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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
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
France Flag France 2022 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Ministry of the Interior published an instruction in April 2022 requesting the prefects to harmonise practices related to victims who were trafficked for sexual exploitation. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Ireland Flag Ireland 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The International Protection Office implemented a revised asylum application procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Migration Department introduced measures to address the high-level of staff turnover. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2022 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Managing applicants with disruptive behaviour remained a priority, and a National Coordinator for Managing Disruption was established to coordinate among different stakeholders and ensure consistency across various measures. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Poland Flag Poland 2022 Policy Content of protection Content of protection Integration centres for foreigners were opened in two provinces in March 2022 as a part of the project “Building structures for the integration of foreigners in Poland - Stage II – piloting Foreigners Integration Centres”. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Latvia Flag Latvia 2019 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The booklet A Guide for Asylum Seekers in Latvia was translated into two additional languages, Azerbaijani and Georgian. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Sweden Flag Sweden 2022 Policy Detention Detention during the asylum procedure As part of the Swedish Migration Agency policy to increase detention capacity, a new detention centre with 114 places was opened in Mölndal. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The Swedish Migration Agency published a new handbook on human trafficking, with a part focusing on improving the identification of victims and perpetrators within the asylum procedure. The template for interviewing unaccompanied minors was updated to better detect signs of human trafficking. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2022 Policy Return of former applicants Return of former applicants The Federal Council modified the assessment for fitness to travel of persons who are returned or expelled. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
United Kingdom United Kingdom 2019 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The third edition of the Indicators of Integration framework was published. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The CGRS, in cooperation with the Guardianship Service, organised several training sessions for guardians on the asylum procedure for unaccompanied minors. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Finland Flag Finland 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Internal instructions guidelines for case workers were updated to report female genital mutilation or the risk thereof to the police and child protection services. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Germany Flag Germany 2019 Policy Interpretation services Interpretation services A special team of interpreters was recruited for quality assurance to develop and implement further improvements and to train BAMF employees on communicating with applicants through an interpreter. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Council of Ministers approved several measures on 14 November 2019 to speed up the procedures for international protection by hiring more staff in asylum authorities, increasing reception capacity to accelerate outflow and cooperating closer with all federal government departments. EASO Asylum Report 2020
France Flag France 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A collaborative tool (“TNV Asile”) was developed for prefectural asylum services. It enables practical information sheets to be disseminated, information to be shared, asylum policies to be updated and fosters better interaction between the heads of the one-stop services and Regional Dublin Procedure Hubs and the Directorate for Asylum. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Malta Flag Malta 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Office of the Refugee Commissioner and the IT Unit of the Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement improved the national asylum database that records relevant data pertaining to applications for international protection, as well as for registering asylum seekers. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The State Secretary for Asylum and Migration planned to undertake an audit of the asylum services (CGRS, Immigration Office, Fedasil and CALL) with results expected in summer 2022. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure Safe zones for unaccompanied children needed to be restructured. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Finland Flag Finland 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Finnish Ministry of the Interior launched a project to bring together the expertise of various stakeholders in the asylum system to develop uniform, long-term objectives and more comprehensive immigration and asylum policies. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Norway Flag Norway 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Directorate for Integration and Diversit published a report on municipality expenditure on supporting the integration of refugees. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Germany Flag Germany 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance BAMF carried out a feasibility study for digital certification processes and digital identity management, publishing a white paper as a first step towards analysing whether certification processes and identities of asylum seekers can be fully digitalised. 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 updated its legal position in the assessment of applications from Syria. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Iceland Flag Iceland 2021 Policy Content of protection Content of protection Family reunification requests from Afghan residents were treated with priority in 2021. 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 updated its legal position on the implementation of decisions related to unaccompanied children. EASO Asylum Report 2021