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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 Sort descending Thematic area Development Source
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Bulgarian State Agency for Refugees monitored throughout 2021 the implementation of amendments from 2020 related to the representation of unaccompanied minors in the asylum procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Finland Flag Finland 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Immigration Service suspended the pronouncement of negative decisions on removals to Afghanistan on 9 July 2021. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Norway Flag Norway 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Directorate for Integration and Diversity, in cooperation with municipalities, carried out for the first time a survey on the experiences of participants in the introduction programme. EASO Asylum Report 2021
France Flag France 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Ministry of the Interior published an action plan to strengthen support for applicants and beneficiaries of international protection with vulnerabilities. The plan lists 10 action points for improved identification and support for special needs. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Swedish Migration Agency published its legal position on the derivative status in asylum cases. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Iceland Flag Iceland 2021 Policy Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum The country acceded to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and the Directorate of Immigration adopted a Standard Operation Procedure, developed in cooperation with UNHCR. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Swedish Migration Agency published a new legal position on interviewing children. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Italy Flag Italy 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Specific implementation guidelines to improve the quality of first instance decisions were sent to police headquarters (questure) and Territorial Commissions by the National Commission for the Right to Asylum. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Italy Flag Italy 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure UNHCR and the Italian National Commission for Asylum published new guidelines for the identification of victims of trafficking in an effort to standardise the procedure across territorial commissions. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Greece Flag Greece 2020 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Prime Minister announced the planned legislative reform for the protection of unaccompanied children for 2021. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Luxembourg Flag Luxembourg 2021 Policy Resettlement Resettlement and humanitarian admissions The government pledged to receive 90 Afghan nationals at risk, including girls, women, former judges and human rights activists during 2021 and 2022. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The COA published its new multiannual strategy, which defines its measurable targets for the next 5 years. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Malta Flag Malta 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The International Protection Agency and AWAS signed a memorandum of understanding on the medical referral of applicants claiming to be survivors of FGM/C. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Latvia Flag Latvia 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued humanitarian visas for Belarusians in a shorter timeframe and applicants were required to contact the embassy only once instead of twice. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2021 Policy Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum The requirements were changed for the documents to be presented by Lebanese Palestinians for the registration of statelessness. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Swedish Public Employment Service started to roll out the Intensive Year programme for newly-arrived beneficiaries of international protection, which aims to get participants in employment within a year after the completion of the comprehensive, full-time integration programme. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Portugal Flag Portugal 2021 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Initiatives to increase reception capacity and open new centres continued. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Croatia Flag Croatia 2020 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Through the project, Assistance in maintaining adequate living conditions in the reception centres, the running costs of the utilities in reception centres are co-financed by AMIF. EASO Asylum Report 2021
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
Sweden Flag Sweden 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Swedish Migration Agency updated its legal position on assessing the asylum applications of persons claiming to belong to a particularly vulnerable group in their country of origin. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Spain Flag Spain 2020 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The State Secretary for Migration signed new instructions in December 2020, noting that only recognised beneficiaries of international protection can be referred to the second phase of the national reception system as of 2021. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The SEM have started the implementation of the recommendations from the Working Group on Asylum and Human Trafficking. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Finland Flag Finland 2020 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure A horizontal action plan against trafficking in human beings was drafted and completed in the beginning of 2021. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Belgium Flag Belgium 2022 Policy Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs The list of safe countries of origin was reviewed, but no changes were introduced. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Croatia Flag Croatia 2022 Policy Legal representation and assistance Legal assistance and representation The Ministry of the Interior signed a contract with the Croatian Law Centre to carry out an AMIF-funded project, entitled ""Legal guidance in the process of awarding international protection"". EUAA Asylum Report 2023