Who is Who - Who is Who in International Protection in the EU+: Asylum System

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Who is Who in International Protection in the EU+: Asylum system

The data visualisations present the national authorities which are responsible for the examination of applications for international protection in each EU+ countries and the authorities which are involved in the making, registering and lodging of an application for international protection.

Asylum Authorities

Within the Common European Asylum System, the recast Asylum Procedures Directive (APD) establishes a common policy and procedures to grant and withdraw international protection. The directive foresees that “all Member States shall designate for all procedures a determining authority which will be responsible for an appropriate examination of applications in accordance with this directive”.

Authorities Involved in Access to the Asylum Procedure

According to the recast Asylum Procedures Directive (APD), any third-country national or stateless person who expresses the wish to apply for international protection must be promptly registered by a Member State as an applicant for international protection. Article 6 specifies a three-step process for accessing asylum: making, registering, and lodging an application. Article 8 requires Member States to inform detained individuals or those at border crossings about their right to apply for international protection. Depending on the structure of national authorities, the registration and lodging of applications can occur together or separately, with basic data collected during registration and more detailed information gathered during lodging.The information has been validated by each country, with the exception of Croatia, Estonia.

Overview of asylum authorities and authorities involved in access to the asylum procedure

The data visualisation presents the national authority which is responsible for the examination of an application for international protection.

Hover over a country and “click for more” to view the following information:

General information in the institutional structure Areas of activity
Legal status based on the following classification: Government agency, federal agency, ministry, law enforcement agency
Role and competencies
(Internal) organisational structure Legal basis
Hyperlinks to official websites and social media channels.

Click on the right tab to view relevant information about the authorities involved in making, registering and lodging of applications for international protection in the respective EU+ country.

Publications

Key findings

Based on the comparative overview of Asylum Authorities:

21 asylum authorities fall under a ministry (at the national/federal level), while 8 are established as independent authorities at the national/federal level. In two countries, the asylum authorities are part of law enforcement bodies.
Italy is the only country where a separation of roles is made between the asylum authority (National Commission for the Right of Asylum) and the decision-making authorities (Territorial Commissions).
The competences of national authorities cover both asylum and reception procedures in 15 EU+ countries. Only 10 authorities focus specifically on asylum procedures only.
Asylum authorities have invested in their official websites to enhance their digital presence (all authorities have an official website). Many also have various social media channels.
Out of 31 national authorities: 16 have a Facebook page 15 have a Twitter account
13 have created a YouTube channel 12 have LinkedIn pages

Based on the comparative overview of Authorities Involved in Access to the Asylum Procedure:

In 23 EU+ countries, the authorities in charge of the registration and the lodging of an asylum application are the same. In France and Iceland, different authorities are engaged in these steps of the procedure. In five countries, additional authorities are involved in registration (in Croatia, Demark, Germany and Slovenia) or lodging (in Belgium).
The lodging of an application overlaps with registration in six EU+ countries (namely Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden).
In Luxembourg, authorities involved in making, registering and lodging an application generally overlap. In Switzerland, the legislation does not make a distinction between making, registering and lodging an asylum application.
In all countries, police or border authorities are likely to receive an application for international protection.
Multiple national authorities may be engaged in the making of an application. Differentiations are encountered for applications made at the border, on the territory and in detention.