|
Belgium |
2022 |
Policy |
|
Processing asylum applications at first instance |
Certain categories of applicants were prioritised, including those in the reception system or from countries with high recognition rates, where a decision could be taken based on evidence in the file. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Policy |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
The winter plan was signed, for example reserving a certain number of places in the accommodation structure for the homeless, in particular for applicants for international protection. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Policy |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
4,000 places were created in the reception system throughout 2022. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Content of protection |
Integration programmes for newcomers became mandatory in Brussels, including for beneficiaries of international protection. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Content of protection |
The government announced its intention to create a separate right of residence through family reunification for parents of children who are recognised beneficiaries of international protection. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Policy |
|
Access to procedure |
The registration process was reorganised, and applicants were required to report again directly to the Immigration Office in the Pacheco building instead of the arrival centre. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Policy |
|
The Dublin procedure |
The accelerated procedure for specific, predefined potential Dublin cases was revised. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Processing asylum applications at first instance |
The Belgian Council of Ministers approved the structure of the new Migration Code. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Statelessness in the context of asylum |
The government pledged to introduce a new legal status for stateless persons which would give them the right to legally reside in Belgium if they cannot return to their country of habitual residence. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance |
CALL launched a digital tool on 1 March 2022, entitled J-BOX, to exchange procedural documents electronically instead of using registered mail. The use of the tool became mandatory in appeals for accelerated and urgent measures. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Processing asylum applications at first instance |
A legal amendment explicitly allowed the CGRS to organise interviews through videoconference for applicants for international protection. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Belgium |
2022 |
Institutional |
|
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 |
2022 |
Institutional |
|
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 |
|
Austria |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
Financing for people in reception was increased, after the Austrian Federal Parliament approved an amendment to the agreement between the federal state and the provinces. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Austria |
2022 |
Policy |
|
Access to procedure |
The police in Austria changed the registration system by internal decree for applicants arriving at the border with Hungary. Unaccompanied minors, families and other vulnerable persons continued to be handled in the regular scheme, while other applicants were registered and finger-printed right at the border. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Austria |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Special procedures to assess protection needs |
Ukraine was removed from the list of safe countries of origin. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Austria |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Content of protection |
New rules on orientation courses entered into force, including the extension of the obligatory orientation course from 1 to 3 days and the inclusion of modules on gender equality, antisemitism and the importance of voluntary work. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Poland |
2021 |
Policy |
|
Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure |
A special centre for single women and single mothers, operated by a contractor, was closed. The authorities were planning to construct a new, state-owned centre for women with AMIF funding. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Poland |
2021 |
Policy |
|
Detention during the asylum procedure |
The training centre of the Ministry of National Defence in Wędrzyn was lent to the Border Guard for purpose of detention, and two Border Guard stations in proximity of the Belarusian border (Dubicze Cerkiewne and Połowce) became centres for the registration of foreigners in which the foreigners were held after being issued a decision on detention, before being transported to a detention centre. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Poland |
2021 |
Policy |
|
Content of protection |
Two pilot integration centres were launched in the voivodeships of Opolskie and Wielkopolskie, as the second phase of the AMIF-funded project “Building Structures for the Integration of Foreigners in Poland.” Their tasks include information provision, Polish language courses, orientation, and intercultural, legal and psychological counselling. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Poland |
2021 |
Policy |
|
Detention during the asylum procedure |
To accommodate a larger number of detainees, as an emergency solution, the minimum space per person was reduced from 4 sqm to 2 sqm on the basis of the Ordinance of the Minister of the Interior and Administration. All detention centre for families and single women returned to 4 sqm on 25 April 2022, and the centre in Wedrzyn returned to 4 sqm on 6 June 2022. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Poland |
2021 |
Policy |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
Two centres from the Office for Foreigners were lent to the Border Guard due to the need for more capacity in detention. Thus, the capacity in reception facilities temporarily decreased. One of these centres was returned to the Office for Foreigners in mid-June 2022. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Poland |
2021 |
Legislative |
|
Access to procedure |
A new procedure was introduced to issue a decision to leave the territory when a foreigner is intercepted immediately after illegal crossing the EU’s external border. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Switzerland |
2021 |
Legislative |
|
Content of protection |
Amendments to the Swiss Federal Act on Foreigners and Integration were adopted, imposing a general travel ban on persons with temporary admission as of 2022. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Switzerland |
2021 |
Legislative |
|
Return of former applicants |
A number of legislative changes were adopted in the area of asylum and return, including compulsory COVID-19 tests for a person subject to a return, expulsion measure or a Dublin transfer, even against their will. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |