Home Asylum Report 2022 Section 5. Children and people with special needs in the asylum procedure Unaccompanied minors seeking protection Table of Contents Foreword Acknowledgements Acronyms and abbreviations Introduction Section 1. Global developments in the field of asylum in 2021 1.1. Overview of trends in displacement and protection responses 1.2. Shifting from reactive measures to new sustainable working methods 1.3. Scaling up sustainable, long-term protection solutions 1.4. Climate-induced displacement 1.5. A gender lens on forced displacement 1.6. Global developments surrounding statelessness Section 2. Major developments in asylum in the European Union in 2021 2.1. Reform of the Common European Asylum System: An ongoing process 2.1.1. Background 2.1.2. The Pact on Migration and Asylum The evolution of the Common European Asylum System 2.2. Key developments in policies and practices at the EU level 2.2.1. Presidencies of the Council of the European Union 2.2.2. EU’s external borders and migration routes: Support to frontline Member States in response to the instrumentalisation of migration 2.2.3. Developments in Ukraine 2.3. External dimension of the EU’s asylum policy Temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine 2.4. Jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU 2.4.1. Effective access to the asylum procedure 2.4.2. Dublin procedure 2.4.3. Subsequent applications 2.4.4. Interpretation of the concept of state protection 2.4.5. Determining protection provided by the UNRWA 2.4.6. Interpretation of indiscriminate violence for the purposes of granting subsidiary protection 2.4.7. Use of detention 2.4.8. Extension of protection status as a derived right 2.4.9. Equal treatment 2.4.10. Return of rejected applicants for international protection Section 3. EASO transition to the EUAA 3.1. From EASO to the EUAA 3.2. Operational support Section 4. Functioning of the Common European Asylum System In focus 1: Digitalising asylum and reception systems in 2021 In focus 2: The impact of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic on asylum and reception systems In focus 3: Responses by EU+ countries to new protection needs of Afghan nationals Section 4.1. Access to procedure 4.1.1. Situation on the eastern borders 4.1.2. Situation along the Balkan routes 4.1.3. Situation in Northern and Western Europe 4.1.4. Situation at the Eastern Mediterranean route 4.1.5. Situation at the Central Mediterranean route 4.1.6. Situation at the Western Mediterranean and Western African route 4.1.7. Statistics on applications for international protection Section 4.2. The Dublin procedure 4.2.1. Institutional and staff changes to manage the Dublin procedure 4.2.2. Factors impacting the Dublin system 4.2.3. Information provision in the context of the Dublin procedure 4.2.4. Decisions on outgoing Dublin requests 4.2.4.1. Citizenship of applicants in the Dublin procedure 4.2.4.2. Acceptance rate for Dublin requests 4.2.4.3. Decisions on take back and take charge requests 4.2.5. Use of the discretionary clause 4.2.6. Assessing transfers to specific countries 4.2.7. Deliberations on remedies under the Dublin III Regulation 4.2.8. Clarifications on time limits to implement a transfer 4.2.9. Implementing Dublin transfers 4.2.10. Reception of applicants in the Dublin procedure Section 4.3. Special procedures to assess protection needs 4.3.1 Border procedures 4.3.2 Safe country of origin and safe third country concept 4.3.3 Accelerated procedures 4.3.4 Admissibility procedures 4.3.5 Subsequent applications 4.3.5.1. Data on repeated applications Section 4.4. Processing asylum applications at first instance 4.4.1. Reorganisation of first instance asylum authorities 4.4.2. Legislative and policy developments 4.4.3. Decisions issued on first instance asylum applications 4.4.4. Withdrawn applications Profile of asylum applicants arriving in EU+ countries 4.4.5. Analyses and measures to improve the quality of first instance decisions 4.4.6. Right to be heard and the personal interview 4.4.7. Efforts to further digitalise the asylum procedure 4.4.8. Privacy and data protection in first instance asylum procedures 4.4.9. Prioritisation policies 4.4.10. Guidelines for assessing applications 4.4.11. The length of asylum processes 4.4.12. Processing of applications lodged by specific nationalities Section 4.5. Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance 4.5.1. Organisation of second instance courts 4.5.2. Changes to the appeal procedure 4.5.3. Processing of cases lodged by specific nationalities 4.5.4. The right to an effective remedy Section 4.6. Pending cases Section 4.7. Reception of applicants for international protection 4.7.1. Organisation and functioning of reception systems 4.7.1.1. Changing institutional environments and training staff 4.7.1.2. Adjusting reception capacity 4.7.1.3. Reorganising and adapting reception systems 4.7.1.4. Entitlement to material reception conditions 4.7.1.5. Monitoring the quality of material reception conditions 4.7.1.6. Working together with local authorities 4.7.2. Applicants’ daily life 4.7.2.1. House rules and measures for applicants with disruptive behaviour 4.7.2.2. Freedom of movement 4.7.2.3. Employment 4.7.2.4. Education, orientation and activities within reception centres 4.7.2.5. Health and promoting a healthy lifestyle 4.7.2.6. Administrative processes Reception capacity to accommodate applicants for international protection Section 4.8. Aspects of detention involving asylum applicants and former applicants 4.8.1. Institutional changes and legislative reforms 4.8.2. Recourse to detention 4.8.3. Alternatives to detaining applicants 4.8.4. Conditions in detention facilities 4.8.5. The interplay between the use of detention and the steps of the asylum procedure 4.8.6 Detention