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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
France Flag France 2019 Policy Resettlement Resettlement and humanitarian admissions The Humanitarian Corridors programme continued operating. EASO Asylum Report 2020
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 2019 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants A legislative proposal was introduced for a national legal basis for a forced return monitoring system, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Return Directive. NO LEG 03 2019
Greece Flag Greece 2019 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Ministry of Citizen Protection and the Ministry of Migration Policy were merged into a new Ministry of Citizen Protection. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Persons already benefitting from international protection in another EU Member State no longer receive material reception conditions. Dublin applicants who absconded and re-applied for reception after six months were also no longer entitled to material reception conditions. Fedasil evaluates these rejections on a case-by-case basis, taking into account any specific vulnerabilities of the applicant. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Germany Flag Germany 2019 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The law facilitates access to vocational training for all persons with a right to work in Germany, regardless of the initial residence circumstances of the person concerned. DE LEG 04 2019
Greece Flag Greece 2019 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection The length of residence permits for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection was decreased to one year (from three years), renewable for two years. EL LEG 05 2019
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2019 Legislative The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure The transfer of asylum applicants to the responsible Dublin state became the task of the State Border Guard Service. LT LEG 01 2019
Croatia Flag Croatia 2019 Legislative Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The new Foster Care Act entered into force, whereby unaccompanied minors can stay with a foster family. HR LEG 01 2019
Finland Flag Finland 2019 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The start and end point of an applicant’s right to work was clarified. FI LEG 01 2019
Germany Flag Germany 2019 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Fingerprinting became obligatory for all applicants aged 6 years and older. The age range for fingerprints was 14 years and older. DE LEG 01 2019
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Training on working with unaccompanied minors was offered to reception centre staff. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Since 1 January 2019, Sweden does not recognise the validity of child marriages from abroad, so the agency updated its standards for handling cases related to married child applicants and developed relevant information material in collaboration with the National Board of Health and Welfare. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Norway Flag Norway 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The authorities in Norway launched the website, Asylbarn, dedicated specifically for children in the asylum procedure. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Access to information Access to information Fedasil launched a multi-lingual information platform for applicants for international protection, www.fedasilinfo.be, accessible only from Belgium and available in 12 languages. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Finland Flag Finland 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A survey commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior in 2018 was finalised, examining the asylum procedure as a whole (including the practices of the administrative courts) and cooperation between the different authorities. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Germany Flag Germany 2019 Policy Country of origin information Country of origin information BAMF launched a two-year training campaign offering workshops on the Top 10 countries of origin. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Fedasil and the Red Cross established an agreement with the Flemish Integration and Civic Integration Agency to notify the public of the opening of any new reception centre and the agency would appoint a liaison officer to support the local administration in addressing residents. EASO Asylum Report 2020
France Flag France 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The possibility to lodge appeals electronically to the CNDA was introduced. 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 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
Croatia Flag Croatia 2019 Institutional Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups A Governmental Inter-Agency Committee for the Protection of Unaccompanied Children was established. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2019 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Since 1 March 2019, the asylum procedure has been organised into six asylum regions. Each of these regions has a federal asylum centre which conducts the asylum procedure. Supporting divisions remain at the headquarters. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Germany Flag Germany 2019 Legislative Access to information Access to information The Asylum Act was complemented with Article 12a, which regulates the modalities of BAMF counselling on asylum procedures for applicants. DE LEG 03 2019
Greece Flag Greece 2019 Legislative Special procedures to process asylum applications Special procedures to process asylum applications Greece adopted a list of 12 safe countries of origin: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Georgia, Ghana, India, Morocco, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, The Gambia and Ukraine. EL LEG 04 2019