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
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Department of Social Protection started reducing or suspending some applicants’ daily allowances when they met an income threshold. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The IPO now carries out a vulnerability triage assessment to identify the health needs of applicants who have not been accommodated. The aim is to provide the International Protection Accommodation Services and the Health Service Executive with relevant information to recommend priority cases for accommodation allocation. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Policy Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The government presented a new Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy for applicants for international protection. It aims to address current gaps in accommodation and reform the system over the long term, for example by moving away from a full reliance on private service providers towards state-owned accommodation. This includes the provision of 14,000 state-owned beds using prefabricated and modular units, converting commercial buildings, targeted purchase of medium and larger turnkey properties, designing and building new centres and upgrading existing ones. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) issued an updated Administrative Practice Note aiming to provide clarification on what can be submitted as an appeal. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance A project was launched to digitalise appeal files to increase their accessibility. Moreover, a project pilot was introduced to allow the exchange of appeal files between the databases of the Ministry of Justice and the legal representatives, aiming to avoid delays. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The IPO introduced the possibility for individuals to file applications digitally, aiming to digitalise and increase the speed of the procedure. Moreover, a pilot project was introduced to allow remote interviews in a limited number of cases. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Department of Justice announced a EUR 25 million budget expenditure for immigration. It includes a EUR 5 million investment in digital innovations to modernise immigration systems, reduce processing times, increase returns and strengthen border security. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Policy Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs The International Protection Office (IPO) introduced a new category of applicants who qualify for the accelerated procedure, namely those originating from the two countries with the highest number of applicants in the previous 3 months. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Policy Special procedures to assess protection needs Special procedures to assess protection needs Algeria, Botswana, Brazil, Egypt, India, Malawi and Morocco were added to the list of safe countries of origin. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance Ireland opted in to seven of the legislative measures in the EU Asylum and Migration Pact. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Legislative Reception of applicants for international protection Reception of applicants for international protection The Reception Conditions Regulation was amended to provide for a quality inspection of reception centres. Following the amendment, the Health Information and Quality Authority was appointed to conduct the inspections. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Ireland Flag Ireland 2024 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants An Emergency Legislation was drafted in 2024 and adopted in 2025 to allow the return of applicants who entered Ireland from the UK. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance An amendment to the Act on Foreigners introduced the possibility of dismissing a subsequent (‘repeated’ in Iceland) application if no new grounds or evidence exist to lead to an increased probability of a previous application to be accepted. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance An amendment to the Act on Foreigners revised the admissibility procedure (‘material handling’ in Iceland). It repealed the requirement for authorities to examine an applicant’s relation to Iceland when: i) Iceland is not responsible for the asylum application under the rules of the Dublin III Regulation; ii) applicants have already received protection in another Member State; and iii) applicants are eligible to receive protection in a safe third country. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Legislative Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance An amendment to the Act on Foreigners repealed the provision which requires substantive processing of an application within the regular procedure if a final decision has not been issued at the administrative level within 12 months. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Legislative Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance An amendment to the Act on Foreigners changed the prioritisation of cases so that cases nearing the time limit for processing are reviewed first and those which already passed the deadline are processed later. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection An amendment to the Act on Foreigners shortened the validity period of residence permits connected to protection statuses. Residence permits for refugees, stateless persons and quota refugees are now valid for 3 years instead of 4. Permits for additional protection are valid for 2 years. Permits for family reunification with a refugee can be extended for 3 years but cannot exceed the duration of the principal permit. Humanitarian residence permits are renewed annually, rather than every 2 years. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection According to amendments to the Act on Foreigners, a residence permit based on additional protection may only be renewed if the conditions for protection are still met. Consequently, a new assessment of the situation in the country of origin must be made before a decision on renewal is taken. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection An amendment to the Act on Foreigners established that family reunification for holders of subsidiary protection can only be submitted after the status has been renewed once. Exceptions may be granted for urgent care considerations. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Legislative Content of protection Content of protection An amendment to the Act on Foreigners added adopted children to the list of those entitled to protection on the basis of family reunification. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Legislative Return of former applicants Return of former applicants The government amended the regulation on financial assistance for voluntary returns. Those who request assistance before a decision is reached at the appeal stage can receive a higher additional grant than those who request assistance after a decision is reached at the appeal stage. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at first instance Processing asylum applications at first instance The Directorate of Immigration suspended the processing of applications from Syrian nationals. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Institutional Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Appeals Board hired new lawyers, case officers and specialised staff to handle the increased case load more efficiently. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Institutional Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Members of the Immigration Appeals Board are no longer appointed part-time. The board will consist of three full-time members, and the chairperson and vice-chairperson have the authority to rule on their own in certain cases. EUAA Asylum Report 2025
Iceland Flag Iceland 2024 Policy Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance The Immigration Appeals Board (IAB) provided clarifications on time limits on appeals, their extension, the aspects taken into account when deciding on the length of the deadlines, procedures for assessing the best interests of the child, interviewing procedures and criteria for the suspension of the legal effect of the IAB’s decisions in cases of international protection. EUAA Asylum Report 2025