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.
A new database (AEM, Appui à l’évaluation de minorité) was created, providing support from central state authorities to the départements in carrying out age assessments.
Reception of applicants for international protection
The order defined the state’s financial contribution to the départements for accommodating and assessing the health of applicants claiming to be unaccompanied minors.
Several provisions of the Law of 10 September 2018 entered into force in 2019 on managed immigration, an effective right of asylum and successful integration.
The decree specifying the conditions to orient applicants to the appropriate authority to lodge an application came into force, which allows as an exception for phone communication with the protection officer for the interview, if neither an in-person nor a video-conference interview is possible with the applicant.
A provision for a multi-year residence permit stating “beneficiary of stateless person status” or “family member of a beneficiary of stateless person status” was established and the rules were clarified for processing applications for this type of permit.
The AMIF-funded Competent Representative (Osaava edustaja) project was launched, developing online training for representatives of unaccompanied minors.
Internal instructions guidelines for case workers were updated to report female genital mutilation or the risk thereof to the police and child protection services.
The AMIF-funded asylum procedure information provision, ONE project, was concluded, which facilitated access to legal aid from reception centres and to information throughout the whole asylum procedure.
A survey commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior in 2018 was finalised, examining the asylum procedure as a whole (including the practices of the administrative courts) and cooperation between the different authorities.
Reception of applicants for international protection
The AMIF-funded TERTTU project came to an end, after developing a health examination protocol for assessing applicants' health, well-being and health care needs in the arrival stage.
Reception of applicants for international protection
The AMIF-funded PSYYKE project was launched to train reception staff on mental health work and draft a mental health work manual for the reception system.
