Asylum seekers in eastern Europe regularly face life without a roof over their heads, UPI cited a U.N. study on homelessness states as showing. In Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia, those seeking asylum are routinely without permanent housing. In many instances they are without housing at all, a report by the U.N. high commissioner for refugees concluded. Citing shortcomings in the integration process, the report found 10 percent of asylum seekers are "living in extreme homelessness" -- with no shelter whatsoever. Another 30 percent to 40 percent are "living in housing exclusion" -- with shelter but no permanent housing. Only 20 percent have secure permanent housing. In Bulgaria the problem is exacerbated by prolonged detention of asylum seekers. Refugees are held unless they declare they have provisions elsewhere -- but making such a declaration invalidates further government assistance, which many asylum seekers don't realize. In Slovakia, only seven of the nearly 500 asylum seekers were granted citizenship in 2011, with many going homeless despite a government housing complex sitting empty, the study found.
