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.
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.
Reception of applicants for international protection
Applicants are not entitled to daily allowance anymore if they choose to reside in specific areas with high rates of immigrants and socio-economic challenges (32 municipalities listed), in order to avoid segregation.
The Swedish Migration Agency decided to restructure its head office which would be effective in 2020, as well as restructuring and reducing the regions from five to three. The number of full-time equivalent employees was also decreased from 5 842 to 5 096.
The Migration Office of the Ministry of the Interior issued the guideline, “Procedure of the Provision of Interpretation and Translation Services in the Domain of the Migration Office”.
Reception of applicants for international protection
The Migration Office of the Ministry of the Interior continued to implement the AMIF-funded project Capacity Building in the Field of Asylum, which trains its staff members on reception of asylum seekers, including timely and thorough identification of vulnerable groups.
Reception of applicants for international protection
The Migration Office of the Ministry of the Interior prepared an internal methodology for social workers (“Social Workers’ Competences to Avoid and Solve Critical Situations”) identifying the most frequent types of extraordinary and critical situations that social workers may encounter in asylum facilities, their possible causes and solutions to avoid or manage such situations.
The Act on Census of Population and Housing 2021 was adopted, which provides for information collection, not only on Slovak citizens, but also on other EU nationals, third country nationals and stateless persons.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs introduced a proposal to amend the Social Services Act, which would make financial assistance for third country nationals conditional on being enrolled in language training.
A legislative proposal was introduced for a national legal basis for a forced return monitoring system, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Return Directive.
The COA developed a comic strip for minor applicants about everyday life in a reception centre, appointed a contact person and organised swimming lessons for children.
Reception of applicants for international protection
Applicants become entitled to non-emergency health care treatments after two months from registration. The differentiation on access to health care is not based on the reception location of stay anymore but only on the length of the applicant’s stay in the Netherlands.
Municipalities in the Netherlands received an additional EUR 40 million for 2019 and 2020 to become more involved in the counselling of beneficiaries of international protection in their civic integration and language learning. The additional resources also aim to help municipalities orient themselves towards their directing role in the new civic integration system in order to promote a smooth transition to the new system.
The IND launched a special project and hired additional staff to reduce the backlog in applications from unaccompanied minors and shorten the overall length of the asylum procedure.
Changes in the procedure to grant a residence permit for persons in a distressing situation were implemented (among others) with the abolishment of the discretionary power of the Minister for Migration and by mandating the Managing Director of the IND to consider ex officio within the first assessment of the application whether a distressing situation exists.
