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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 Sort descending Development Source
Poland Flag Poland 2021 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure A new procedure was introduced to issue a decision to leave the territory when a foreigner is intercepted immediately after illegal crossing the EU’s external border. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Romania Flag Romania 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure A card document for asylum seekers was introduced, intended to prevent the circulation of forged documents. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Estonia Flag Estonia 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens was amended allowing to extend the registration time limit to 10 working days exceptionally in emergency situations. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Greece Flag Greece 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Following a law amendment, the Regional Services for Reception and Identification are also considered to be competent receiving authorities for the full registration of international protection. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Malta Flag Malta 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Several changes were made to practices to improve access to the asylum procedure, which included improvements to office premises, streamlining registration and lodging procedures, issuing updated registration guidelines, and providing information on specialised services to applicants with a sexual orientation or gender identity claim. Improvements to the electronic database were also made in order to further streamline registration and lodging procedures. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Latvia Flag Latvia 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs in Latvia committed to introduce improvements to the registration system by December 2021. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Hungary Flag Hungary 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure A new section and a new Article 32/Z was added to the Asylum Law: This allows the NDGAP to confiscate any object (for example, mobile phones, laptops) when the facts cannot be clarified otherwise, there would be a significant delay in clarifying the facts without confiscation or not seizing the object would jeopardise the success of the examination procedure. Previously the rules of the General Administrative Law defined the rules for seizure. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Hungary Flag Hungary 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure A new point k) was added under Asylum Law, Article 86(1): The NDGAP can also request data from authority responsible for citizenship matters, in order to fulfil its task. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Hungary Flag Hungary 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Asylum Law, Article 86/A was amended: The NDGAP can receive and process personal data that are publicly available due to public interest, including from foreign databases. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Hungary Flag Hungary 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure A new Article 80 was added to the Asylum Decree: This allows the NDGAP to ask for support from the National Security Service to access data available on any objects under seizure. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Hungary Flag Hungary 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Government Decree No 233/2020 (V.26.) defined special rules for the asylum procedure and requires applicants to submit a letter of intent at a Hungarian diplomatic mission in a non-EU country prior to their entry to Hungary and application for asylum. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Hungary Flag Hungary 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Law LVIII of 2020 ratified Government Decree 2020 (V.26.) on special rules for the asylum procedure until 31 December 2020. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Hungary Flag Hungary 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Law CLXII of 2020 modifies Law LVIII of 2020 and extends the application of special rules for the asylum procedure until 30 June 2020. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Latvia Flag Latvia 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure A state of emergency was declared in August 2021. The Cabinet of Ministers authorised the State Border Guard, the National Armed Forces and the State Police to order any person illegally crossing the border from Belarus to return to the country from which they have crossed and to take the necessary measures to enforce the order. During the emergency phase, asylum applications were accepted only outside the areas under the state of emergency. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Malta Flag Malta 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Authorities expressed the view that cooperation on returns to Libya is indispensable for the effective management of sea arrivals. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2020 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure In the framework of the Flexibility of the Asylum Chain Programme, tweaks started to be introduced to the identification and registration process, including the launching of the control board (regietafel), setting up a front portal (voorportal) in Ter Apel and introducing the use of a common file structure available for all stakeholders of the asylum chain. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The Cypriot Council of Ministers approved the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee mandated to suggest specific responses and management measures to address the emergency resulting from increased migration flows; a management unit with operational facilities; and a contingency plan for the irregular arrival of third-country nationals by sea or through the Green Line. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Greece Flag Greece 2020 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure In the framework of the Consolidated Government Policy Plan 2021, the Prime Minister announced among the main projects related to asylum and migration the establishment of an innovative closed controlled structures on the island and inland with multiple levels of security. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The control boards (regietafel) moved to the next implementation phase and continued to ensure that all information is available on the specific individual cases, before they entered the phase of the regular procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The registration process was reorganised and separate streams were set up in specific locations for Afghan evacuees and for persons arriving through family reunification. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Croatia Flag Croatia 2022 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure In continuation of a previous monitoring mechanism, a new agreement was signed to develop an independent framework to monitor the conduct of police personnel in the Ministry of the Interior who work in the area of irregular migration and international protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Italy Flag Italy 2021 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Government authorities entered into an agreement with the Italian Red Cross to provide support to the persons onboard the vessels and initiate the identification of vulnerable persons. EUAA Asylum Report 2022
Norway Flag Norway 2020 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The arrival centre was re-organised in Norway to include multiply stakeholders within the same centre. EASO Asylum Report 2021
Greece Flag Greece 2020 Legislative Access to procedure icon Access to procedure An urgent legislative act suspended applications from people arriving illegally into Greece for 1 month. 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