|
Greece |
2019 |
Institutional |
|
Processing asylum applications at first instance |
The Ministry of Citizen Protection and the Ministry of Migration Policy were merged into a new Ministry of Citizen Protection. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Germany |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Access to information |
The Asylum Act was complemented with Article 12a, which regulates the modalities of BAMF counselling on asylum procedures for applicants. |
DE LEG 03 2019 |
|
Greece |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Special procedures to process asylum applications |
Greece adopted a list of 12 safe countries of origin: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Georgia, Ghana, India, Morocco, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, The Gambia and Ukraine. |
EL LEG 04 2019 |
|
Lithuania |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Access to procedure |
The Migration Department took over some tasks from the police and, for example, applicants can now lodge an application directly with the institution rather than the police. The initial interview with the applicant is obligatorily recorded (video or audio) and attached to the personal file. The department can now also issue a Certificate of Acceptance of an Application for Asylum, confirming an applicant’s status and serving as a Foreigners’ Registration Certificate, pending the issuance of the latter. |
LT LEG 01 2019 |
|
Bulgaria |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
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 |
|
Finland |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Special procedures to process asylum applications |
An amendment to the Aliens Act defined the criteria for subsequent applications. |
FI LEG 01 2019 |
|
France |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance |
The budget of CNDA continued to be increased to reduce the length of procedures at second instance. |
FR LEG 13 2019 |
|
Lithuania |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups |
Training on working with unaccompanied minors was offered to reception centre staff. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Sweden |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups |
Since 1 January 2019, Sweden does not recognise the validity of child marriages from abroad, so the agency updated its standards for handling cases related to married child applicants and developed relevant information material in collaboration with the National Board of Health and Welfare. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Norway |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups |
The authorities in Norway launched the website, Asylbarn, dedicated specifically for children in the asylum procedure. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Belgium |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Access to information |
Fedasil launched a multi-lingual information platform for applicants for international protection, www.fedasilinfo.be, accessible only from Belgium and available in 12 languages. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Finland |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Processing asylum applications at first instance |
A survey commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior in 2018 was finalised, examining the asylum procedure as a whole (including the practices of the administrative courts) and cooperation between the different authorities. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Germany |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Country of origin information |
BAMF launched a two-year training campaign offering workshops on the Top 10 countries of origin. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Belgium |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
Fedasil and the Red Cross established an agreement with the Flemish Integration and Civic Integration Agency to notify the public of the opening of any new reception centre and the agency would appoint a liaison officer to support the local administration in addressing residents. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
France |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance |
The possibility to lodge appeals electronically to the CNDA was introduced. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Netherlands |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups |
The IND launched a special project and hired additional staff to reduce the backlog in applications from unaccompanied minors and shorten the overall length of the asylum procedure. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Netherlands |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups |
The Aliens Circular was amended to clarify that an age assessment takes place in two separate sessions, one with the AVIM and one with the IND. Employees of the same public authority assess the age independently, but they can attend the same assessment session. |
NL LEG 05 2019 |
|
Croatia |
2019 |
Institutional |
|
Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups |
A Governmental Inter-Agency Committee for the Protection of Unaccompanied Children was established. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Switzerland |
2019 |
Institutional |
|
Processing asylum applications at first instance |
Since 1 March 2019, the asylum procedure has been organised into six asylum regions. Each of these regions has a federal asylum centre which conducts the asylum procedure. Supporting divisions remain at the headquarters. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Germany |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Return of former applicants |
A new category for tolerated stay (Duldung) was created for persons whose removal cannot be carried out due to ambiguities in their identity which they created, for example by not handing over the necessary travel documents or by misleading the authorities concerning their identity and nationality. These persons are subject to the residence obligation (Wohnsitzauflage) and do not have the right to undertake gainful employment. |
DE LEG 03 2019 |
|
Greece |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Processing asylum applications at first instance |
Decision on the procedure for issuing travel documents to refugee beneficiaries. |
EL LEG 01 2019 |
|
Italy |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups |
Within the Protection System for Beneficiaries of International Protection and Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (SIPROIMI), the Ministry of the Interior in Italy allocated funds to finance projects, organised by local authorities, related to unaccompanied minors. |
IT LEG 04 2019 |
|
Belgium |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Content of protection |
A law proposal was put forth to reduce the period of exemption for beneficiaries of international protection from the requirement to have sufficient economic resources from one year to three months. |
BE LEG 01 2019 |
|
Czech Republic |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Special procedures to process asylum applications |
12 new countries were added to the national list of safe countries of origin: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Ghana, Georgia (excluding Abkhazia and South Ossetia), India, Moldova (excluding Transnistria), Morocco, New Zealand, Senegal, Tunisia and Ukraine (excluding Doneck and Luhansk Districts). |
CZ LEG 02 2019 |
|
France |
2019 |
Legislative |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
An order provided specifications for emergency reception centres. |
FR LEG 10 2019 |