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Overview of statistical practice
The Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) publishes a yearly statistical report providing information on asylum applications: number, nationalities, place of application, gender, unaccompanied children, positive first instance decisions, relocation.[1] In June 2022, the Observatory for Migration (OM) published ‘Applicants and Beneficiaries of International Protection – Statistical Report of Asylum 2022’. [2]
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: 2022
| Applicants in 2022 | Pending at end of 2022 | Refugee status | Subsidiary protection | Rejection | Refugee rate | Sub. Prot. Rate | Rejection rate | |
| Total | 1,992 | N.A. | 632 | 62 | 256 | 66.5% | 6.5% | 26.9% |
| Breakdown by countries of origin of the total numbers | ||||||||
| Afghanistan | 287 | N.A. | 539 | 8 | 0 | 98.5% | 1.5% | 0 |
| India | 229 | N.A. | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Gambia | 167 | N.A. | – | 0 | – | 17.6% | 0 | 82.4% |
| Pakistan | 122 | N.A. | – | 0 | – | 25% | 0 | 75% |
| Morocco | 108 | N.A. | – | 0 | – | 3% | 0 | 97% |
| Dominican Republic | 92 | N.A. | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Senegal | 88 | N.A. | – | 0 | – | 5.9% | 0 | 94.1% |
| Colombia | 85 | N.A. | – | 0 | – | 7.1% | 0 | 92.9% |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 60 | N.A. | 0 | – | – | 0 | 33.3% | 66.7% |
| Russia | 54 | N.A. | – | – | – | 12.5% | 37.5% | 50% |
| Angola | 54 | N.A. | 6 | 0 | 30 | 26.7% | 0 | 83.3% |
Source: Information provided by SEF (April 2023). Rates are calculated by AIDA on the basis of the data provided. Refugee, subsidiary protection and rejection rates are based on the overall number of decisions (refugee status, subsidiary protection and rejection) issued during the year. Figures below 5 and figures higher than 5 not displayed for privacy reasons are marked with ‘-’.
The figures and rates above only include in-merit decisions at first instance (both in the regular and in accelerated procedures). As such, inadmissibility decisions (343), including Dublin, are not included in the rejection figures. As further explained in the corresponding section of the report, in the national system, an application is examined on the merits in a regular procedure if it is deemed admissible (and not processed under an accelerated procedure) or if the determining authority does not comply with the corresponding time limit. Decisions deeming an application admissible to the regular procedure are not included in the table above as they do not grant/refuse protection to the applicant concerned. According to information provided by SEF, in 2022, 625 admissibility decisions were issued (the vast majority of which concerned Afghan nationals).
Gender/age breakdown of the total number of applicants: 2022
| Number | Percentage | |
| Total number of applicants | 1,992 | 100% |
| Men | 1,492 | 74.9% |
| Women | 500 | 25.1% |
| Children | 354 | 17.8% |
| Unaccompanied children | 83 | 4.2% |
Source: Information provided by SEF (April 2023). Rates are calculated by AIDA on the basis of the data provided.
[Note: The gender breakdown (men/women) refers to all applicants, not only adults.]
Information on appeals: 2022
According to information provided by the High Council of Administrative and Fiscal Courts (Conselho Superior dos Tribunais Administrativos e Fiscais, CSTAF), in 2022, the Administrative Circle Court (Tribunal Administrativo de Círculo, TAC) of Lisbon and the Administrative and Fiscal Courts of Almada and Sintra were the only Courts with a specific registration string pertaining to asylum-related appeals. [3] While the remaining first instance administrative courts did not have such a registration string, CSTAF was able to provide data on appeals based on information available on the corresponding IT system and in cooperation with each Court. Higher Courts do not collect autonomous data on asylum-related processes.
A total of 242 appeals against negative decisions were filed in national first instance courts. This represents a decrease of approximately 18% compared to 2021, when 294 appeals were registered in total.
TAC Lisbon continued to be (by far) the first instance court adjudicating the majority of asylum-related cases in Portugal. Out of the 242 appeals against negative asylum decisions, 206 were registered in this Court (i.e., 85% of all appeals). In 2022, appeals were further lodged in TAF Almada, TAF Aveiro, TAF Braga, TAF Castelo Branco, TAF Leiria, TAF Porto and TAF Sintra.
Those appeals concerned applicants of 37 nationalities. The most represented nationalities among appellants included Gambia (36), Morocco (26), Guinea Bissau (22), Senegal (20), and Pakistan (16). According to CSTAF, out of the total of 242 appeals, 202 concerned male applicants and 40 concerned female applicants.
In 2022, first instance courts issued a total of 233 asylum-related appeal decisions, of which 125 concerned Dublin cases (53.6%). The data available does not include a breakdown of the remaining procedures concerned.
Out of the total of 233 decisions, 197 were issued by TAC Lisbon. Out of the total of 233 asylum-related appeal decisions (first instance courts), 34 were in favour of the applicant (5 granting subsidiary protection, 13 determining that the procedure should be resumed/reanalysed by the administrative authority, 16 determining Dublin procedures should be resumed/reanalysed by the administrative authority).[4] There were 199 decisions ruling against the appellants.
Out of the total of 197 decisions issued by TAC Lisbon, 30 were decided in favour of the appellant, and 167 against the appellant.
As such, the overall success rate of appeals[5] at TAC Lisbon (all countries of origin and procedures included) stood at roughly 15%. The overall success rate of appeals in courts outside Lisbon stood roughly at 11%. The overall success rate of appeals at national level stood at 15%. In the case of Gambia, the most represented nationality at appeal stage, the overall success rate of appeals was around 11%. With a few exceptions, success rates for other nationalities were equally low. For the other most represented countries of origin at appeals stage, the success rates were as follows: Morocco (8%); Guinea Bissau (10%); Senegal (0%); Pakistan (33%).
The available information does not allow for clear-cut statistics on decision rates per type of procedure. Nevertheless, according to information available to CPR, the main type of asylum procedures used in 2022 to reject asylum applications at first instance consisted of Dublin procedures for all the most represented countries of origin at appeal stage. For Morocco, accelerated procedures were equally relevant.
According to information provided by CSTAF, a total of 64 appeals were filed in second instance courts (TCA South and TCA North) in 2022. A total of 32 such appeals were decided during the year.
[1] SEF, Yearly Statistical Reports, available at: https://bit.ly/3vHDYbz. These reports are usually published in June (with information on the previous year).
[2] Observatório das Migrações (OM), Requerentes e Beneficiários de Proteção Internacional – Relatório Estatístico do Asilo 2022, June 2022, available in Portuguese at: https://bit.ly/3XySygz. The publication of OM’s reports follows the adoption of Parliament resolution no. 292/2018 that recommended the publication of a yearly report on national asylum policy.
[3] Until 2021, only TAC Lisbon had such a registration string.
[4] According to CPR’s observation of national jurisprudence, instances where national courts decide to grant protection directly are traditionally extremely rare.
[5] Success rates are based on the number of relevant decisions issued during the year.