Asylum report 2024 :Annual report on the situation of asylum in the European Union

Table of Contents

• Foreword 5
• Acknowledgements 6
• Acronyms and abbreviations 7
• Contents 9
• Introduction 15
• Section 1. Global developments in the field of asylum in 2023 17
• 1.1. Global trends in international protection 17
• 1.2. Global Compact on Refugees 20
• 1.3. Climate-induced displacement 21
• 1.4. Global developments on statelessness 22
• 1.5. The Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus 23
• Section 2. Major developments in asylum in the European Union in 2023 25
• 2.1. Reforming the Common European Asylum System 25
• Box 1. Safeguards for minors and families with children 31
• 2.2. Responding to the arrival of displaced persons from Ukraine 33
• 2.3. Key developments in policies and practices at the EU level 34
• 2.3.1. Asylum and migration on the EU policy agenda 34
• 2.3.2. Migration routes and management of the EU’s external borders 36
• 2.4. External dimension of the EU’s asylum policy 42
• 2.5. Jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU 46
• Section 3. Functioning of the Common European Asylum System 53
• Box 2. Temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine 55
• Box 3. Digital innovation in 2023 60
• Section 3.1. Access to procedures 62
• 3.1.1. Access to territory 63
• 3.1.2. Access to the asylum procedure 66
• 3.1.2.1. Access during a state of emergency 66
• 3.1.2.2. Impact of the increase in applications for international protection 68
• 3.1.3. Data on applications for international protection 70
• 3.1.4. Data on relative pressure related to asylum 73
• 3.1.4.1. Asylum applications per capita 74
• 3.1.4.2. Beneficiaries of international protection and rejected asylum seekers per capita 75
• Box 4. The principle of non-refoulement 76
• Section 3.2. The Dublin procedure 80
• 3.2.1. Initiatives for more efficient implementation 81
• 3.2.2. Practical implementation 83
• 3.2.2.1. Impact of the invasion of Ukraine 83
• 3.2.2.2. Cooperation and communication among Member States 83
• 3.2.2.3. Interpreting definitions in the Dublin III Regulation 84
• 3.2.2.4. Time limits 84
• 3.2.2.5. Procedural safeguards and remedies 86
• 3.2.3. Decisions on outgoing Dublin requests 86
• 3.2.3.1. Citizenship of applicants in the Dublin procedure 88
• 3.2.3.2. Acceptance rate for Dublin requests 89
• 3.2.3.3. Decisions on take charge and take back requests 89
• 3.2.4. Use of the sovereignty clause 90
• 3.2.5. Assessing the implementation of transfers to specific countries 90
• 3.2.5.1. Differences in protection policies 90
• 3.2.5.2. Access to the asylum procedure and non-refoulement 91
• 3.2.5.3. Access to and quality of reception conditions in the country responsible for an application 92
• 3.2.5.4. Use of detention 93
• 3.2.6. Implementing Dublin transfers 94
• Section 3.3. Special procedures to assess protection needs 96
• 3.3.1. Border procedures 97
• 3.3.2. Safe country concepts 98
• 3.3.3. Admissibility procedures 99
• Box 5. Case law related to secondary movements in 2023 100
• 3.3.4. Accelerated procedures 100
• 3.3.5. Subsequent applications 101
• Section 3.4. Processing asylum applications at first instance 103
• 3.4.1. Re-organisation of first instance authorities 104
• 3.4.2. Legislative and policy changes 104
• 3.4.3. Case load management and prioritisation policies 105
• 3.4.3.1. New working methods 106
• 3.4.3.2. Prioritisation policies 106
• 3.4.3.3. Additional staff 107
• 3.4.4. Personal interview 107
• 3.4.5. National policies and practices for specific profiles and nationalities 108
• Applicants from Afghanistan 109
• Applicants from Iran 110
• Applicants from Niger and Mali 110
• Palestinian applicants 110
• Applicants from Somalia 110
• Persons displaced from Ukraine 111
• Russian applicants 111
• Sudanese nationals 112
• Applicants with a ‘westernised’ profile 113
• Applicants who claim religious conversion 114
• Applicants who claim persecution due to the risk of forced military recruitment 114
• 3.4.6. Derived right to international protection 115
