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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 Sakārtot dilstošā secībā Country Year Type of development Thematic area Development Source
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The policy on sur place refugees was clarified, based on the jurisprudence of the Council of State. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Further guidance was added on how to interpret the element political conviction: it is clarified that the applicant cannot be expected to exercise restraint on his/her fundamental political views, which may be actions or expressions that are particularly important for the person's identity or moral integrity. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance When assessing the recast Qualification Directive, Article 15(c) criteria on whether there is serious and individual threat to a civilian's life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict, the IND needs to take into account whether there is a basic security structure present in the country of origin or in a specific area of the country. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The IND amended its policy on Sudan and previously-granted asylum permits will be reassessed if the permit was granted due to the situation in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Detention Detention during the asylum procedure An amendment to the Aliens Act established a clear legal basis for continuing the detention of a rejected applicant at the border during the appeal phase in the border procedure. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Detention Detention during the asylum procedure The grounds were extended for placing an unaccompanied minor in detention for the purpose of return. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum The draft law on the statelessness determination procedure was presented to the Dutch parliament. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection The Alien Circular 2000 now explicitly states that the IND has to always include in the decision on family reunification all indicative statements and documents, and in some cases, further examination may be initiated. When a contradiction leads to no further investigation, this has to be motivated. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection Further clarifications were provided for the assessment of family reunification for beneficiaries of international protection. For example, the fact that the family members were not named during the asylum procedure is not in itself a ground to reject family reunification, but it can be taken into account when assessing the actual family link. For foster children, the biological parents' identity and the foster parent's family link to the biological parents always need to be clarified. When the biological parents are still present, the link between a foster child and foster parents can only be recognised for family reunification under very exceptional circumstances. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants The time limit for announcing the exact date of the forced removal is shortened from 48 hours to 36 hours (Article A3/6). The announcement can be omitted if there is a risk that the prior announcement would endanger the safety or health of the person or the family members. If the departure cannot take place, a new option is sought, and if the removal can take place within 2 days from the original date, a new prior notice is not necessary. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants The Aliens Circular was amended and clarified that when a child is born after a parent has received a return decision, even though the child is subject to an independent return decision, the period of voluntary return is aligned to the parents' decision and expires at the same time. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups 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. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The number of reception places was substantially increased. The Minister for Migration announced the creation of 5 000 additional places. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection 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. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Policy Content of protection Content of protection 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. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups 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. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The project, Participation and Language, was extended to all reception centres (AZC). EASO Asylum Report 2020
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Policy Content of protection Content of protection 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. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Legislative The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure An amendment of the Dutch Aliens Act (Vw, Vreemdelingenwet), Article 50a, permitted applicants or Dublin claimants, who are legally residing after a decision on the asylum application and awaiting a Dublin transfer, to be stopped, transferred to a place to be questioned and kept in custody for a maximum of six hours if needed to assess whether detention is necessary in the framework of the Dublin procedure. NL LEG 01 2019
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants An amendment to the Aliens Circular (Vc) was enacted: while in principle after the rejection of the first asylum application a departure period is granted, exceptions to the rule were extended concerning (among other things) apparently unfounded applications and applications predominantly based on socio-economic grounds. NL LEG 02 2019
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Legislative Special procedures to process asylum applications Special procedures to process asylum applications An amendment to the Aliens Circular (Vc) established a new procedure regarding lodging and assessing subsequent asylum applications. NL LEG 03 2019
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Legislative Special procedures to process asylum applications Special procedures to process asylum applications An amendment to the Aliens Decree (Vb) established the possibility to omit the personal interview in subsequent applications. NL LEG 06 2019
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Legislative Detention Detention during the asylum procedure The law proposal to amend the Aliens Act (Vw) established a legal basis for border detention after rejection of an asylum application. NL LEG 04 2019
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Legislative Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Major changes were implemented for applicants in the Dublin procedure who claimed to be victims of human trafficking. This group of applicants will now only receive the special temporary residence permit for victims of human trafficking if their presence is considered to be essential for the investigation and prosecution of the case, and the Netherlands as a consequence only takes responsibility for their application if that is the case. NL LEG 05 2019
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2019 Legislative Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The Aliens Circular was amended to clarify that an age assessment takes place in two separate sessions, one with the AVIM and one with the IND. Employees of the same public authority assess the age independently, but they can attend the same assessment session. NL LEG 05 2019