Asylum

Asylum, migration and borders

The migrant crisis has triggered challenges across Europe. FRA encourages rights-compliant responses.

We provide practical expertise on this complex issue. This includes regular updates, focus papers and toolkits. We outline policy alternatives and best practices.

Highlights

  • Handbook / Guide / Manual
    1
    August
    2024
    Migrant workers are particularly at risk of labour exploitation. Workplace inspectors play a role in protecting non-EU workers' rights. This report guides inspectors to identify abuse and protect migrant workers. In autumn 2024, FRA will publish a manual with extensive resources to support workplace inspectors.
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    30
    July
    2024
    Fundamental rights violations on the EU’s land and sea borders often go unreported. Investigations into these violations need to be more effective. This report gathers examples of alleged rights violations of migrants and refugees between 2020 and 2023. It sets out 10 steps to promote prompt and effective national investigations into incidents of ill-treatment at borders.
  • Periodic updates / Series
    1
    July
    2024
    The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights regularly collects data on the operations of NGO vessels involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean. This includes any legal proceedings against them, as well as any difficulties in disembarking migrants in safe ports. This paper provides an overview of criminal investigations and other legal proceedings initiated by European Union (EU) Member States against civil society organisations deploying search and rescue vessels and aircraft in the Mediterranean and/or against individual crew members. The latest update covers the period from 2018 up until the end of May 2024.
  • Handbook / Guide / Manual
    17
    December
    2020
    The European Convention on Human Rights and European Union law provide an increasingly important framework for the protection of the rights of foreigners. European Union legislation relating to asylum, borders and immigration is developing fast. There is an impressive body of case law by the European Court of Human Rights relating in particular to Articles 3, 5, 8 and 13 of the ECHR. The Court of Justice of the European Union is increasingly asked to pronounce on the interpretation of European Union law provisions in this field. The third edition of this handbook, updated up to July 2020, presents this European Union legislation and the body of case law by the two European courts in an accessible way.
Products
8
March
2011
EU Member State border authorities are facing difficulties at points of entry into the EU due to a rising influx of irregular migrants. The study is based on field research carried out by the FRA in January 2011 and describes the fundamental rights situation of persons irregularly entering the EU's external border between Greece and Turkey.
18
June
2013
This year’s summary of the FRA Annual report – Highlights 2012 – puts the spotlight on key legal and policy developments in the field of fundamental rights in 2012.
18
June
2013
Against a backdrop of rising unemployment and increased deprivation, this FRA Annual report closely examines the situation of those, such as children, who are vulnerable to budget cuts, impacting important fields such as education, healthcare and social services. It looks at the discrimination that Roma continue to face and the mainstreaming of elements of extremist ideology in political and public discourse. It considers the impact the crises have had on the basic principle of the rule of law, as well as stepped up EU Member State efforts to ensure trust in justice systems.
27
March
2013
This FRA report examines the conditions at Europe’s southern sea borders with respect to the most fundamental rights of a person, the right to life and the right not to be sent back to torture, persecution or inhuman treatment. It looks at sea border surveillance and disembarkation procedures, as well as training and Frontex-coordinated operations. It examines practices across the EU Member States researched – Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain.
7
December
2010
The arrival of thousands of separated children in the European Union from third countries poses a serious challenge to EU institutions and Member States, since, according to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, they have a duty to care for and protect children. This summary highlights the key findings of the FRA research on separated, asylum-seeking children in EU Member States.
20
June
2012
This year‘s summary of the FRA Annual report – Highlights 2011 – chronicles the positive developments made in 2011 as well as the challenges facing the EU and its Member States in the field of fundamental rights, drawing on objective, reliable and comparable socio-legal data.
26
June
2009
A thematic discussion paper prepared for the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights by Eurasylum Ltd.
5
July
2011
This report is the result of a project by the FRA on the situation of migrants in an irregular situation in the EU. It is the first of two thematic reports which complements a forthcoming comprehensive overview of the fundamental rights situation of migrants in an irregular situation in the EU's 27 Member States.
Report / Paper / Summary
30
November
2010
The Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) examined law and practice in the EU 27 on the deprivation of liberty of irregular migrants pending their removal against the applicable international human rights law framework.
1
September
2011
The Fundamental Rights Conference, the flagship annual event of the FRA, focused in 2010 on ensuring justice and protection for all children, including those who are most vulnerable. This report summarises the speeches, discussion and common conclusions and issues identified during the conference.
20
June
2012
To secure and safeguard the fundamental rights of everyone in the European Union (EU), the EU and its 27 Member States pressed forward with a number of initiatives in 2011. This report chronicles the positive developments made in 2011 as well as the challenges facing the EU and its Member States in the field of fundamental rights.
21
November
2011
International and European human rights law impose an obligation on EU Member States to guarantee human rights to all individuals within their jurisdiction. This includes irregular migrants.
21
November
2011
This report, based on comparative research on the fundamental rights situation of irregular migrants in Europe, advises on how fundamental rights should be incorporated in policies, laws and administrative practices affecting migrants in irregular situations.
