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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 Sort ascending Year Type of development Thematic area Development Source
Sweden Flag Sweden 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A new legal position (RS/089/2021) was published on the examination of protection needs for citizens from Afghanistan, in particular on the situation of women and girls. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Policy Return of former applicants Return of former applicants The Swedish Migration Agency published a legal comment on Sudan leading to the temporary suspension of returns to the country. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Sweden Flag Sweden 2021 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection All new residence permits became temporary, with the exception of resettled refugees. Permanent residence can be obtained after a minimum of 3 years in the country, and as a general rule, adults applying have to be able to support themselves and their dependant relatives and have decent housing. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Swedish Migration Agency updated its legal position on considering children's age in family reunification procedures, following the CJEU's relevant judgment. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Sweden Flag Sweden 2021 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Swedish Migration Agency updated its legal positions on Afghanistan and on person with Tigrayan ethnicity from Ethiopia. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Legislative Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure Changes to the national legislation introduce a departure ban for children who are at risk of being taken abroad for marriage or female genital mutilation. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Sweden Flag Sweden 2022 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The description of the age assessment method followed by the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine was updated to make the process more detailed and transparent, minimise risks and interpret the margin of errors and factors affecting the statistical model. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Swedish Migration Agency updated its legal position on Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Somalia, published a legal comment on Nicaragua and on the increased violence in Afghanistan during summer 2019, and temporarily stopped decisions in cases involving applicants from the Hasskah province of Syria based on its new situational analysis. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The “Asylum360” pilot project of 2018 was extended to more regions, combining the accommodation of asylum seekers and the examination of their applications into one continuous process to handle as many cases as possible without interruptions. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Sweden Flag Sweden 2021 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Swedish government established an inquiry on an orderly initial reception of asylum seekers. The inquiry is tasked to propose measures to ensure that asylum seekers choose to live in the Swedish Migration Agency's accommodation throughout the asylum period, propose how a statutory obligation to participate in social introduction can be formulated, consider the scope of persons covered under the Law on Reception of Asylum Seekers and Others, and review the scope of benefits covered by this act. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum The Swedish Migration Agency updated its legal position on the assessment of cases by stateless persons, who previously had their habitual residence in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. (The legal position was repealed in 2021 and is no longer in force.) EASO Asylum Report 2021
Sweden Flag Sweden 2021 Policy Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs The Swedish Migration Agency published three legal positions related to the handling of subsequent applications. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Legislative Special procedures to process asylum applications Special procedures to process asylum applications The Swedish Migration Agency proposed 8 countries to be considered safe countries of origin: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Kosovo, Mongolia, Northern Macedonia, Serbia and USA. The new list is foreseen to enter into force on 1 May 2021. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Sweden Flag Sweden 2022 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The government appointed an inquiry commission to assess making language knowledge and knowledge of the Swedish society requirements for acquiring permanent residence in Sweden. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups A new electronic personal interview form with child-friendly language and structure was developed. EASO Asylum Report 2020
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
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
Sweden Flag Sweden 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Swedish Migration Agency issued a new legal position to clarify that municipalities and regions are entitled to be reimbursed for the care of unaccompanied children from the moment they express their wish to apply for asylum. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure National authorities were enabled to take a foreigner's photo and fingerprints at entry, exit or during internal checks for the Schengen Information System, if the person's identity cannot be identified in another manner. EASO Asylum Report 2021
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
Sweden Flag Sweden 2019 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Swedish Migration Agency decided to restructure its head office which would be effective in 2020, as well as restructuring and reducing the regions from five to three. The number of full-time equivalent employees was also decreased from 5 842 to 5 096. EASO Asylum Report 2020
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 security situation in certain parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). EASO Asylum Report 2021
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Resettlement Resettlement and humanitarian admissions The Swedish Migration Agency developed guidance and tools on preparatory measures for refugees waiting to be resettled, as part of a pilot project to be implemented with UNHCR and IOM. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Swedish government decided to finance the extension of labour market integration programmes for 12 months to support people whose programme would finish in the midst of the pandemic EASO Asylum Report 2021