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
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 Institutional The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure The Immigration Office’s Dublin Unit was restructured in 2023, creating additional sub-divisions and further dividing tasks. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance In March 2023, the CGRS adjusted its procedure to enable applicants to submit documents by email. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Around 2,000 additional places were established in the reception system. The search for new centres continued throughout the year. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Access to information Access to information A campaign was set up to combat irregular migration from Guinea in response to their increased number of applications. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Resettlement Resettlement and humanitarian admissions A new reception facility to host up to 115 resettled refugees was opened in Alveringem. 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 Interpretation services Interpretation services The code of ethics for interpreters was updated. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Access to information Access to information The Fedasil Info Point was reopened in 2023 next to the Bordet reception centre with expanded tasks to support applicants residing outside of the reception network, migrants in transit and people without a legal residence. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Fedasil increased the number of reception places for unaccompanied children. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Fedasil and the Auxiliary Fund for Health and Invalidity Insurance launched a new project to simplify and digitalise the billing system for applicants’ medical support. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Belgium Flag Belgium 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The START section was created within the CGRS, where all newly-recruited case officers will start their career with 6 months of training, followed by integration into existing sections or units. 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 Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The CGRS suspended the examination of cases and notification of decisions for applicants from Gaza and the West Bank between October 2023 and January 2024. Exceptionally, positive decisions for refugee protection and inadmissibility decisions for persons with a protection status in another Member State continued to be pronounced. 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
Austria Flag Austria 2023 Policy Country of origin information Country of origin information The Country of Origin Information–Content Management System (COI-CMS) now offers the possibility to mechanically translate COI reports into 24 different languages through DeepL. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Austria Flag Austria 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Nationals of Bangladesh, India and Morocco were channelled through the accelerated procedure, based on an individual assessment. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Austria Flag Austria 2023 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Federal provinces received additional reimbursements for their costs for beneficiaries of material reception conditions from October 2022 to March 2023 to cover for inflation and higher living costs. Operators of collective reception facilities and hosts of private accommodation received increased reimbursements per person. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Austria Flag Austria 2023 Policy Country of origin information Country of origin information To simplify the review process to decide if a country is still considered to be safe from a COI perspective and to include it in the new Content Management System (COI-CMS), the COI unit (Staatendokumentation) now notes in each country fact sheet (under ""Country information notes"") if the country is on the list of safe countries of origin and if this still applies in light of recent COI updates or whether changes have occurred. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Austria Flag Austria 2023 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The authorities launched an information campaign to raise awareness and fight violence against women. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Austria Flag Austria 2023 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The BBU developed and published a child protection concept. BBU staff received compulsory online training on child protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Austria Flag Austria 2023 Policy Country of origin information Country of origin information Methodology was revised to introduce new specifications for reporting on country of origin information. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Poland Flag Poland 2022 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The special rules on the duration of material reception conditions connected with the COVID-19 pandemic were repealed. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Poland Flag Poland 2022 Policy Detention Detention during the asylum procedure A special strategy was developed to provide additional places in detention centres in an emergency situation. EUAA Asylum Report 2023
Poland Flag Poland 2022 Policy Content of protection Content of protection Integration centres for foreigners were opened in two provinces in March 2022 as a part of the project “Building structures for the integration of foreigners in Poland - Stage II – piloting Foreigners Integration Centres”. EUAA Asylum Report 2023