• 3.4.7. Exclusion from international protection 115
• 3.4.8. Case processing at first instance 116
• 3.4.8.1. Case closures in relation to the number of asylum applications 116
• 3.4.8.2. Number of decisions on first instance applications 118
• 3.4.8.3. Citizenships receiving first instance decisions 119
• 3.4.8.4. Discontinuations after withdrawals 119
• 3.4.8.5. Other closures 119
• 3.4.8.6. Pending cases at first instance 120
• 3.4.9. Quality assurance of first instance procedures and decisions 121
• 3.4.10. Length of the asylum procedure before the determining authorities 122
• 3.4.11. Digitalisation 123
• 3.4.12. The interplay between international protection applications and other procedures 124
• Section 3.5. Processing asylum applications at second or higher instances 125
• 3.5.1. Access to the appeals procedure 126
• 3.5.2. Institutional changes in appeal bodies 127
• 3.5.3. Scope of an appeal in international protection cases 128
• 3.5.4. The right to an oral hearing on appeal 129
• 3.5.5. The possibility to have a same-sex official in the appeal procedure 130
• 3.5.6. Examination of appeals lodged by specific profiles of applicants 130
• 3.5.7. Length of the appeals procedure 131
• Section 3.6. Reception of applicants for international protection 132
• 3.6.1. Organisation and functioning of the reception system 133
• 3.6.1.1. Adapting reception systems 133
• 3.6.1.2. Adjusting reception capacity and impact on reception conditions 136
• 3.6.2. Entitlement to material reception conditions 141
• 3.6.3. Applicants’ daily life 144
• 3.6.3.1. House rules and measures for disruptive applicants 144
• 3.6.3.2. Employment 145
• 3.6.3.3. Health 146
• 3.6.3.4. Orientation and education 146
• Section 3.7. Aspects of detention involving asylum applicants and former applicants 147
• 3.7.1. Recourse to detention 148
• 3.7.1.1. Comprehensive changes in detention regimes 148
• 3.7.1.2. Detention at the border and during the initial phase of the asylum procedure 149
• 3.7.1.3. Detention pending a return 152
• 3.7.2. Detention capacity and impact on detention conditions 153
• Section 3.8. Access to information 156
• 3.8.1. Let’s Speak Asylum portal 157
• 3.8.2. Information on the asylum procedure 158
• 3.8.2.1. Enhanced availability and accessibility of information 158
• 3.8.2.2. Existing challenges 161
• 3.8.2.3. Case law related to the provision of information 163
• Section 3.9. Legal assistance and representation 164
• 3.9.1. Access to legal aid during the first instance procedure 164
• 3.9.2. Access to legal aid during appeals 167
• 3.9.3. Legal aid at the borders or in detention 168
• 3.9.4. Supporting lawyers working on international protection cases 170
• 3.9.5. Continued legal assistance following an international protection procedure 171
• 3.9.6. Specific aspects of providing legal aid for displaced persons from Ukraine 171
• Section 3.10. Interpretation services 173
• 3.10.1. Access to interpretation 174
• 3.10.1.1. Improving access 174
• 3.10.1.2. Challenges in providing interpretation 174
• 3.10.2. Quality of interpretation 175
• 3.10.2.1. Enhancing quality 175
• 3.10.2.2. Raising the standards for interpretation services 176
• Section 3.11. Country of origin information 177
• 3.11.1. Improving methodologies and practices 177
• 3.11.2. Collaborating on accurate information 178
• 3.11.3. Increasing access to COI 179
• 3.11.4. Regions of focus 179
• 3.11.4.1. Medical country of origin information (MedCOI) 180
• 3.11.4.2. COI and the LGBTIQ community 181
• 3.11.4.3. Jurisprudence on COI 181
• Section 3.12. Statelessness in the context of asylum 182
• 3.12.1. Changing legislation and improving the situation of stateless asylum seekers and refugees 183
• 3.12.2. Stateless Palestinians 186
• 3.12.3. COI and statelessness 186
• Section 3.13. Content of protection 187
• 3.13.1 Granting international protection: Recognition rates at first instance 188
• 3.13.1.1. Breakdown by citizenship 189
• 3.13.1.2. Breakdown by country 190
• 3.13.1.3. Divergence in recognition rates 191
