to accept the fact that she was not entitled to receive compensation after the death of her husband who died before the Act Regulating the Compensation for Damage Sustained as a Result of Erasure from the Register of Permanent Residents was adopted. Considering the statement that, the Ministry of the Interior is according to the ZDRS competent to provide substantive explanations about the method and conditions of acquiring citizenship after extraordinary naturalisation, and administrative units do not have this authority, but they can accept an application for extraordinary naturalisation and forward it to the Ministry of the Interior, the Ombudsman believed that this was not true. The Ministry of the Interior emphasised that, in accordance with the principle of the protection of clients rights in administrative procedures, administrative units are obliged to inform clients of the legal and implementing regulations and conditions for acquiring citizenship after extraordinary naturalisation. One complainant wrote about the intended accommodation of refugees in an old primary school. He stated that the mayor had offered the facility without notifying the city council. The complainant believed that former school premises were inappropriate for accommodating migrants and that residents were not in favour of this. They believed that their safety and that of other Slovenian citizens was endangered, because they were exposed to an uncontrolled influx of people. The Ombudsman explained to the Ministry of the Interior that administrative units rarely receive applications for citizenship after extraordinary naturalisation, but this must not be a reason for not providing an explanation in the administrative procedure or for the fact that the unit disposes of inaccurate forms. State authorities must, regardless of the quantity of considered matters, do their work professionally and ensure that they have all the forms and documentation that are provided to the client in the procedure in accordance with the valid legislation. The Ombudsman commended the decision of the Ministry of the Interior to notify administrative units about the use of appropriate forms and explanations, and proposed that the administrative unit apologise to the complainant for their error and to reimburse him for the paid administrative fee and costs of the procedure. In its last reply, the Ministry of the Interior emphasised that the case involved an unintentional error by the administrative unit. Since they are aware of the importance of the principle of the protection of clients’ rights and good management, they will send the complainant an apology, including the option to choose between reimbursement of the administrative fee or exemption from paying the fee in the event of a subsequent resubmission of the application for citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, while the evidence submitted will be considered in the new procedure. The Ministry realised its promises, and the complainant informed us on the progress and thanked us for our mediation. The Ombudsman commends the response of the Ministry of the Interior in this case, which is a good example for how to resolve similar cases. 5.1-6/2015 Aliens In 2015, we considered 65 complaints concerning aliens’ status issues, two more than in 2014. Most complainants only made inquiries about how to obtain a residence permit in Slovenia for themselves and their family members, and about the possibilities of family reunion or acquiring work permits. We sent them appropriate explanations and instructions; we made additional inquiries in cases of complaints which suggested that further irregularities could occur. In most cases, the ministry and administrative units acted appropriately and on a timely basis. Only one fifth of all complaints in this area were justified. Several complainants contacted us about reimbursement claims based on the Act Regulating the Compensation for Damage Sustained as a Result of Erasure from the Register of Permanent Residents. One complainant complained about an alleged inaccurate determination of the period of erasure from the register of permanent residents of the Republic of Slovenia. Based on his statements and information sent by the Ministry of the Interior, we found that the complaint was unjustified. We must also mention a complainant who contacted us about compensation for damage sustained as a result of erasure for her deceased husband. She was not able 98 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA FOR 2015 Several complainants sent opinions about the so-called migration crisis. In their letters, they emphasised the conduct of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, volunteering, the closure of borders, the need to help refugees, the readiness of Slovenia to accept refugees, the failure of the police to take action against economic migrants who come to Slovenia illegally, violations of the Schengen rules etc. Based on this, we established that people are quite fearful, and so they have a negative attitude to refugees who, for the most part, passed through Slovenia in large numbers. The main reasons for this fear are distrust and the poor provision of information. We sent explanations on our findings and ways to complain to all complainants, as well as other options available to them. Allocating financial social assistance based on the Aliens Act A complainant wrote to the Ombudsman about the denial of financial social assistance based on the Aliens Act (ZTuj). He had a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia, which he obtained based on a permit to remain here. The Ombudsman dealt with this issue in 2013 and 2014, and also highlighted this issue in the Annual Report, so in this particular case, the Ombudsman sent an opinion to the competent social work centre on the application of provisions of the ZTuj. The competent social work centre was informed about paragraph two of Article 51 of the ZTuj-2, which also stipulates that an alien with a temporary residence permit and no means of subsistence has the right to financial assistance in the amount and in the manner stipulated for the payment of financial aid by the act on social assistance benefits. The funds for financial aid are ensured and paid for by the social work centre competent for the area where the alien resides. We also clarified that the explanation of the decision which determined that the complainant was not entitled to financial social assistance also shows that the application for financial social assistance was lodged on 30 December 2014, and that he was not entitled to financial social assistance because he did not have a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia. The then applicable ZTuj, which was the legal basis for decision making in this case, stipulated that an alien with a temporary residence permit and no means of subsistence has the right to basic welfare, as applies to aliens who are permitted to remain in the Republic of Slovenia. The provision that determines the rights of aliens permitted to remain in the Republic of Slovenia also states that the right to basic care is the right to financial assistance in the amount and in the manner stipulated for the payment of financial social assistance by the act regulating social assistance benefits. The funds for financial assistance are provided by the centre. We also emphasised that in the 2013 annual report the Ombudsman pointed out problems related to the lack of consideration of the aforementioned provisions of the ZTuj; however, in our opinion, social work centres should decide on financial social assistance. The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities did not agree with the Ombudsman’s opinion; however, the Ministry of the Interior confirmed our standpoint, and due to the unclear provisions of the ZTuj, it prepared an amendment to the Act, which entered into force on 1 January 2015. This amendment now clearly determines who decides on the right to financial social assistance and who provides the funds for this assistance. The competent social work centre was also notified that the ZTuj was unclear to the extent that it was not possible to decide on the right to financial social assistance; therefore, we assessed that in the decision to reject, the substantive law was erroneously applied, since the competent social work centre did not base its position on the provisions of the ZTUj in its explanation. The competent social work centre was requested to ANNUAL REPORT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA FOR 2015 99 2.6 ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS 2.6 ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS complainant which he could have avoided if he had accurate information, since he would not have submitted the application had he known that he did not meet all the conditions for acquiring Slovenian citizenship. Considering the fact that the old form stated that the condition for several years of active participation in a Slovenian association abroad must be fulfilled, the complainant assumed that he fulfilled the conditions for acquiring Slovenian citizenship. The application for acquiring Slovenian citizenship was denied because he did not fulfil the condition of five years’ active participation in a Slovenian association abroad, as determined by the valid Decree. The complainant was therefore unintentionally misled into believing that he met the conditions for acquiring Slovenian citizenship.