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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 ascending Type of development Thematic area Development Source
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
Luxembourg Flag Luxembourg 2019 Legislative Interpretation services Interpretation services Luxembourg increased its translation and interpretation budget by about EUR 180 000. LU LEG 01 2019
Luxembourg Flag Luxembourg 2019 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The National Reception Office (ONA, Office nationale de l'accueil) was established. LU LEG 02 2019
Luxembourg Flag Luxembourg 2019 Legislative Detention Detention during the asylum procedure An amendment allowed a systematic verification process for the prolongation of a third country national’s administrative detention. LU LEG 03 2019
Luxembourg Flag Luxembourg 2019 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants An interdisciplinary commission was established to evaluate the best interests of unaccompanied minors in return decisions. LU LEG 03 2019
Luxembourg Flag Luxembourg 2019 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection The Law on Social Inclusion Income (REVIS) entered into force on 1 January 2019. All beneficiaries of international protection and their family members aged 25 or older can benefit from the social inclusion income. LU LEG 04 2019
Malta Flag Malta 2019 Legislative Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The Head of the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seeker (AWAS) may be appointed as a legal guardian for unaccompanied minors with an interim care order, in order to prevent delays. MT LEG 01 2019
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
Norway Flag Norway 2019 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection A legislative proposal for a new Integration Act was introduced, re-shaping the integration programme for refugees. NO LEG 01 2019
Norway Flag Norway 2019 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs introduced a proposal to amend the Social Services Act, which would make financial assistance for third country nationals conditional on being enrolled in language training. NO 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
Slovakia Flag Slovakia 2019 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum The Act on Census of Population and Housing 2021 was adopted, which provides for information collection, not only on Slovak citizens, but also on other EU nationals, third country nationals and stateless persons. SK LEG 01 2019
Slovakia Flag Slovakia 2019 Legislative Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Amendments entered into force to replace the former facility for minors with centres for children and family. SK LEG 02 2019
Slovenia Flag Slovenia 2019 Legislative Special procedures to process asylum applications Special procedures to process asylum applications Georgia, Nepal and Senegal were added to the list of safe third countries, while Turkey was removed from the list. SI LEG 01 2019
Spain Flag Spain 2019 Legislative Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The decree enabled the reception centres for unaccompanied minors in Ceuta and Melilla to receive funding directly. ES LEG 01 2019
Spain Flag Spain 2019 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The instruction granted the right to work for working-age unaccompanied minors. ES LEG 02 2019
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection The application of the law was extended until 19 July 2021 and beneficiaries of international protection continued to receive temporary residence permits instead of a permanent one. The law lifted the ban on family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. SE LEG 01 2019
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum Persons born in Sweden and having been stateless since birth may receive under certain conditions a permanent residence permit. SE LEG 01 2019
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Applicants are not entitled to daily allowance anymore if they choose to reside in specific areas with high rates of immigrants and socio-economic challenges (32 municipalities listed), in order to avoid segregation. SE LEG 02 2019