Skip to main content

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 Development Sort descending Source
Finland Flag Finland 2022 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum The Ministry of the Interior proposed amendments to the Nationality Act to update the definitions of a stateless person, in line with international treaties, eliminating the distinction between voluntarily stateless and involuntarily stateless person. However, the parliament did not manage to consider the proposal by the end of the electoral term (29 March 2023) and it was allowed to lapse. The next government will decide if the changes are proposed again. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
France Flag France 2020 Legislative Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Ministry of the Interior provided instructions to the prefectures on the early examination of residence permit requests of unaccompanied minors under the care of departmental child care services. The objective is to ensure that rights - in particular work permits related to vocational education programmes - do not immediately cease when the minor reaches adulthood. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Italy Flag Italy 2021 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Ministry of the Interior published a circular clarifying that the special permit based on the principle of non-refoulement can be requested directly from the police (questura). EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Italy Flag Italy 2021 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Ministry of the Interior published a circular informing prefectures about the possibility of regularisation on the basis of transforming undeclared work to regular employment. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
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
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
France Flag France 2020 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Ministry of the Interior published an updated guide for applicants for international protection. EASO Asylum Report 2021
France Flag France 2020 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Ministry of the Interior published its National plan for the reception of applicants and the integration of refugees for 2021-2023, aiming to create 4,500 additional reception places in 2021. EASO Asylum Report 2021
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
Italy Flag Italy 2021 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Ministry of the Interior signed a memorandum of understanding with civil society organisations (Rete per la Parità, Le Contemporanee, the National Council of Italian Women and the Italian division of Soroptimist International) to support the reception and integration of Afghan evacuees. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Lithuania Flag Lithuania 2021 Policy Interpretation services Interpretation services The Ministry of the Interior signed a memorandum of understanding with the Red Cross to organise translation services in various dialects, share their expertise with social workers working with migrants, and act as intermediaries between municipal communities and government representatives to ensure effective communication with illegal migrants. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Italy Flag Italy 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Ministry of the Interior signed agreements with UNICEF to monitor reception conditions for unaccompanied children, with Terre des Hommes for psychological and psychosocial assistance from disembarkation to first reception, and with Save the Children for the provision of targeted support to unaccompanied children. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Slovenia Flag Slovenia 2020 Institutional Access to information Access to information The Ministry of the Interior took over the information provision sessions, after the expiry of a contract with an NGO who was previously charged with this task. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Italy Flag Italy 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Ministry of the Interior’s Department of Civil Liberties and Migration issued a circular to disseminate an operational guide on the specific needs of women and girls in reception to first-contact reception staff. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Spain Flag Spain 2021 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Ministry of Universities issued a new decree on the recognition procedure for foreign degrees and shortened the procedure to 6 months EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Ireland Flag Ireland 2021 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Ministry of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth published a white paper on ending "Direct Provision", and replacing it with a new system, called International Protection Support Service, planned to enter into force in December 2024. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Greece Flag Greece 2019 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Ministry on Migration and Asylum was re-created, after merging with the Ministry of Citizen Protection in July 2019. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Malta Flag Malta 2021 Legislative Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Minor Protection (Alternative Care) Act was amended in 2021 to avoid the potential conflict of interest that was embedded in the previous practice, when social workers and guardians belonged to the same institution. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The moratorium on decisions and departures for Afghan applicants ended, and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) resumed the decision process on a case-by-case basis. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Norway Flag Norway 2020 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The MOT-system was introduced for reception administration, and it is planned to be further developed in 2021. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Italy Flag Italy 2022 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The National Action Plan 2022-2025 was adopted with long-term strategies and actions aimed at raising awareness, better prevention and the social integration of victims of trafficking. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Finland Flag Finland 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The national Action Plan against Trafficking in Human Beings was adopted. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Italy Flag Italy 2022 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The National Association of Employment Agencies and four trade unions signed an agreement to facilitate the labour market integration of beneficiaries of international protection and of national forms of protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
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
Sweden Flag Sweden 2020 Policy Return of former applicants Return of former applicants The National Audit Office reviewed voluntary and forced return legislation, policy and practices and suggested that the government substantially reorganise the tasks of the authorities and the division of responsibilities. In its reply letter, the government agreed with the recommendations related to reconsidering the process of information flow among the different authorities and agreed partially with other recommendations. EASO Asylum Report 2021