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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 Type of development Thematic area Development Source
Ireland Flag Ireland 2023 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Government approval was obtained to create a statutory agency to tackle and reduce domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, which will be tasked with overseeing reception and support for applicant and refugee victims. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Ireland Flag Ireland 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Department of Justice introduced new operating plans so that applicants from safe countries of origin will receive decisions within 3 months instead of the current 17-24 months. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Ireland Flag Ireland 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The International Protection Office hired additional staff (200 new staff and 160 panel members) to address the backlog of applications. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Ireland Flag Ireland 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Minister for Justice published the International Protection Modernisation Programme 2023-2024, which includes recommendations on the development of IT systems, exploring the use of robotic process automation to replace manual data entry tasks, and the wider use of video-conferencing for interviews. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Iceland Flag Iceland 2023 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Amendments to the law specified that applicants with a final rejection retain their reception rights for a maximum 30 days after the administrative decision becomes final. Several exemptions exist to this rule. In addition, the police may authorise to postpone the termination of the rights in certain cases. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Iceland Flag Iceland 2023 Legislative Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The Icelandic Law on Foreigners now specifies that authorities are obliged to take into account the minority of an applicant in the assessment of an application for international protection if the child turned 18 after arriving in the country. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Iceland Flag Iceland 2023 Legislative Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Legislative amendments require the minister in Iceland to establish a regulation on the assessment of the interests of a child who have applied for international protection, but a residence permit on humanitarian consideration may still be granted. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Iceland Flag Iceland 2023 Legislative Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs Subsequent applications can now be dismissed, unless new information is available that increases the applicant’s probability of being recognised as a beneficiary of international protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Iceland Flag Iceland 2023 Legislative Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs According to amendments to the Aliens Act, the decision to reject an asylum application as inadmissible is now automatically appealed to the Immigration Appeals Board (in Dublin-cases, cases when the applicant already received international protection in another country or has a connection to another country (safe third country) that it can be considered reasonable that they stay there), unless the applicant specifically expresses the intention not to appeal the decision. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Iceland Flag Iceland 2023 Legislative Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs The Aliens Act was amended to provide clearer definitions of what constitutes delays in case processing attributable to applicants. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Iceland Flag Iceland 2023 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Training was provided to ensure the continued professional development of staff working in international protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Iceland Flag Iceland 2023 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Appeals on the rejection of a subsequent application are decided by the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of the Appeals Board instead of a panel of committee members. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Iceland Flag Iceland 2023 Policy Access to information Access to information A new web application was launched to provide information to asylum applicants. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Hungary Flag Hungary 2023 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The embassy procedure continued to be implemented, despite the CJEU ruling considering the legislation in breach of EU law. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Greece Flag Greece 2023 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups To accelerate the transfer of unaccompanied minors from the Greek islands to the mainland, dermatological and tuberculosis examinations prior to the departure were discontinued. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Greece Flag Greece 2023 Institutional Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors within the Ministry of Migration and Asylum was abolished and replaced by the General Secretariat of Vulnerable Citizens and Institutional Protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Greece Flag Greece 2023 Institutional Content of protection Content of protection A new helpdesk for the social integration of beneficiaries of international protection was launched by the Directorate of Social Integration of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Greece Flag Greece 2023 Institutional The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure The Dublin Unit undertook a mapping of internal workflows and standard operating procedures to establish a standardised workflow. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Greece Flag Greece 2023 Institutional The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure A dedicated policy sub-division was created within the Dublin Unit, which was tasked to provide advice on the interpretation of the relevant legal framework and suggest improvements to the procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Greece Flag Greece 2023 Institutional Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The Ministry of Migration and Asylum upgraded the Asylum Service’s unified information system for reception and asylum to “Alkyoni II”. The upgrade facilitated several services for asylum seekers and refugees in multilingual and digital formats, such as registering applications, booking interviews and submitting documents. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Greece Flag Greece 2023 Legislative Legal representation and assistance Legal assistance and representation The government adopted a decision which defines practical aspects of the Asylum Code, in particular access to free legal aid in the appeals procedure, the functioning of the Registry of Lawyers, lawyers’ tasks, obligations and payment. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Greece Flag Greece 2023 Policy Access to information Access to information The asylum authority’s website was enhanced to make content accessible to persons with disabilities, such as dyslexia and visual impairments. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Germany Flag Germany 2023 Policy The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure The Dublin unit adapted to the increased workload by adjusting its workflows and prioritising certain tasks and cases. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Germany Flag Germany 2023 Legislative Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs Georgia and Moldova were added to the list of safe countries of origin. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Germany Flag Germany 2023 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The federal government announced further steps to develop a National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings. EUAA Asylum Report 2024