Author
An ‘applicant in need of special reception needs’ is defined in terms of reduced ability to benefit from the rights and comply with the obligations stemming from the Asylum Act due to their vulnerability. The Asylum Act provides for a non-exhaustive list of applicants with an increased vulnerability risk profile that could need special reception conditions: minors, unaccompanied minors, disabled people, elderly people, pregnant women, single parents with minor children, victims of human trafficking, persons with serious illnesses, persons with mental disorders and persons who have been subjected to torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence, such as victims of domestic violence and female genital mutilation.[1]
While the Asylum Act also refers to guarantees available to particularly vulnerable persons,[2] the two concepts seem to be used interchangeably, meaning that any person with special reception needs is a priori a vulnerable person for the purposes of the Asylum Act.[3]
The identification of persons with special needs and the nature of such needs must take place upon registration of the asylum application or at any stage of the asylum procedure,[4] but within reasonable time following registration.[5]
The provision of special reception conditions should take into consideration: (i) the material reception needs of particularly vulnerable persons;[6] (ii) their special health needs, including those particular to survivors of torture and serious violence.[7]
The law further details the modalities of some of these categories of special reception conditions particularly regarding the special needs of children[8] (including unaccompanied children)[9] and housing conditions.
There are no specific mechanisms, standard operating procedures, or units in place to systematically identify asylum seekers in need of special reception conditions. The only exceptions are age assessment procedures and procedures for the identification and protection of potential victims of trafficking that present practical and technical implementation challenges (see Identification).
In practice, in the framework of admissibility (including Dublin) and accelerated procedures on the territory, asylum seekers who present apparent vulnerabilities entailing special reception needs such as children, disabled people, elderly people, pregnant women, single parents with minor children, persons with serious illnesses or mental disorders referred to CPR for the provision of material reception conditions, are generally identified by the organisation. This can be based on information received from SEF/AIMA prior to their referral to CPR’s reception centres, but mostly depends on information voluntarily provided by the applicants or collected directly during legal assistance, social interviews or initial medical screenings.
Single men and women accommodated at CPR’s CAR are accommodated in separate areas, and rooms have bathrooms. Where accommodation is provided by CPR in other facilities, e.g. in hostels, men and women have separated rooms and bathrooms.
CPR’s teams often liaise with other organisations to provide specific support to the special needs of particularly vulnerable residents.
CPR’s Psychological Support Department continued to provide psychological assistance to applicants for international protection supported by CPR, and to facilitate referrals to relevant services provided by partners such as follow-up psychiatric services. In the course of 2023, the Psychological Support Department provided 783 individual consultations, mediated multicultural meetings with applicants for international protection and organised other group activities, and made referrals to external services, such as psychiatric care.
According to SCML, asylum seekers referred to the organisation by the SOG benefit from specific social counselling at the appeal stage and may be referred to homeless shelters managed by the organisation on a temporary basis to address specific vulnerabilities. Rooms with individual bathrooms can also be used to respond to certain special needs. Similarly, according to ISS special needs are assessed and vulnerable asylum seekers are provided differentiated support during the regular procedure, notably in the case of children, disabled and the elderly.
According to the information provided by SCML, the team ensuring support to asylum seekers includes a psychologist. Applicants can also be referred to psychiatric care within the health care units managed by the organisation. SCML also confirms that access to mental healthcare within the SNS is often challenging, particularly due to delays, suitability of available solutions and language barriers.
JRS also has a Mental Health Office, specialising in the field of migration.
In November 2020,[10] a specific service to support victims of domestic violence and/or traditional harmful practices was inaugurated in CNAIM Lisbon. Another one was inaugurated in February 2021 in CNAIM Norte.[11] CPR does not have experience in liaising with this service, or further information regarding its activity.
