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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 Sort descending Source
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
Finland Flag Finland 2021 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance An amendment to the Aliens Act extended the time limit to 30 days to submit an appeal against a decision of the Finnish Immigration Service and before the Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
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 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 Decree (Vb) established the possibility to omit the personal interview in subsequent applications. NL LEG 06 2019
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2020 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection An amendment to the Asylum Act entered into force, which describes the modalities and limits of video surveillance in federal reception centres. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Austria Flag Austria 2020 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants An amendment to the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum Procedures Act, promulgated on 23 December 2020, requires mandatory return counselling sessions to be held at an advanced stage of the procedure. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants An amendment to the Immigration Act further clarified decision-making competences in issuing an order to leave the territory. BE LEG 03 2019
Luxembourg Flag Luxembourg 2020 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection An amendment to the Immigration Law was presented to the parliament, which aimed to simplify the family reunification procedure in general and to extend the time limit for facilitated family reunification criteria for beneficiaries of international protection from 3 months to 6 months. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Austria Flag Austria 2019 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection An amendment to the Integration Act requires the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs to provide German courses to a minimum B1 level to beneficiaries of international protection older than 15 years. AT LEG 04 2019
Ireland Flag Ireland 2021 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants An amendment to the International Protection Act 2015, Section 48(3) to extend the 5-day period for a voluntary return to 30 days has been finalised for inclusion in the General Scheme of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022, a government priority bill. This change was implemented in line with recommendations of the Advisory Group on the Provision of Support including Accommodation to Persons in the International Protection Process. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2019 Legislative Access to information Access to information An amendment to the Law on Asylum and Refugees clarified the role of organisations which provide legal and social assistance. BG LEG 01 2019
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2019 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum An amendment to the Law on Foreigners stated that stateless persons who do not meet the requirements for permanent or long-term residence may obtain permission for a one-year prolonged stay. BG LEG 01 2019
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2020 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum An amendment to the Law on Foreigners was adopted which introduced new grounds for refusing to grant stateless status. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2020 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection An amendment to the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners entered into force in January 2020, which granted applicants the right to work if the Migration Department had not taken a decision on their application within 6 months of the lodging and the applicants were not responsible for the delay. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2019 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection An amendment to the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners granted applicants the right to work if the Migration Department had not taken a decision on their application within six months of the lodging and the applicants were not responsible for the delay. LT LEG 02 2019
Norway Flag Norway 2021 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection An amendment to the Norwegian Social Services Act came into force which requires third-country nationals older than 30 years with insufficient Norwegian knowledge to participate in language training as a condition to receive financial support. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2020 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection An amendment to the ordinance on delivering travel documents for foreigners clarified when refugees under a travel ban can still receive an exceptional authorisation to travel to a country falling under that travel ban. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2020 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants An amendment to the ordinance on implementation of return and expulsion of foreigners settles access rights, data security and data retention of the new information system, eRetour. EASO Asylum Report 2021
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
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2021 Legislative The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure An amendment was pending approval by the Council of Ministers to modify the “Regulation on responsibilities and coordination of public authorities implementing action on the application of the Dublin III and Eurodac Regulations”. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2021 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection An AMIF-funded project aimed to develop and implement a methodology allowing for applicants' active participation in civic and social life within and outside of reception centres. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2021 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection An AMIF-funded project promoted sports, exercise and healthy lifestyle among residents. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Spain Flag Spain 2021 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection An increase in the national budget was announced to upgrade the reception system, in line with the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
France Flag France 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection An instruction on family reunification provided guidance on processing incomplete or inadmissible family reunification requests in an effort to reduce processing times and decrease the number of disputes. EASO Asylum Report 2021