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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 Sort descending Type of development Thematic area Development Source
Latvia Flag Latvia 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The booklet A Guide for Asylum Seekers in Latvia was translated into two additional languages, Azerbaijani and Georgian. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The Swedish Migration Agency published a new handbook on human trafficking, with a part focusing on improving the identification of victims and perpetrators within the asylum procedure. The template for interviewing unaccompanied minors was updated to better detect signs of human trafficking. EASO Asylum Report 2020
United Kingdom United Kingdom 2019 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The third edition of the Indicators of Integration framework was published. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The CGRS, in cooperation with the Guardianship Service, organised several training sessions for guardians on the asylum procedure for unaccompanied minors. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Finland Flag Finland 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Internal instructions guidelines for case workers were updated to report female genital mutilation or the risk thereof to the police and child protection services. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Germany Flag Germany 2019 Policy Interpretation services Interpretation services 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. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Council of Ministers approved several measures on 14 November 2019 to speed up the procedures for international protection by hiring more staff in asylum authorities, increasing reception capacity to accelerate outflow and cooperating closer with all federal government departments. EASO Asylum Report 2020
France Flag France 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A collaborative tool (“TNV Asile”) was developed for prefectural asylum services. It enables practical information sheets to be disseminated, information to be shared, asylum policies to be updated and fosters better interaction between the heads of the one-stop services and Regional Dublin Procedure Hubs and the Directorate for Asylum. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Malta Flag Malta 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Office of the Refugee Commissioner and the IT Unit of the Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement improved the national asylum database that records relevant data pertaining to applications for international protection, as well as for registering asylum seekers. EASO Asylum Report 2020
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
Austria Flag Austria 2019 Institutional Return of former applicants Return of former applicants A new Department for Return and Reintegration (V/10) was established as part of Section V in the Federal Ministry of the Interior. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Swedish Migration Agency decided to restructure its head office which would be effective in 2020, as well as restructuring and reducing the regions from five to three. The number of full-time equivalent employees was also decreased from 5 842 to 5 096. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Germany Flag Germany 2019 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, material reception conditions can be restricted to a greater extent when the applicant does not cooperate. Applicants awaiting a transfer under the Dublin procedure are now entitled only to limited material reception conditions. Material reception conditions are limited to core benefits until leaving the country (Überbrückungsleistungen) for applicants who have already been granted international protection in another EU Member State and whose obligation to leave the territory is enforceable. DE LEG 03 2019
Greece Flag Greece 2019 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Decision on the restriction of movement of applicants of international protection and subsidiary protection recipients. EL LEG 02 2019
Latvia Flag Latvia 2019 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum New legislation provides citizenship automatically to children born to non-citizens in the country, unless the parents have agreed to grant to the child citizenship of another country. LV LEG 01 2019
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Flemish family allowance system was reformed and transformed into a so-called Growth Package (Groeipakket), whereby every child in Flanders is entitled to the allowance as of 1 January 2019, including minor applicants in the second reception phase. BE LEG 02 2019
Denmark Flag Denmark 2019 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection An amendment was made to the criteria for assessing derivative circumstances for cessation, and residence permits of refugees and their family members may be revoked in a wider range of circumstances. DK LEG 01 2019
France Flag France 2019 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection An order defined the operating rules for collective reception centres. FR LEG 11 2019
Ireland Flag Ireland 2019 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The government published the mid-term review of the Migrant Integration Strategy 2017-2020. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Slovakia Flag Slovakia 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Migration Office of the Ministry of the Interior continued to implement the AMIF-funded project Capacity Building in the Field of Asylum, which trains its staff members on reception of asylum seekers, including timely and thorough identification of vulnerable groups. EASO Asylum Report 2020
United Kingdom United Kingdom 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Guidance was updated on assessing applicants who are destitute and eligible for support. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The CGRS implemented a quality control process for gender-related cases, starting with cases which invoked sexual orientation as a ground to monitor the application of its Sexual Orientation Guideline. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Estonia Flag Estonia 2019 Policy Detention Detention during the asylum procedure A legal counsellor was assigned to the detention centre to ensure legal aid for detainees. EASO Asylum Report 2020
France Flag France 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The number of places was substantially increased in France, including the creation of a new type of reception facility in Île-de-France (CAIR). EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure The Immigration Office increased its staff working on Dublin cases. EASO Asylum Report 2020