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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 Sort descending Type of development Thematic area Development Source
Sweden Flag Sweden 2022 Policy Resettlement Resettlement and humanitarian admissions Following a decision of the new Swedish parliament, the annual refugee quota was reduced from 5,000 to 900 resettled refugees for 2023. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Sweden Flag Sweden 2022 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The description of the age assessment method followed by the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine was updated to make the process more detailed and transparent, minimise risks and interpret the margin of errors and factors affecting the statistical model. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Sweden Flag Sweden 2022 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The legal position was updated on a child’s age assessment for family reunification with recent CJEU case law. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs The fast-track procedure was re-introduced for nationals of certain countries of origin: countries on the list of safe countries of origin, visa-exempt countries and – because of the high number of weakly-justified claims – Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Switzerland significantly increased the number of accommodation places for asylum applicants and persons in need of temporary protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) started to assign some applicants for international protection to cantons at an earlier stage to alleviate overcrowding in federal reception centres. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The military offered temporary support in the establishment and operation of federal reception centres, pending the arrival of newly-recruited, qualified State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) staff. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Muslim chaplaincy service is provided on a permanent basis in federal asylum centres. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Legal representation and assistance Legal assistance and representation The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) decided that the granting of free legal advice should also apply to persons who file an asylum application from detention. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
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
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Resettlement Resettlement and humanitarian admissions Resettlement was temporarily suspended due to the influx of displaced persons from Ukraine.. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Return of former applicants Return of former applicants The Federal Council modified the assessment for fitness to travel of persons who are returned or expelled. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Belgium Flag Belgium 2022 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Efforts to recruit staff for the Immigration Office, CGRS and Fedasil continued throughout 2022. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Belgium Flag Belgium 2022 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The State Secretary for Asylum and Migration announced that it considered plans to merge the Immigration Office, the CGRS and Fedasil. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Germany Flag Germany 2022 Institutional Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The German Federal Ministry of the Interior increased its financial support to municipalities which accommodate applicants for international protection and beneficiaries of temporary protection. The federal government also provided federal buildings to municipalities to be used as reception facilities. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Iceland Flag Iceland 2022 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A temporary Council of Ministers for Immigrants and Refugees was appointed by proposal of the Prime Minister and approval of the government. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Iceland Flag Iceland 2022 Institutional Content of protection Content of protection The Minister of Education and Children established a steering group on refugee children's issues, which is tasked to monitor the situation of refugee children, provide advice, assess government measures and ensure that measures are aligned with international standards. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Latvia Flag Latvia 2022 Institutional Information provision on the asylum procedure Information provision on the asylum procedure The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs developed new leaflets and piloted a hotline to provide information on the asylum procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Poland Flag Poland 2022 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Department for Refugee Proceedings at the Office for Foreigners was reorganised with more specialised teams to work with specific categories of applicants, such as detained applicants or applicants from specific countries of origin. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Poland Flag Poland 2022 Institutional Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Team for Coordination of Anti-Trafficking in Human Beings was established as a separate organisational unit reporting to the Deputy Director of the Department for International Affairs and Migration at the Ministry of the Interior and Administration. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Portugal Flag Portugal 2022 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Ministry of Home Affairs announced the creation of a new asylum and migration agency. In addition, the Immigration and Border Service (SEF) will be restructured. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Institutional Content of protection Content of protection The Federal Council approved financial support for integration measures, including contributions to cantonal programmes which promote employment. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Ireland Flag Ireland 2022 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The International Protection Act was amended to provide for the prioritisation of applications from safe countries of origin and the acceleration of appeal proceedings before the International Protection Appeals Tribunal. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Ireland Flag Ireland 2022 Legislative Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure A bill was adopted to modify the National Referral Mechanism for human trafficking. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
France Flag France 2022 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A new OFPRA branch office was established in Mayotte for the lodging of applications for international protection in the territory. EUAA Asylum Report 2023