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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
Hungary Flag Hungary 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Government Decree No 411/2020 (VIII.30.) extended the validity of Government Decree No 41/2016 (III.9.) until 7 March 2021, stating that there is a continued state of crisis caused by mass migration. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Ireland Flag Ireland 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Interpreters were permitted to use videoconferencing during the first instance procedures rather than provide interpretation by telephone. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Belgium Flag Belgium 2022 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Efforts to recruit staff for the Immigration Office, CGRS and Fedasil continued throughout 2022. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Germany Flag Germany 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance BAMF amended its quality assurance system so that some quality assurance employees rotate among the different branch offices to bring more homogeneity in decisions. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The CGRS developed and implemented a system to prioritise specific cases or profiles. EASO Asylum Report 2020
France Flag France 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The government presented a comprehensive action plan on migration, including measures to reduce the processing time of asylum applications to an average of six months. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Greece Flag Greece 2019 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Joint Decision on the implementation of exceptional border procedures. EL LEG 03 2019
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2019 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Migration Department may take joint decisions on asylum applicants of the same family (previously they were always taken jointly), provided that a joint decision does not disclose personal circumstances of an applicant which could pose a threat to best interests. LT LEG 01 2019
Belgium Flag Belgium 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The notification of negative decisions was temporarily suspended for applicants from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the suspension was fully lifted on 2 March 2022. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A legal position was published on public assistants, outlining the requirements to be appointed by the Swedish Migration Agency. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2020 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The State Secretariat for Migration presented the results of the first evaluation of the law that reformed the asylum procedure in 2019. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Slovenia Flag Slovenia 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A proposal was put forward and adopted in 2021 to amend the International Protection Act. Among a set of comprehensive changes, for example, sanctions would apply when an applicant does not comply with the duties or obstructs the implementation of the asylum procedure. The amendment also widens the grounds on which an asylum application can be rejected as manifestly unfounded. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Belgium Flag Belgium 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The CGRS fully resumed the assessment of asylum claims lodged by Afghan applicants. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Hungary Flag Hungary 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Under Asylum Law, Article 15, the threshold to exclude a person from subsidiary protection became lower: instead of violating national security, it is enough if the person's stay in the country endangers national security. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Estonia Flag Estonia 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The amendment of the Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens allows the PBGB to request assistance from EASO and to be involved in the processing of an asylum application in the territory of another state, based on an international agreement or an EU act. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Switzerland Flag Switzerland 2019 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The provisions concerning the new accelerated asylum procedures entered into force on 1 March 2019, following the adoption of the new Asylum Law in September 2015, the national referendum in June 2016 and the pilot projects carried out in Zurich, Boudry and Giffers. CH LEG 01 2019
Denmark Flag Denmark 2021 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Amendments to the Aliens Act and the Return Act foresee the possibility to transfer suddenly-arrived asylum seekers to a partner country outside of the EU to process their asylum applications and subsequently provide protection to those in need. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Belgium Flag Belgium 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The CGRS published updates on the processing of applications filed by Palestinians. For Palestinians for whom a particular individual well-founded fear of persecution is not established and who depend on assistance from the UNRWA, it must be checked if the individual can still count on assistance from the UNRWA. 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 on the situation in the Tigray region in Ethiopia. (The legal position was repealed in 2021 and is no longer in force.) EASO Asylum Report 2021
Czech Flag Czech Republic 2022 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The reasons for excluding from or ending international protection were expanded following a legislative amendment. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Further guidance was added on how to interpret the element political conviction: it is clarified that the applicant cannot be expected to exercise restraint on his/her fundamental political views, which may be actions or expressions that are particularly important for the person's identity or moral integrity. EASO Asylum Report 2021
France Flag France 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The electronic communication between OFPRA and asylum applicants was extended to the entire territory of France. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) published revised work instructions for the assessment of applications from apostates and atheists. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Denmark Flag Denmark 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Danish parliament adopted a bill introducing the possibility to transfer asylum applicants for adjudication of asylum claims and subsequent protection in third countries. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Sweden Flag Sweden 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Asylum Seeker (LMA)-cards were digitalised to include a QR code for the validity period, and a case-handling system was further developed for increased usability. EUAA Asylum Report 2023