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
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2024 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Several migrants remained stranded for months in the buffer zone along the Green Line. They were eventually admitted to the Limnes reception centre. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2024 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A Deputy Ministry for Migration and International Protection was established in June 2024 so that competences related to migration and asylum are under a single institution. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Cyprus Flag Cyprus 2024 Institutional Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Refugee Status Determination Sector was restructured with new staff appointments, new work programme and new tasks. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Croatia Flag Croatia 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A new project on language recognition and computer equipment was launched. The aim is to digitalise processes and facilitate the assessment of the credibility of the statements made by asylum seekers about their country of origin. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Croatia Flag Croatia 2024 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The government started to revise the protocol for unaccompanied minors in light of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Croatia Flag Croatia 2024 Policy Return of former applicants Return of former applicants A new AMIF funded project was launched to implement an effective and equitable system for the return of third-country nationals and irregular migrants. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Croatia Flag Croatia 2024 Policy Access to information Access to information A phone application was developed to provide information to applicants for international protection and temporary protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Croatia Flag Croatia 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Ministry of the Interior suspended decisions on applications by Syrian nationals. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Croatia Flag Croatia 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Border Police established a new area at the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina to facilitate the screening, registration and identification of apprehended applicants. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Croatia Flag Croatia 2024 Policy Return of former applicants Return of former applicants A new project was launched to finance legal assistance and representation of former applicants in return procedures. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Croatia Flag Croatia 2024 Policy Legal representation and assistance Legal assistance and representation A new project was launched to finance legal assistance and representation in the process of seeking international protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Croatia Flag Croatia 2024 Policy Interpretation services Interpretation services Two new projects were launched to provide translation for asylum seekers and former applicants in the return procedure. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Croatia Flag Croatia 2024 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The National Plan for the Suppression of Trafficking in Human Beings was presented. It aims to improve coordination among bodies, enhance policies and raise awareness. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection Through amendments to the Ministry of the Interior Act, the Ministry of the Interior became responsible for the protection and security of reception centres which are administered by the State Agency for Refugees. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Policy Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups The State Agency for Refugees opened a third safe zone for unaccompanied children in the Harmanli registration and reception centre, with a capacity of 98 places that may be increased up to 200 places in case of a crisis. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Legislative Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs For the first time since joining the EU a safe country of origin list and a safe third country list were adopted in 2024. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Policy Interpretation services Interpretation services The internal rules of the State Agency for Refugees were updated. They now include templates for the invitations for interviews with translations into the most common languages of asylum seekers. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance A series of guidelines which better reflect the scope and use of the concept of ‘risk of absconding’ were developed and provided to the case officers. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Under the terms and conditions of Article 18 of the Administrative Procedure Code (APC), a mechanism for message delivery was developed for asylum seekers who have absconded. This mechanism applies when special measures under the Law on Asylum and Refugees (LAR) are exhausted. The Internal Rules for the Conduct of the Procedure for International Protection were updated according to an order of the Chairperson of SAR. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The rules for reception facilities were amended with an order of the Chairperson of SAR which temporarily introduced new curfew hours and a monitoring protocol when a resident does not comply with the rules. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The State Agency for Refugees launched the process to develop a comprehensive reception strategy, with EUAA support. It focuses on enhanced cooperation with various stakeholders and aims to provide integration perspectives for beneficiaries of international protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The State Agency for Refugees completed a project funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism that focused on capacity-building through training, staff exchanges and the development of guidance material. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The State Agency for Refugees developed and started implementing a digitalisation project approved for support by DG REFORM. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Institutional Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The State Agency for Refugees implemented an operational support project financed by AMIF, which aimed to strengthen the administrative capacity of the organisation with additional staff and technical maintenance of reception facilities. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Bulgaria Flag Bulgaria 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Following a CJEU judgment, the State Agency for Refugees issued a series of guidelines for references to opinions of the State Agency for National Security for matters related to national security. EUAA Asylum Report 2025