of children and applicants with special reception needs Section 4.9. Access to information 4.9.1. Information provision on the asylum procedure 4.9.1.1. New initiatives to improve access to information 4.9.1.2. Information for specific nationalities 4.9.2. Information on everyday life, rights and obligations 4.9.3. Information on the return procedure for rejected applicants Section 4.10. Legal assistance and representation 4.10.1. Eastern borders 4.10.2. Eastern Mediterranean region 4.10.3 Central Mediterranean region 4.10.4. Western Mediterranean region 4.10.5. Western Europe 4.10.6. Central and Eastern Europe 4.10.7. Northern Europe Section 4.11. Interpretation services 4.11.1. Institutional and legislative changes 4.11.2. Digitalising interpretation services 4.11.3. Providing interpretation Section 4.12. Country of origin information 4.12.1. Enhancing capacity and improving methodologies 4.12.2. The focus of COI content Section 4.13. Statelessness in the context of asylum 4.13.1. Changing legislation 4.13.2. Data on statelessness 4.13.3. Identifying stateless persons and their rights 4.13.4. Improving the situation of stateless persons 4.13.5 The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stateless people Section 4.14. Content of protection 4.14.1. Granting international protection: Recognition rates 4.14.1.1. Recognition rates at first instance 4.14.1.2. Recognition rates for specific nationalities 4.14.1.3. Differences in recognition rates for specific nationalities across receiving countries 4.14.2. Building perspectives: Legal status and family reunification 4.14.2.1. National forms of protection and regularisation measures 4.14.2.2. Review, cessation and revocation of international protection status 4.14.2.3. Residence permits and travel documents 4.14.2.4. Family reunification Ensuring family unity in asylum 4.14.3. Developing policies: Integration plans and their evaluations 4.14.3.1. Developing and updating integration strategies 4.14.3.2. Revising legislation on integration 4.14.3.3. Fostering cooperation among different stakeholders 4.14.3.4. Evaluation of integration plans and support 4.14.4. Support for integration: Orientation, education, employment, health and welfare 4.14.4.1. Employment 4.14.4.2. Education 4.14.4.3. Language instruction 4.14.4.4. Social welfare 4.14.4.5. Health care 4.14.4.6. Housing 4.14.4.7. Social orientation Section 4.15. Return of former applicants 4.15.1. Gradually resuming return procedures 4.15.2. Reorganising return procedures to reinforce interconnections with asylum 4.15.3. Digitalising return procedures 4.15.4. Strengthening the voluntary returns and reintegration framework 4.15.5. Enhancing the forced return framework 4.15.6. Implementing readmission agreements in the national framework 4.15.7. The EU-Turkey Statement 4.15.8. Judicial review of procedural guarantees and human rights standards Section 4.16. Resettlement and humanitarian admissions 4.16.1. Resumption of resettlement programmes 4.16.2. Reception for resettled refugees 4.16.3. Complementary pathways for admission 4.16.3.1. Humanitarian admission programmes 4.16.3.2. Community Sponsorship Programmes 4.16.3.3. Complementary education pathways Section 5. Children and people with special needs in the asylum procedure 5.1. Comprehensive approaches to identify and support children and applicants with special needs Unaccompanied minors seeking protection 5.2. Protecting women and girls 5.2.1. Updating procedures to better protect victims of violence 5.2.2. Addressing FGM/C 5.3. Applicants with disabilities and special health needs 5.4. Seeking protection and receiving support in reception based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics 5.5. Identifying and supporting survivors of human trafficking 5.6. Children going through the asylum procedure 5.6.1 Data on unaccompanied minors 5.6.2. Legal representation of asylum-seeking children 5.6.3. Assessing the age of a child applicant 5.6.4. Applicant children’s right to be heard 5.6.5. Children in the reception system 5.6.6. Future perspectives for applicant children: Transitioning into adulthood and issues with residence permits Concluding remarks Reader’s guide Infographics Statistical tables Table 1: Asylum applicants in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 2: First‐time asylum applicants in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 3: Pending cases at the end of the year in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 4: Withdrawn applications in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 5: Unaccompanied minors in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 6: Refugee status at first instance in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 7: Subisidiary protection status at first instance in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 8: Humanitarian protection at first instance in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 9: Rejections at first instance in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 10: Decisions at first instance in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 11: Refugee status at second or higher instances in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 12: Subsidiary protection at second or higher instances in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 13: Humanitarian protection at second or higher instances in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 14: Rejections at second or higher instances in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Table 15: Decisions at second or higher instances in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenship, 2016‐2021 Sources on Asylum 2022 Share Print Book traversal links for Unaccompanied minors seeking protection Previous Parent Next