In 2022, a new SOG sub-group was created in order to address the area of vulnerabilities within the asylum system. The group was composed by ACM, CPR, ISS, SCML, SEF, and UNHCR. According to the information provided by UNHCR, the group was active during the first semester, but its activities were halted with the suspension of the activity of the SOG.[12] In April 2023, the sub-group organised a meeting with multiple stakeholders active in the field of asylum, migration, healthcare, security and child-protection to discuss, inter alia, practices and recommendations concerning special needs. Further output of its activity was not publicly available at the time of writing.
According to the information provided by SEF in previous years, its caseworkers received training on the identification of vulnerable persons, and specific interviewing techniques under the EASO training curriculum. UNHCR reported having provided training covering the identification and referral of asylum seekers and refugees with special needs to AIMA, PSP, GNR, ISS and entities involved in the reception of unaccompanied children. Within the context of the right of reply of the authorities to the draft AIDA report, AIMA noted that it is expected that staff will attend EUAA training until the end of 2024.[13]
According to the information provided by UNHCR, it has organised, in cooperation with ACM and ISS, a consultation process of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Portugal to collect information on the challenges faced by the children and their recommendations for improvement.
Reception of families and children
The accommodation of unaccompanied children who are 16 and over in adult reception centres and the initiation of family tracing are dependent on a best interests’ assessment.[14] Under the Asylum Act, the best interest of the child also requires that children:
- Be placed with parents or, in their absence, with adult relatives, foster families, specialised reception centres or tailored accommodation;
- Not be separated from siblings;
- Are offered stability, notably by keeping changes in place of residence to a minimum;
- Are ensured well-being and social development;
- Have security and protection challenges addressed, notably where there is a risk of human trafficking; and
- Express their opinion, taking into consideration their age and maturity.[15]
The provision of special reception conditions during the asylum procedure includes a specialised reception centre for unaccompanied children, CACR, and the accommodation of unaccompanied children who are 16 or older in CAR and CAR 2 as a measure of last resort, in the absence of appropriate alternatives or in pre-autonomy stages (see Types of Accommodation). CPR promotes family tracing, in partnership with the Portuguese Red Cross (CVP), if considered to be in the best interest of the child and taking into consideration the child’s opinion.
In the course of 2023, CPR has often reported to the relevant authorities not being able to accept further referrals of unaccompanied children due to lack of capacity of CACR. According to the information available to CPR, in such cases, children are usually referred to child-care facilities of the general national protection system. According to ISS, by the end of 2023, a total of 41 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children were under the care of such facilities.
CPR has also received reports of unaccompanied children being provided accommodation directly by AIMA in general facilities used by the Agency for the accommodation of asylum seekers (such as hostels), despite being underage. To the extent of CPR’s knowledge, such children are provided assistance by organisations specialised in child-care but it is unclear whether further adaptations are made by the authorities to ensure compliance with the rules applicable to the reception of unaccompanied children. Within the context of the right of reply of the authorities to the draft AIDA report, AIMA noted that procedures regarding the accommodation of such children are coordinated with the relevant authorities, that such entities have met regularly and are developing standard operational procedures for the reception of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.[16]
To the extent that it is possible, and with consent of the applicants, family unity should be preserved in the provision of housing.[17] Adult asylum seekers with special reception needs should be accommodated with adult relatives who are legally responsible for them and already present on the territory.[18]
CPR’s reception centres offer facilities to accommodate disabled people and playgrounds for children who are systematically enrolled in public education. Despite practical challenges, families are generally given separate accommodation either at CAR or in external accommodation. Asylum seekers are generally referred to the SNS for health assessments and care, including differentiated care, even though referral constraints particularly for mental health care and certain categories of specialised medical care have been traditionally experienced.
According to the Asylum Act, adequate measures must be adopted to avoid sexual and gender-based violence and harassment in reception centres and other housing provided to asylum seekers.[19] Among the measures adopted by CPR in this regard are the definition of separate room areas, the development awareness raising activities, the possibility to make accommodation arrangements adapted to the specific needs of individuals, and monitoring by staff.