This video introduces the topics of the Fundamental Rights Conference 2011.
15
June
2011
Upon request of the European Parliament, the FRA presented an expert opinion on the fundamental rights compliance of a proposal for a Directive on the use of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime (COM(2011) 32 final). This was a follow-up request to the opinion of the FRA related to PNR from October 2008.
7
December
2010
The arrival of thousands of separated children in the European Union from third countries poses a serious challenge to EU institutions and Member States, since, according to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, they have a duty to care for and protect children. This report examines the experiences and views of 336 separated, asylum-seeking children and those of 302 adults responsible for their care across 12 EU Member States.
In brief / Factsheet
30
November
2010
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights examined law and practice in the EU 27 on the deprivation of liberty of irregular migrants pending their removal against the applicable international human rights law framework.
13
September
2010
This factsheet summarises the main points of the two reports 'Access to effective remedies: The asylum-seeker perspective' and 'The duty to inform applicants about asylum procedures: The asylum-seeker perspective'.
13
September
2010
A fair asylum procedure is one where applicants know their rights and duties, and where they understand its different stages. The right to be informed at decisive moments of the procedure is an important element of procedural fairness. Drawing on evidence from interviews with almost 900 asylum seekers, this report examines the information that asylum seekers have on the asylum procedure. In particular, it looks at the main source of information for asylum seekers, which type of information they receive, and when and how they receive it.
13
September
2010
Drawing on evidence from interviews with almost 900 asylum seekers, this report presents asylum-seeker experiences in submitting an appeal against a negative asylum decision. While documenting good practices, it also highlights several obstacles which make it difficult for asylum applicants to access effective remedies.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) identifies a number of persistent and emerging fundamental rights concerns in its latest migration bulletin.
FRA presented areas where EU funding could help address fundamental rights challenges in the field of asylum, borders and immigration. This could support Member States om their the implementation of EU law safeguards as they prepare their multiannual programmes under the new migration and security funds.
FRA carried out fundamental rights training during a webinar on interoperability of the EU large-scale IT systems.
FRA gave a presentation on good practices to protect and promote human rights during and after COVID during the EU Migration Preparedness and Crisis Management Mechanism (Blueprint) Network meeting on 4 February.
FRA took part in an expert meeting on children in migration. Member States’ authorities and EU agencies attended the 28 January event. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the state of play in the implementation of the 2017 European Commission’s Communication on protecting migrant children.
National Contact Points under the European Migration Network (EMN) met on 22 January. The aim of the meeting was to update national contact points, EASO, the European Commission and its Joint Research Centre, and FRA about each other’s activities.
FRA outlined fundamental rights safeguards in the Entry-Exit system during a training course on 2 and 3 February. FRA rose awareness on the potential risks for fundamental rights, that can emerge if safeguards are not duly implemented, drawing on its relevant work.
A Spanish version of the asylum and migration legal handbook is now available.
FRA held an online inception meeting of a new project looking into the fundamental rights situation of third-country nationals who are long-term residents in the EU. The meeting on will gather partners from FRA’s research network from nine EU Member States – Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden – covered by the research.
FRA published a brief note on the migration law implications of the new EU-UK arrangements.
In December 2020, FRA was an observer to the Schengen return and readmission evaluations of Cyprus. It joined a team of evaluators from the European Commission and EU Member States. This was the fourth such FRA observer visit to Member States in 2020.
On average three people a day died crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe in 2020, estimates the International Organization for Migration. On International Migrants Day on 18 December, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights outlines the difficulties that civil society rescue efforts in the Mediterranean continue to face.
The coronavirus pandemic tearing through society exposes the vulnerability migrants often face. On International Migrants Day on 18 December, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights calls on the EU and its Member States, when addressing the societal impact, to leave no one behind by also supporting migrants.
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the European Court of Human Rights issue the third edition of their widely-used practical handbook on European migration and asylum law.
On 4 December, at the Annual Dialogue with the European Committee of the Regions in the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs, FRA presented the findings from its report on the integration of young refugees.
A workshop on 3 December looked at how to ensure the best interests of the child when monitoring forced returns that involve children. The International Centre for Migration Policy Development, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and FRA jointly organised the online workshop. It was attended by 50 people from 21 different Member States.
Today, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) publishes a report on fundamental rights issues at external land borders. The report looks at the main challenges of border management and puts forward proposals for actions to improve the current situation. The European Parliament requested FRA to prepare this report in January 2020. With the Coronavirus pandemic, the report could only be issued now.
The European Commission’s new Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027 acknowledges FRA’s key role in monitoring the effectiveness of EU integration and inclusion policies.