• 3.13.2. Building perspectives: Legal status and family reunification 192
• 3.13.2.1. National forms of protection 192
• 3.13.2.2. Review, cessation and revocation of international protection 193
• 3.13.2.3. Family reunification 194
• 3.13.3. Integration plans and their evaluation 197
• 3.13.3.1. Developing and updating integration strategies 197
• 3.13.3.2. Fostering cooperation among stakeholders 198
• 3.13.4. Supporting integration 199
• 3.13.4.1. Daily life and administrative procedures 199
• 3.13.4.2. Education and language learning 201
• 3.13.4.3. Employment 202
• 3.13.4.4. Housing 203
• Section 3.14. Resettlement and humanitarian admissions 205
• 3.14.1. National commitments for resettlement and humanitarian admissions 205
• 3.14.1.1. Annual pledging exercise 206
• 3.14.1.2. Implementing pledges 207
• 3.14.1.2.1. Data on resettlement activities in 2023 207
• 3.14.1.2.2. National developments and challenges 209
• 3.14.2. Complementary pathways for admission 210
• Community sponsorship programmes 212
• Section 4. Children and people with special needs in the asylum procedure 213
• 4.1. Comprehensive approaches to identify and support applicants with special needs 214
• 4.2. Protecting women and girls 215
• 4.3. Applicants with disabilities and special health needs 218
• 4.3.1. Identification of disabilities 218
• 4.3.2. Provision of information 219
• 4.3.3. Special procedural safeguards 219
• 4.3.4. Mental health conditions and needs in the asylum procedure 220
• 4.4. Providing protection and support to applicants with diverse SOGIESC 221
• 4.4.1. Case law related to SOGIESC applicants 223
• 4.5. Identifying and supporting victims of human trafficking 225
• 4.6. Children going through the asylum procedure 229
• 4.6.1. Data on unaccompanied minors 229
• 4.6.1.1. Applications for international protection by self-claimed unaccompanied minors 229
• 4.6.1.2. Citizenship of self-claimed unaccompanied minors 230
• 4.6.2. Legal representation for asylum-seeking children 231
• 4.6.3. Assessing the age of an applicant claiming to be a child 232
• 4.6.4. Rights of the child during the asylum procedure 233
• 4.6.5. Children in the reception system 234
• 4.6.6. Future perspectives for applicant children 237
• Box 6. Return of former applicants 239
• Section 5. EUAA support in 2023 242
• 5.1. Asylum knowledge 243
• 5.2. Training and professional development 245
• 5.3. Operational and technical assistance 246
• 5.3.1. Assessment of EUAA operational support in 2023 247
• 5.4. Third-country support 249
• 5.4.1. Assessment of the EUAA’s third country support in 2023 251
• 5.5. Protection of fundamental rights 251
• 5.6. Consultative forum and civil society organisations 252
• 5.7. Monitoring the implementation of CEAS 253
• 5.8. EUAA Presidency of the JHA Agencies Network 2023 253
• Concluding remarks 256
• References 258
• Reader’s guide 309
• Legal basis 309
• Qualitative information 309
• Quantitative information 310
• Accompanying products to the Asylum Report 2024 311
• Annex. Statistical tables 312
• Table A1. Number of asylum applicants in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenships, 2022-2023 312
• Table A2. Number of decisions at first instance in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenships, 2022-2023 313
• Table A3. Number of decisions granting refugee status at first instance in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenships, 2022-2023 314
• Table A4. Number of decisions granting subsidiary protection at first instance in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenships, 2022-2023 315
• Table A5. Recognition rate at first instance for selected citizenships (Top 30), 2022-2023 316
• Table A6. Withdrawn applications in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenships, 2022-2023 317
• Table A7. Pending cases at the end of the year in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenships, 2022-2023 318
• Table A8. Resettled persons in EU+ countries by reporting country and main citizenships, 2022-2023 319