In May 2022, ACM signed a cooperation agreement with the organisation Adolescer, to implement a specific reception programme for single parent families and young people.[20] Information regarding its implementation is not apparently publicly available.
UNICEF[22] has reported being aware of instances where unaccompanied children were assigned the protective measure of ‘independent living’[23] without full consideration for their needs and effective protection, inter alia:
- Insufficiency of the financial allowance granted to such children to cover essential living costs, and inconsistent practices regarding the amounts paid, methods and frequency of payment;
- Challenges faced by children in obtaining proper accommodation in the private housing market due to the very high prices of housing in the country and the limited amounts of the financial allowances applicable, leading them to resort to solutions without the appropriate legal protection and to share accommodation with adults, and making it impossible to ensure the adequacy of the living environment.
Reception of survivors of torture and violence
While ISS is responsible for ensuring access to rehabilitation services for survivors of torture and serious violence,[24] the provision of material reception conditions and health care adapted to the special needs of vulnerable persons seems to be dependent on the responsibility-sharing rules applicable to asylum seekers in general.
The provision of reception conditions by ISS in the regular procedure following a dispersal decision by the SOG is done in accordance to agreed standards. In each district there is a responsible officer for reception conditions who reports directly to central services, but there is no specialised team dedicated to survivors of torture and/or serious violence. According to ISS, caseworkers can make referrals to specialised services at local level, for instance, for asylum seekers placed in the area of Coimbra, ISS has the possibility to make referrals to the Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Psychogenic Trauma that provides differentiated mental health care adapted to the needs of survivors of torture and/or serious violence.
[1] Article 2(1)(ag) Asylum Act.
[2] Article 2(1)(y) Asylum Act.
[3] Article 77(1) and (3) Asylum Act.
[4] Article 77(2) Asylum Act.
[5] Article 77(3) Asylum Act.
[6] Articles 56(2) and 77(1) of Asylum Act.
[7] Articles 35-B(8), 52(5), 56(2), 78(3)-(4) and 80 Asylum Act.
[8] Article 78 Asylum Act.
[9] Article 79 Asylum Act.
[10] EASO, EASO Asylum Report 2021, 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3MlIDFs, 269-270.
[11] For more information see: ACM, Abertura do 1.º espaço atendimento às vítimas de violência doméstica migrantes e a vítimas de práticas tradicionais nefastas no CNAIM de Lisboa, available at: https://bit.ly/3EAQpJ1 and Comissão para a Cidadania e a Igualdade de Género (CIG), Novo Gabinete de Apoio às Vìtimas de Violência Doméstica e/ou de práticas tradicionais nefastas no CNAIM Norte, 17 February 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3OsUBil.
[12] The activity of the SOG was not resumed until the end of the year.
[13] Information provided by AIMA on 25 June 2024.
[14] Article 79(10) and (14) Asylum Act.
[15] Article 78(2)(a)-(h) Asylum Act.
[16] Information provided by AIMA on 25 June 2024.
[17] Articles 51(2) and 59(1)(a) and (b) Asylum Act.
[18] Article 59(1)(c) Asylum Act.
[19] Article 59(1)(e) Asylum Act.
[20] For more, see: ACM, ACM e Adolescere assinam protocolo de cooperação, available at: https://bit.ly/3m9FFfT and Adolescere, Programa ACOLHER – Famílias Monoparentais Refugiadas, available at: https://bit.ly/3Mnm2vA.
[21] Information provided by UNICEF to the 2023 AIDA Update.
[22] Information provided by UNICEF to the 2023 AIDA Update.
[23] Unofficial translation (“autonomia de vida”). This is a protective measure that can be applied to children over 15 years old and that aims to promote its autonomy and ability to live independently, while providing economic assistance as well as social and pedagogical support (article 45 Act no.147/99, of 1 September, as amended).
[24] Article 80 Asylum Act.