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
Croatia Flag Croatia 2023 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Law on International and Temporary Protection was amended to reduce the waiting period to access the labour market for applicants for international protection from 6 to 3 months. Applicants need to request a work permit, which is delivered within 1 month, and if they conclude a work contract, they must inform the reception facility within 15 days. Once the applicant status ceases, the work permit must be returned within 15 days. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Croatia Flag Croatia 2023 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Law on International and Temporary Protection was amended to extend applicants' access to medical care beyond emergency situations, upon a doctor's recommendation. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Croatia Flag Croatia 2023 Legislative Detention Detention during the asylum procedure The Law on International and Temporary Protection was amended to introduce new grounds for applying restrictions on the movement of applicants, including multiple consecutive attempts to leave the country during an asylum procedure. The decision on the restriction is regularly reviewed by the administrative court if it lasts longer than 1 month and if there is a change in circumstances that may affect the legality of the decision. The court also reviews the decision upon request by the applicant. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Croatia Flag Croatia 2023 Legislative Legal representation and assistance Legal assistance and representation The Law on International and Temporary Protection was amended to introduce two new obligations related to visits and communication of the detained asylum seekers with legal advisers, UNHCR, family members and the right to orally receive information on legal aid in a language the applicant can understand, when such information cannot be provided in writing. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Croatia Flag Croatia 2023 Legislative Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Amendments to the Law on International and Temporary Protection specified that the guardian is obliged to start family tracing as soon as possible for an unaccompanied child. In addition, confidentiality must be respected when managing information on a child and the family in order not to jeopardise the child’s safety. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Croatia Flag Croatia 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Ministry of Internal Affairs updated the project on the Independent Monitoring Mechanism for the Protection of Fundamental Human Rights, which will continue to observe the actions of police officers of the ministry who work on border protection, illegal migration and international protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Croatia Flag Croatia 2023 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The authorities started planning the opening of new reception centres in 2024, including one near the border and under the management of the border police. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2023 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The authorities adopted a circular for the implementation of the accelerated procedure, pending the amendment of the Law on Asylum and Refugees. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2023 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Legislation is being amended to enable a negative decision on international protection and a return decision to be issued jointly. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2023 Legislative Interpretation services Interpretation services National legislation on asylum was amended to allow EUAA interpreters to support the registration and assessment of applications for international protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A draft concept note to establish a database was developed with the aim of digitalising the asylum system. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2023 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection A third safe zone for unaccompanied minors fleeing Ukraine was being constructed in the Harmanli reception centre. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2023 Policy Access to information Access to information The State Agency for Refugees presented a video of social services available to unaccompanied minors. The video was produced by UNHCR and is available in Arabic, Bulgarian, Dari, English and Pashto. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2023 Policy Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs Authorities proposed the adoption of a new methodology for age assessments, following EUAA guidelines. The methodology is planned to be piloted from March 2024. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Authorities started preparations for the adoption of two lists with designated safe countries of origin and safe third countries. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2023 Policy The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure Staff members in the Dublin unit were assigned specific tasks to avoid each officer following up on all aspects of the Dublin procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2023 Policy Content of protection Content of protection The State Agency for Refugees issued new instructions on the family reunification procedure for beneficiaries of international protection, noting that both the submission of the family reunification request and the subsequent registration of the family members must be carried out in the same registration and reception centre where the decision to grant international protection was issued. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Legislative Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs Georgia was removed from the list of safe countries of origin. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Legislative The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure The Council of Ministers approved a reform package on the migration model. It would codify in national law that the Immigration Office can extend the timeline for a Dublin transfer from 6 to 12 months when the applicant is detained in a penal institution, and to 18 months when the person has absconded. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Council of Ministers approved a royal decree which obliges applicants who work to contribute to reception costs. In addition, applicants who are in a stable and sustainable professional situation with high salaries can be asked to leave the reception network. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum The Council of Ministers approved a draft legislation which would become law in early 2024, setting up a specific procedure and a specific legal right to stay for stateless people, provided they have involuntarily lost their nationality, cannot obtain or retrieve one, and prove they cannot receive a residence permit in any another country. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The CGRS published a new policy in January 2024 on the security situation in Somalia to guide the assessment of applications for international protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Resettlement Resettlement and humanitarian admissions Alongside the Community Sponsorship Programme, which has been running in Belgium since 2020, Fedasil launched an initiative in 2023 to find new partners to provide reception support, including housing, to resettled refugees. Various partnerships were signed in 2023, and the process of finding new partners continued in 2024. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The pilot project ‘Tabula Rasa’ was launched to maximise the number of decisions and eliminate the backlog. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Interpretation services Interpretation services The code of ethics for interpreters was updated. EUAA Asylum Report 2024