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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 Sort descending Development Source
Estonia Flag Estonia 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The administrative court may order an applicant's detention without the descriptive and reasoning part when it is faced with a high number of detention requests. These parts are provided to the applicant if the detention decision is contested. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Malta Flag Malta 2019 Institutional Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance A new chamber was created within the Refugee Appeals Board. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Luxembourg Flag Luxembourg 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance A draft amendment of the Law on international protection and on temporary protection would introduce changes to appeal possibilities against a decision to withdraw international protection. The amendment would align appeals against withdrawals with those against refusals in the normal procedure for greater harmony, whereas currently an appeal against withdrawals falls under common law. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Denmark Flag Denmark 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance In October 2021, the Danish Refugee Board decided to review cases for citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who were about to be deported, in light of a report by the Swedish Migration Agency of 24 June 2021. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2022 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The right to appeal directly to the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court and thereafter to the Supreme Administrative Court was reinstated in Lithuania. The preliminary stage of disputing a Migration Department decision before the Migration Department Commission was abolished. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Slovenia Flag Slovenia 2021 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Amendments to the International Protection Act (IPA) introduced the right to appeal a decision of the Administrative Court before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court must decide on the appeal within 30 days. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Malta Flag Malta 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The National Asylum Seekers Management System (NASMS) was improved to better communicate information on individual cases between the International Protection Agency and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Italy Flag Italy 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Clerks were deployed to support judges assigned to the specialised section on migration, with the objective of reducing the backlog at second instance. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Courts were added to the Computerized Asylum Service System (CASS) database and case files were incorporated in the system. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The time limit for lodging an appeal against a decision in the accelerated procedure was reduced to 7 days. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Malta Flag Malta 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Refugee Appeals Board changed its name to International Protection Appeals Tribunal. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Iceland Flag Iceland 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Immigration Appeals Board's rules of procedure were amended, defining practices that have emerged in the past 3 years. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The time limits to lodge an appeal against a final decision of the Asylum Service in front of the Administrative Court for International Protection were amended: 30 days for the regular procedure and 15 days for the accelerated procedure. The time limits to launch an appeal against a decision of the International Protection Administrative Court was reduced to 14 days from 42 days. 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
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2020 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Federal Administrative Court published its report on the evaluation of the asylum appeals procedure after the reform of the asylum procedure entered into force in 2019. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Negative decisions on Afghan nationals were suspended. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The rules of procedures of the Administrative Court for International Protection (IPAC) were amended making the applicant's presence before the court mandatory, whether in person or represented by a lawyer, without which the appeal could be rejected, except in situations of force majeure. Applicants or their lawyer now have a maximum of 10 minutes to present their supporting arguments, unless extended by the court when deemed necessary. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Belgium Flag Belgium 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Council of Ministers approved a law proposal and a draft royal decree, which aims to adapt the working methods of the CALL to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The amendments concern the electronic communication of procedural documents and the written procedure. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Belgium Flag Belgium 2021 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Council of Ministers approved in June 2021 a draft law on the organisation of CALL. The proposal aimed to increase the number of judges of CALL and simplify and optimise the appraisal procedure for staff by introducing a comprehensive system of disciplinary and policy measures for officials. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Denmark Flag Denmark 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Refugee Board decided in December 2021 to suspend the processing of cases for Ethiopian nationals. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Austria Flag Austria 2020 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Both chambers of the administrative court started deciding on asylum cases and more staff was recruited. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Germany Flag Germany 2022 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The German parliament adopted a bill allowing for the Federal Administrative Court to decide also on the general asylum situation as it pertains to the situation in the country of origin or destination. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Administrative Division of the Council of State now uses a new, sixth form of motivation of its decisions. When the court rejects an application, it uses one of the template sentences to provide more context for the ground of the refusal. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Greece Flag Greece 2022 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Asylum Code codified the time limits for decisions on steps of the international protection procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Swedish Migration Agency launched a portal allowing legal counsellors to submit appeals against first instance decisions electronically. Another pilot continued, in cooperation with the Swedish National Courts Administration, to digitally transfer appeals between the agency and the courts. EASO Asylum Report 2020