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National Asylum Developments Database

 

The National Asylum Developments Database presents legislative, institutional and policy developments related to asylum since 2018.

Searches can be narrowed down by:

  • Country
  • Year
  • Type of development: legislative, institutional or policy 
  • Thematic area: access to procedure, access to information, legal assistance and representation, interpretation services, special procedures, procedures at first instance, reception of applicants for international protection, detention, procedures at second instance, country of origin information, statelessness in the asylum context, content of protection, return of former applicants, resettlement and humanitarian admission programmes.

Details on each development and further analysis can be consulted in the Asylum Report series.
 

Types of policies and practices reported in the National Asylum Developments Database

The National Asylum Developments Database can be searched by institutional, legislative and policy changes. There are three types of policy developments:

Policies and practices related to the integrity of national asylum systems aim to swiftly identify unfounded asylum applications and ensure that financial, human and administrative resources are not dissipated on such claims. These measures involve efforts to rapidly establish an applicant’s identity, including age, country of origin, travel route and security concerns if any. These facts help to better assess the credibility of the applicant’s statements and determine whether beneficiaries of international protection are still in need of protection. The prevention of unintentional misuse of the asylum procedure and its integrity are also supported by the provision of information to asylum applicants and beneficiaries of international protection on their respective rights and obligations and related procedural arrangements.

Policies and practices that improve the efficiency of national asylum systems include digitalisation and the use of new technologies in the framework of asylum, prioritising or fast-tracking applications, the re-organisation of the procedure itself or implementing changes in the number of staff employed.

Policy and practice aiming to enhance the quality of national asylum systems contribute to increasing fairness, integrity and efficiency. Quality assurance systems, guidance materials and capacity-building measures typically pay off on the initial investment and efforts. The initiatives include staff training, revising existing guidance materials and monitoring the quality of the decisions delivered.

The database presents validated factual information and does not imply any endorsement from the European Commission or EUAA.

Flag Country Year Type of development Sort descending Thematic area Development Source
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups In preparation for the entry into force of the UN CRC Act (2018:1197) on 1 January 2020, the Swedish Migration Agency developed guidelines on assessing the best interests of the child in accordance with Article 3 of the UN CRC, trained around 500 case officers and 40 head of units in children's rights, and developed a technical tool supporting the determination of the best interests of the child. It also developed new guidelines on the placement of unaccompanied minor applicants assigned to a municipality. Information on the asylum procedure was developed specially for children aged 7 to 12 years, available through a mobile application. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Content of protection Content of protection A new financing system in the asylum sector entered into force to coordinate optimally the tasks of care, social assistance and integration support for refugees, provisionally admitted persons and persons in need of protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
United Kingdom United Kingdom 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection New guidance provided instructions to caseworkers when an asylum seeker reports an incident of domestic abuse while the application is being assessed. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The CGRS continued training protection officers and supervisors who were joining the minors team, and informative sessions were organised to all new protection officers. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Finland Flag Finland 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The AMIF-funded Competent Representative (Osaava edustaja) project was launched, developing online training for representatives of unaccompanied minors. EASO Asylum Report 2020
France Flag France 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Withdrawal cards have been replaced by payment cards, on which the asylum applicant receives at the beginning of each month the allowance entitlement. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The CGRS in Belgium continued to give refugee status to minor girls with a well-founded fear of persecution due to female genital mutilation, but parents were no longer granted derived refugee status automatically and needed to submit a separate request for regularisation. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Finland Flag Finland 2019 Policy Country of origin information Country of origin information The SOPU project was launched to develop a new reporting model on country of origin information. In addition, the FAKTA project continued to develop a more resource-efficient model for planning and implementing fact-finding missions. Development on the new COI database continued. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2019 Policy Access to information Access to information The Refugee Reception Centre launched lectures for refugees and asylum applicants on the differences in status, rights and responsibilities, as well as general information on Lithuania (history, geography, education labour law, domestic violence, medical services, etc). With the use of new technologies, the Rukla Refugee Reception Centre also provided similar information through its new Facebook social network account. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The CGRS published updates on the processing of applications filed by Palestinians. For Palestinians for whom a particular individual well-founded fear of persecution is not established and who depend on assistance from the UNRWA, it must be checked if the individual can still count on assistance from the UNRWA. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The State Agency for Refugees established a pilot programme of self-care and well-being classes for women in the reception and registration centre Vrazhdebna in Sofia. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Denmark Flag Denmark 2021 Policy Content of protection Content of protection A new digital application was launched to allow family members other than spouses and children to apply online for family reunification. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Norway Flag Norway 2020 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection One-year-old children in reception centres were included in the financing scheme of free, full-time care in kindergarten. EASO Asylum Report 2021
France Flag France 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure Discussions were underway to revise the methods for an age assessment, in particular related to bone X-rays. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Swedish Migration Agency updated its legal position on the situation in the Tigray region in Ethiopia. (The legal position was repealed in 2021 and is no longer in force.) EASO Asylum Report 2021
Iceland Flag Iceland 2021 Policy Information provision on the asylum procedure Information provision on the asylum procedure A new information hub was launched, newiniceland.is, which provides information in eight languages through online counsellors and telephone interpretation in additional languages. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Swedish Migration Agency published a new legal position on the examination of the best interests of the child. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Italy Flag Italy 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Government authorities entered into an agreement with the Italian Red Cross to provide support to the persons onboard the vessels and initiate the identification of vulnerable persons. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Finland Flag Finland 2020 Policy Interpretation services Interpretation services The Finnish Immigration Service developed a quality assurance system for the interpretation services used during asylum interviews, in the framework of the AMIF-funded Tulppaani project. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Latvia Flag Latvia 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs in Latvia committed to introduce improvements to the registration system by December 2021. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Ireland Flag Ireland 2020 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Based on the findings of the report of the Advisory Group on the Provision of Support including Accommodation to Persons in the International Protection Process, the government would publish a White Paper on the replacement of the Direct Provision System with a new, non-profit international protection accommodation policy. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Malta Flag Malta 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Authorities expressed the view that cooperation on returns to Libya is indispensable for the effective management of sea arrivals. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Policy Access to information Access to information The COA published a new brochure for employers Newcomers on their way to work - Guide for employers, providing information to facilitate the employment of beneficiaries of international protection. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The control boards (regietafel) moved to the next implementation phase and continued to ensure that all information is available on the specific individual cases, before they entered the phase of the regular procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The integration process of beneficiaries of international protection was adjusted. An individual integration plan is proposed to each beneficiary while they are still accommodated at the Refugee Reception Centre. The plan is updated once beneficiaries settle in a municipality in cooperation with the municipality's body in charge of integration. The support services are tailored to each person's specific needs and financial support is defined according to the person's progress and personal efforts EASO Asylum Report 2021