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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 Development Source
Estonia Flag Estonia 2020 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants Compliance with a return decision issued to a minor or an adult foreigner with limited active legal capacity will be organised by a parent, guardian or other responsible adult person who is staying with the person in Estonia. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Estonia Flag Estonia 2020 Legislative Detention Detention during the asylum procedure The Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens was amended to include the conditions and timeframes for detaining applicants in an emergency situation caused by mass arrivals. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Estonia Flag Estonia 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Amendments to the Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens clarified that the rejection decision includes a return decision and a prohibition on entry for 3 years. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Estonia Flag Estonia 2020 Legislative Special procedures to process asylum applications Special procedures to process asylum applications The amendment of the Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens clarified that the PBGB must update the list of safe countries of origin at least once a year. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Estonia Flag Estonia 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Ministry of Cultural Affairs published guidelines for local governments on integration services. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Estonia Flag Estonia 2020 Legislative Detention Detention during the asylum procedure A new surveillance measure was introduced, the appearing for counselling. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Estonia Flag Estonia 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance An amendment clarified that the appeal against the rejection and return decision has a suspensive effect. 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
Denmark Flag Denmark 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Danish Immigration Service, the Refugee Appeals Board and the Immigration Board have jointly been preparing a memorandum on the protection of foreigners' private and family life in the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN convention on human rights in connection with the new withdrawal ground introduced in 2019. The memorandum was still under work in spring 2021. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Denmark Flag Denmark 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) published a new information package for social workers in local authorities on providing specialised employment support to refugee and migrant women. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Denmark Flag Denmark 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Ministry of Immigration and Integration Affairs published the progress report for 2020 on the Integration Action Plan. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Denmark Flag Denmark 2020 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Minister for Immigration and Integration decided that the processing of cases for persons with temporary residence permits which were granted on the grounds of the general circumstances in the Damascus area should be accelerated. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Denmark Flag Denmark 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The Danish Immigration Service took over some responsibilities of the registration process from the police. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Denmark Flag Denmark 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Integration Action Plan 2020 was launched in December 2020, presenting the most important initiatives from 2020 and highlighting some of the future priorities. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Denmark Flag Denmark 2020 Institutional Return of former applicants Return of former applicants The Danish Return Agency started its operations on 1 August 2020 and is responsible for tasks linked to return, with the exception of forced removals. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Denmark Flag Denmark 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Danish Immigration Service reassessed the issuance of residence permits to several hundred Syrians from the Damascus area. EASO Asylum Report 2021
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
Czech Flag Czech Republic 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Czech Ministry of Labour updated its guidelines and clarified that public employment services may provide special, employment-related language courses to beneficiaries of international protection to improve their employment chances. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Czech Flag Czech Republic 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The 14 Regional Integration Centres in Czechia continued their work in 2020 and their funding was secured for 2021. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Czech Flag Czech Republic 2020 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum A new legislative proposal was presented to the Parliament, which includes among other aspects of the asylum procedure, the establishment of a statelessness determination procedure. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Czech Flag Czech Republic 2020 Institutional Return of former applicants Return of former applicants Regional offices of the Czech Return Unit were established in Brno and in detention centres in Bela-Jezova, Balkova and Vysni Lhoty. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2020 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection A Ministerial Decision defined the provision of material reception conditions in cash. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance An amendment clarified that an appeal against a rejection of the asylum application together with a return, removal or expulsion order has suspensive effect. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2020 Legislative Special procedures to process asylum applications Special procedures to process asylum applications When a subsequent application is deemed to be inadmissible, the appeal needs to be lodged within 15 days. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2020 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The time limits to lodge an appeal against a final decision of the Asylum Service in front of the Administrative Court for International Protection were amended: 30 days for the regular procedure and 15 days for the accelerated procedure. The time limits to launch an appeal against a decision of the International Protection Administrative Court was reduced to 14 days from 42 days. EASO Asylum Report 2021