It is important that applicants have access to the information in their case file in accordance with the recast Asylum Procedures Directive as this ensures fair proceedings and facilitates the submission of all the necessary evidence. Since June 2020, applicants from Greece can check the status of their application and perform relevant actions online. The Ministry of Migration and Asylum and the Asylum Service are in the process of digitalising services, and some of the following procedures can now be done online: submission of the full registration (lodging) for pre-registered applicants, request to change the date of the interview, request to change personal data or contact information, request a statement on the application status, submit additional documents, application for legal aid and application for a Provisional Social Security and Health Care Number. 

Similarly, in France, applicants residing in the departments of the Brittany and New Aquitaine regions have access to all documents sent by OFPRA for the examination of their asylum application by accessing a new confidential and secure user area on the OFPRA website. The user area includes the invitation to the personal interview at OFPRA and the decision of the Director General of OFPRA. OFPRA is considering adding more online functionalities.489 This pilot project implements the legislative amendments from 2018 and is foreseen to be extended gradually to the whole territory.490

From spring 2020, the Migration Agency in Sweden improved digital tools to handover appeals and information to the courts. In addition, Austria’s BFA is planning to establish an online platform for applicants which will digitalise the invitation to the personal interview, request for additional documents, notifications of change of address, verification of the stages of their application and notification to applicants of the decision. 


 

 

 

[489] Ministry of Migration and Asylum | Υπουργείο Μετανάστευσης και Ασύλου. (2021, May 12). Applications.migration.gov.gr. https://applications.migration.gov.gr/
[490] French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons | Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides. (2020, July 15). Mise en ligne de l’espace usager sur le site Internet de l’Ofpra. https://www.ofpra.gouv.fr/fr/l-ofpra/actualites/mise-en-ligne-de-l-espace-usager

 

........
 
 
........