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 Sort descending Year Type of development Thematic area Development Source
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The CGRS in Belgium continued to give refugee status to minor girls with a well-founded fear of persecution due to female genital mutilation, but parents were no longer granted derived refugee status automatically and needed to submit a separate request for regularisation. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2021 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Belgian CALL announced that from March 2022 procedural documents can be submitted online. Documents can be sent electronically via J-box, an alternative to traditional registered mail, and for an appeal in a special procedure, this option replaced the traditional submission by fax. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Belgium Flag Belgium 2021 Policy The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure The Netherlands and Belgium concluded an agreement to replace PCR tests by a quarantine before departure. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Belgium Flag Belgium 2022 Policy The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure A new reception facility opened to accommodate a group of applicants in the Dublin procedure, managed by the Immigration Office in collaboration with Fedasil. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Belgium Flag Belgium 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The Guardianship Service continued with an AMIF-funded project to develop a methodology for monitoring guardians and the assessment of the best interests of minors and worked on improving communications with all stakeholders. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Belgium Flag Belgium 2021 Policy Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum Belgium formally pledged to introduce a residence permit for stateless persons during the UN High Level Officials Meeting event taking place under the Global Refugee Forum. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2020 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The State Agency for Refugees in Bulgaria prepared the framework for distance learning for children accommodated in the agency's facilities. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2020 Legislative Special procedures to process asylum applications Special procedures to process asylum applications Amendments updated the definitions for the terms 'safe country of origin' and 'safe third country' and additional guarantees were added in the law, as foreseen in the recast Asylum Procedures Directive. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2019 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Weekly meetings were organised with unaccompanied minors who are subject to proceedings under the Dublin III Regulation. At these meetings, unaccompanied minors are regularly informed of the steps that have been taken regarding their Dublin procedure and of the expected outcome of this procedure. EASO Asylum Report 2020
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2019 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum An amendment to the Law on Foreigners stated that stateless persons who do not meet the requirements for permanent or long-term residence may obtain permission for a one-year prolonged stay. BG LEG 01 2019
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2021 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Amendments to the Law on Foreigners provide for a temporary automatic suspensive effect of an appeal against an expulsion order based on national-security grounds, containing “substantiated allegations” of important risk of death or ill treatment in the destination country. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The Bulgarian State Agency for Refugees monitored throughout 2021 the implementation of amendments from 2020 related to the representation of unaccompanied minors in the asylum procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2021 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The Bulgarian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy extended its refugee employment and training programme for 2021-2022. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2020 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection The amendments to the Law on Asylum and Refugees in Bulgaria added two new circumstances when international protection status ceases: when a beneficiary passes away or when a person refuses expressly to be recognised as a beneficiary of international protection. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2022 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Staff training objectives for 2022 were postponed due to the influx of displaced persons from Ukraine. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2020 Legislative Detention Detention during the asylum procedure A draft law aims to amend the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria, including, for example, shorter time limits for appealing decisions on pre-removal detention. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2020 Policy Detention Detention during the asylum procedure Bulgaria increased the capacity of two pre-removal facilities (Busmantsi and Lyubimets) from 700 to 1,060 persons. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2020 Legislative Special procedures to process asylum applications Special procedures to process asylum applications The court has to decide ex officio or at the request of the applicant on the right to stay during an appeal against the rejection of a subsequent application. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2020 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The National Refugee Employment and Training Programme in Bulgaria was extended for 2020. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2019 Legislative Access to information Access to information An amendment to the Law on Asylum and Refugees clarified the role of organisations which provide legal and social assistance. BG LEG 01 2019
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2021 Legislative Detention Detention during the asylum procedure Amendments to the Law on Foreigners introduced provisions for a swift judicial review of detention. 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
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2021 Policy Applicants with special needs Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure The State Agency for Refugees updated its standard operating procedures for preventing and responding to sexual- or gender-based violence within the asylum procedure and the new procedures were implemented in cooperation with UNHCR and the State Agency for Child Protection EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2020 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants The Law on Foreigners was amended to provide clarification on the return procedure. For example, the country to which a return is to be executed must be indicated in the return decision. Automatic suspensive effect was introduced for an appeal which is filed against an expulsion order issued on the grounds of serious threat to public order. In addition, if it is established by a judicial act that a foreigner subject to a removal order cannot be returned to a country due to a risk to the person's life and liberty or persecution, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, an order must be issued which explicitly states the prohibition of return and the state to which the foreigner should not be returned. This order is not subject to appeal. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2021 Policy Interpretation services Interpretation services Remote interpretation was used during registration and eligibility interviews in reception centres located outside of the capital, where interpreters are harder to find and employ. EUAA Asylum Report 2022