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
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs In March 2023 and October 2023, respectively, the IND concluded that Mauritania and Djibouti can be regarded as safe third countries. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The IND continued to work on improving the quality of investigations into threats to national security when carrying out the asylum and family reunification screening processes. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A decision and departure moratorium was introduced for applicants from Palestine in December 2023. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A decision and departure moratorium was introduced for applicants from Sudan in July 2023. The decision was extended for an additional 6 months in December 2023. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The new Distribution Act was adopted in January 2024. It aims to proportionally divide the responsibility for reception places among municipalities. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Institutional Access to procedure icon Access to procedure Additional staff were deployed for the identification and registration process to address a backlog of asylum applications. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Legislative Statelessness in the context of asylum Statelessness in the context of asylum In June 2023, the Dutch Parliament passed a legislative package pertaining to statelessness. The Statelessness Determination Procedure Act established a new procedure and an amendment to the Dutch Nationality Act provides stateless children born in the Netherlands with a pathway to Dutch nationality. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs In January 2023, the IND considered that Colombia cannot be regarded as a safe third country. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy The Dublin procedure The Dublin procedure Authorities set up a pilot project whereby a special team processes the cases of applicants with a certain profile, including those with disruptive behaviour in the Dublin procedure. The IND processes their cases in an accelerated manner and the Repatriation and Departure Service prioritises their Dublin transfers. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Access to procedure icon Access to procedure The IND began the process of reviewing digital solutions to reduce the number of in-person appointments by asylum applicants and residence permit holders. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The IND piloted additional quality checks on positive decisions. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Council of Ministers agreed to more stable funding for the reception agency, allowing COA to maintain a fixed reception capacity of 41,000 places. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The IND planned to draft clearer instructions for searching the Internet during standard screening in asylum and family reunification processes, and an agreement would be made to guarantee minimal search enquiries. It also planned to adapt its processes to ensure that a more extensive open-source investigation is undertaken by specialist employees when there are signs that the applicant may be a possible danger to national security. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The IND stopped a pilot project on written interviews following a parliamentary motion. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The prioritisation policy was applied to applicants in the Dublin procedure (Track 1 procedure), applicants from safe countries of origin and applicants who were already recognised in another EU+ country (Track 2 procedure), and applicants from countries with low recognition rates, such as Algeria and Moldova. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Netherlands Flag Netherlands 2023 Institutional Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Reception arrangements were adjusted to accommodate more applicants. The Expo Hall in Assen was converted from an emergency shelter to a waiting area for newly-arrived asylum seekers in Ter Apel until October 2023. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Malta Flag Malta 2023 Institutional Detention Detention during the asylum procedure The Maltese Detention Service was transformed into an Agency. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Malta Flag Malta 2023 Institutional Interpretation services Interpretation services Malta equipped new facilities for legal professionals with a phone system to access interpretation services remotely. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Malta Flag Malta 2023 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The government launched its third LGBTIQ Equality Strategy and Action Plan 2023-2027. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Malta Flag Malta 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The International Protection Agency launched a recruitment process to hire additional staff to address the backlog of applications, reduce processing times and speed up the examination procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Malta Flag Malta 2023 Policy Access to information Access to information The International Protection Agency expanded a booklet to include more information on the asylum procedure and began developing booklets specifically for unaccompanied minors and beneficiaries of protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Malta Flag Malta 2023 Policy Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs The International Protection Agency engaged in a review of the admissibility decision template. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Malta Flag Malta 2023 Policy Content of protection Content of protection A public consultation was launched on the second integration policy and national action plan for the upcoming 5 years. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Malta Flag Malta 2023 Policy Detention Detention during the asylum procedure A new clinic was launched to house the Migrant Health Service, independent from the Detention Service Agency, providing primary care services to detainees. EUAA Asylum Report 2024
Malta Flag Malta 2023 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The International Protection Agency suspended the assessment of applications lodged by Sudanese nationals from May to October 2023. EUAA Asylum Report 2024