbia, and then to the EU. Indian nationals can also travel to
Western Balkan countries without a visa, and they made up the
third largest group of migrants. Last year, nearly 3,900 people
entered Slovenia, up from only 73 in 2021, the agency noted.
