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.
Executive Officers in the International Protection Office (IPO) were granted the authority for single sign-off on certain cases. Some panel members and case workers are assigned to handle caseloads from specific countries to improve their knowledge for swift decision-making.
Reception of applicants for international protection
The tasks for reception and accommodation were divided into two new sections within the Immigration Service Delivery Function: International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) and International Protection Procurement Services (IPPS).
Section 3(1) of the Immigration Act 1999 was amended to confirm that the Minister’s power to make a deportation order is subject to the prohibition of refoulement set out in the Immigration Act 1999, Section 3A. The Minister for Justice and Equality clarified that this legal amendment corrected a gap in the law.
The Hungarian Immigration and Asylum Office (IAO) was transformed into the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (NDGAP) and is now under the management of the Police.
Government Decree 277/2018 (XII. 21.) entered into force, modifying Government Decree 114/2007 (V. 24.), which clarified the types of administrative actions that the Aliens Police can carry out in the absence of a legal guardian when the applicant is an unaccompanied minor.
The Hungarian Government extended the time limit of Government Decree 41/2016 (III. 9.) stating that there was a continued state of crisis caused by mass migration.
Greece adopted a list of 12 safe countries of origin: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Georgia, Ghana, India, Morocco, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, The Gambia and Ukraine.
Several new changes were brought with the new law: specific profiles will be prioritised, subsequent applications should be examined within five days (or two days for a removal procedure), the vulnerability assessment is only intended to trigger the provision of reception needs and prioritise the application but does not exempt the applicant from specific procedures, and the reception and identification procedures were organised into five stages.
Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance
The new law provides new time limits to submit appeals, schedule hearings on appeal depending on the day of the submission of an appeal, and issue appeals decisions. It provides for the suspensive effect of appeals for deportation, readmission and return procedures.
The new law requires beneficiaries of international protection to leave the reception facility two months from recognition instead of the previously-applicable six months, at which point social welfare support would also cease.
The Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Social Solidarity in Greece issued several ministerial decisions throughout the year related to the registry of professional guardianship, guardian selection criteria, training and the procedures for the assessment and determination of the best interests of the child.
A special team of interpreters was recruited for quality assurance to develop and implement further improvements and to train BAMF employees on communicating with applicants through an interpreter.
