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Content of information
The Royal Decree on Immigration Office Procedure stipulates that an information brochure is to be handed to the asylum applicant when they introduce the asylum application. The brochure is to be in a language the asylum applicant can reasonably be expected to understand and should at least contain information about the asylum procedure, the application of the Dublin III Regulation, the eligibility criteria of the Refugee Convention and of subsidiary protection status, access to legal assistance, the possibility for children to be assisted during the interview, reception accommodation, the obligation to cooperate, the existence of organisations that assist asylum applicants and migrants and the contact details of the UNHCR representative in Belgium.[1]
Information provision tools
On the day of making the asylum application at the Immigration Office, applicants receive a folder containing various information, including information on the trajectory that will be followed on the day of making the application and an extensive brochure at the Immigration Office on the day they make the application. This brochure was recently updated.[2] In the context of the reception crisis, the Immigration Office also hands out flyers of the reception agency Fedasil, containing information on the ways one can register on the waiting list of Fedasil and for emergency homelessness reception by Samu Social.
A brochure entitled ‘Asylum in Belgium’, published by the CGRS and the reception agency, Fedasil, explains the different steps in the asylum procedures, the reception structures and rights and obligations of the asylum applicants. It is distributed at the dispatching desk of Fedasil, where people are designated to a reception accommodation place.[3] In the context of the reception crisis, persons who don’t receive accommodation are not automatically provided with this information.
In October 2019, Fedasil further launched the website www.fedasilinfo.be, which is available in 14 languages, some of which also include an audio version. Eight main topics are addressed: asylum and procedure, accommodation, living in Belgium, return, work, unaccompanied minors, health and learning. The website can only be reached if one connects with a Belgian IP address.
In March 2021, the CGRS launched the website www.asyluminbelgium.be, providing information – tailored to the needs of asylum applicants – on the asylum procedure in Belgium in nine languages. It aims to reach as many asylum applicants as possible and inform them correctly about their rights and obligations during the asylum procedure. All texts are audio-supported so that an asylum applicant who is unable or less able to read has access to all the information. The website also presents four videos, through which the viewer can follow the itinerary of Zana, a refugee, who testifies about her itinerary from the beginning of her asylum application until the moment she receives a decision. This video testimony helps asylum applicants in an accessible way to visualise the different stages they will go through.
In 2024, the Immigration Office also launched a website www.asylumregistration.be. On this website, applicants can find practical information on the different steps of the registration process such as the security check and fingerprinting, in 16 different languages via text, audio and videos.
Besides this, some specific leaflets are also published and made available. The brochure ‘Women, girls and Asylum in Belgium’ was created for female asylum applicants and is translated in nine different languages. It not only contains information about the asylum procedure itself, but also on issues related to health, equality between men and women, intra-family violence, female genital mutilation and human trafficking. The CGRS also created brochures explaining the asylum procedure for unaccompanied and accompanied minors.[4] Leaflets with specific information are also available for asylum applicants in a closed centre, at a border or in prison. There is also the so-called ‘Kizito’ comic dated 2007, designed for unaccompanied children who do not speak any of the official languages in Belgium (Dutch, French and German), conceived to be understood only by the drawings, that explains the different steps of the asylum procedure and life in Belgium.
The Guardianship Service has developed a leaflet on assistance to unaccompanied children. This leaflet is available in 15 languages.[5]
Moreover, the CGRS has published several brochures on different aspects of the asylum procedure. A code of conduct for interpreters and translators and a so-called charter on interview practices serves as the CGRS protection officers’ code of conduct (see Regular Procedure: Personal Interview). All these publications are freely available on the CGRS website.[6]
In September 2023, Fedasil reopened their Info Point, an information centre where applicants for international protection, migrants in transit and undocumented persons can get information about the asylum procedure, medical aid, legal advice etc.[7] In its first year, the Infopunt received nearly 11,500 visitors, the vast majority of whom were isolated men. Palestinians made up 36% of the total. More than 8,000 visitors were asylum seekers seeking information about accommodation.[8]
Since 2020, Fedasil also has a mobile and multilingual team ‘Reach Out’, that actively approaches and informs migrants – whether or not they have applied for international protection – who are not staying in the Fedasil reception network. They inform them about their rights in Belgium, their reception options, social support, protection options in Belgium and possibilities of return.[9]
A team from Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen (‘Startpunt’) is present every morning at the entrance of the Immigration Office to provide asylum applicants waiting in line with information about the asylum procedure and their rights. They distribute brochures with legal and practical information on various topics – such as the asylum procedure, the Dublin procedure and practical tips for people who are refused reception – which is translated into 18 languages.[10]
A procedural guide by Ciré was updated in 2019, and available in French.[11]
On the websites of Agentschap Inburgering en Integratie (Dutch), Ciré (French) and ADDE (French), extensive legal information is made available on all aspects of the asylum procedure, reception conditions and detention.
[1] Articles 2-3 Royal Decree on Immigration Office Procedure.
[2] See brochure in multiple languages, available here.
[3] CGRS and Fedasil, Asylum in Belgium: Information brochure for asylum applicants regarding the asylum procedure and reception provided in Belgium, available at: http://bit.ly/2kvQCpP.
[4] CGRS, Guide for unaccompanied minors who apply for asylum in Belgium; Guide for accompanied minors in the asylum procedure in Belgium, available at: http://bit.ly/2kvQCpP.
[5] The leaflets can be consulted at: http://bit.ly/2l019Xb.
[6] CGRS, Publications, available at: http://bit.ly/2kvQCpP.
[7] Fedasil, ‘Ouverture du Point Info à Bordet’, 29 September 2023, available in French here.
[8] Fedasil, ‘The Fedasil Info Point is one year old’, 1 October 2024, available here.
[9] Fedasil, ‘Reach Out – Informing migrants who are difficultly accessible’, available in Dutch here and in French here.
[10] Flyers available in English at: https://bit.ly/3NAuDJu.
[11] Ciré, Guide de la procédure d’asile, 2019, available in French at: https://bit.ly/2tvuPFF.