Skip to main content

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 ascending Type of development Thematic area Development Source
Greece Flag Greece 2022 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A new classification of laws on international protection, reception and temporary protection was set in a new code through Law No 4939/2022. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Italy Flag Italy 2022 Legislative Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure A new regulation was adopted to consolidate in one legislative piece the tasks of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies related to unaccompanied minors. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2022 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum A bill was passed for a new stateless determination procedure and another bill amended the Dutch Nationality Act to allow stateless children to apply for naturalisation after 5 years of habitual residence. The bills still need to be adopted by the Senate. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Slovakia Flag Slovakia 2022 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Asylum Act was amended and codified the practice that applicants can stay outside of the reception facility for 3 months, with the possibility of extending this period without losing the right to material reception conditions. The act also regulates the initial integration of beneficiaries of international protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Austria Flag Austria 2022 Policy Access to procedure icon 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
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The State Agency for Refugees `adapted the EUAA quality assessment tool to review first instance decisions and personal interviews. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Finland Flag Finland 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Immigration Service announced in February 2023 that gender alone would constitute a sufficient reason to grant international protection to Afghan women and girls. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Greece Flag Greece 2022 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Reception capacity decreased and the ESTIA programme was completed and discontinued. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Italy Flag Italy 2022 Policy The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure Italy requested the temporary suspension of incoming Dublin transfers due to a lack of reception places. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The moratorium on decisions and departures for Afghan applicants ended, and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) resumed the decision process on a case-by-case basis. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2022 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure As a one-time action, the care for unaccompanied children who were at least 17.5 years on 1 July 2022 was taken over by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) from Nidos, and the minors were accommodated in regular reception places instead of ones dedicated to minors. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Sweden Flag Sweden 2022 Policy The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure The Swedish Migration Agency approved a new legal position (RS/010/2022) related to Dublin transfers by which it continues to suspend transfers too Hungary as long as the situation persists. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs The fast-track procedure was re-introduced for nationals of certain countries of origin: countries on the list of safe countries of origin, visa-exempt countries and – because of the high number of weakly-justified claims – Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Poland Flag Poland 2022 Institutional Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Team for Coordination of Anti-Trafficking in Human Beings was established as a separate organisational unit reporting to the Deputy Director of the Department for International Affairs and Migration at the Ministry of the Interior and Administration. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2022 Legislative The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure The government adopted amendments to the ordinance regulating the coordination between the asylum and police (border and immigration) administrations when implementing the Dublin III Regulation. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Finland Flag Finland 2022 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection Several legislative amendments were introduced to prepare for the transfer of responsibility for organising health and social services, including integration services, from municipalities to wellbeing services counties. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Greece Flag Greece 2022 Legislative Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs Türkiye was retained as a safe third country. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Italy Flag Italy 2022 Legislative Detention Detention during the asylum procedure The use of quarantine vessels was extended until the end of May 2022. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Malta Flag Malta 2022 Legislative Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Immigration Act was amended on the rules for appointing interim guardians for prohibited migrants who claim to be minors. The CEO of AWAS may again appoint a guardian. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Romania Flag Romania 2022 Legislative Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The government approved a decision on a new national mechanism to identify and refer victims of human trafficking. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Federal Council submitted a proposal for amendments on the operation of reception centres to ensure the safety and security of asylum applicants and reception staff. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Belgium Flag Belgium 2022 Policy Resettlement Resettlement and humanitarian admissions The government pledged to resettle 500 refugees and to admit 125 people under humanitarian admission programmes. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Denmark Flag Denmark 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Danish Immigration Services extended processing deadlines and shifted personnel to allow for the prioritisation of applications lodged under the Special Act on Residence Permits for Displaced Persons from Ukraine. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Germany Flag Germany 2022 Policy Resettlement Resettlement and humanitarian admissions Germany launched a new programme at the federal level to admit 1,000 vulnerable Afghan nationals per month. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Ireland Flag Ireland 2022 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The International Protection Student Scheme 2022-2023 provided grants to eligible school leavers in the international protection system. EUAA Asylum Report 2023