Author
The Asylum Act provides for the right to:
- A broad set of information on the asylum procedure and reception conditions in general;[1]
- Information on key developments and decisions relating to the individual asylum file;[2]
- Information on detention;[3] and
- Specific information rights of unaccompanied children.[4]
Furthermore, the law provides for a general right to interpretation ‘whenever necessary’ during registration of the application and throughout the asylum procedure.[5] This refers to the right to interpretation into a language that the asylum seeker understands or is reasonably expected to understand.[6]
In practice, while SEF generally complies with the obligation to inform asylum seekers of key developments, decisions and associated rights during asylum procedures, interpretation for that purpose is not systematically available and rarely includes an explanation of the grounds of the decision. The absence of translation has also been problematic in cases where SEF informs asylum seekers of developments in their applications by postal mail and email in Portuguese.[7]
Information at the registration stage
Upon registration, asylum seekers receive an information leaflet from SEF, informing them of their rights and duties. In CPR’s experience, the leaflet is only available in a limited number of foreign languages (e.g., Portuguese, French, English, Russian, Arabic, Ukrainian, and Lingala). While some specific information leaflets, including one on reception and another for unaccompanied children are available online,[8] CPR is not aware of their systematic distribution to asylum seekers, including to unaccompanied children. The information contained in the leaflets is brief and not considered user-friendly, particularly in the case of unaccompanied children.
CPR’s liaison officers present at SEF-GAR develop efforts to explain the content of the documents handled to applicants, especially when they are not able to read.
Information on the Dublin procedure
CPR has no indication that the common information leaflet provided for in Article 4(3) of the Dublin III Regulation is being systematically distributed. Nevertheless, SEF confirmed that such information is provided.
In CPR’s experience, the only information provided on the functioning of the Dublin system seems to be contained in the general information leaflet on the Dublin III and Eurodac Regulations, which is limited.
Asylum seekers are systematically informed in writing of the likely responsibility of another Member State, and the corresponding supporting evidence during the personal interview. If the take back/take charge request is refused by the Member State and another Member State is deemed responsible by the Portuguese authorities, the asylum seekers is usually notified of the likelihood of being transferred to that Member State. In such cases, according to CPR’s experience, the asylum seeker is not informed of details regarding the refusal to take back/take charge (see Dublin).
Information on the border procedure
In the case of asylum seekers detained at the border, the certificate of the asylum application used to contain a brief reference to Article 26 of the Asylum Act that provides for the systematic detention of asylum seekers in the border procedure. Asylum seekers were not systematically informed or aware of their rights and obligations in detention despite the existence of information leaflets available in a limited number of foreign languages.[9] Gaps in the provision of information within the context of detention at the border have been flagged by the National Preventive Mechanism, [10] both with regard to the applicable legal frameworks and the individual situation of the applicants.
Child-friendly information
Despite having been designated as legal representative of a significant number of unaccompanied children who applied for asylum in 2022, CPR is unaware of the provision of child-friendly information by SEF, including the specific information leaflet for unaccompanied children and the information leaflet provided for by Article 4(3) of the Dublin Regulation.
Information on procedural developments
Despite written requests to that purpose, asylum seekers are usually not informed of the extension of the time limit for the examination of their application, the grounds for the extension and the expected time limit for the decision in the regular procedure as required by law.[11]
Information by NGOs
CPR provides free legal information to asylum seekers throughout the asylum procedure that broadly covers the information requirements provided in the law, including tailored information to unaccompanied children, on the basis of individual interviews and legal counselling. Challenges in capacity have at times restricted the provision of legal information during the first instance asylum procedure, particularly regarding asylum seekers placed in detention or private accommodation outside the Lisbon area (see Regular Procedure).
There are other organisations that provide legal information and assistance to asylum seekers such as the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Portugal, the High Commissioner for Migration (ACM) through its National Centres for Migrants’ Integration (CNAIM) and Local Support Centres for Migrants Integration (Centro Local de Apoio à Integração de Migrantes, CLAIM) spread throughout the country and Crescer. According to the available information, these services remain residual and mostly focused on integration.
In 2022, UNHCR launched the Help information website Portugal.[12]
[1] This includes information on assistance and the asylum procedure by the UNHCR and CPR (Article 13(3)); information on the right to an individual application regarding dependent relatives (Article 13(5)); general information on the rights and duties in the asylum procedure (Article 14(2)); information in writing on the rights and duties in border procedures (Article 24(2)); information on the extension of the time limit for the examination and, upon demand, of the grounds for the extension and expected time limit for the decision in the regular procedure (Article 28(2)); oral information or an information brochure on the rights and duties of asylum seekers and in particular regarding the asylum procedure; applicable time limits; the duty to substantiate the claim; available service providers of specialised legal assistance; available reception and health care service providers; legal consequences of failing to cooperate with SEF in substantiating the asylum claim; the purpose of fingerprinting and of all rights of data subjects in accordance to the EURODAC Regulation; information on the admissibility decision (Article 49(1)(a), (b), (c) and (2)); information on the rights and duties of beneficiaries of international protection (Article 66).
[2] This includes the individual notification of first instance decisions in admissibility and accelerated procedures on national territory (Article 20(3)); the individual notification of first instance decisions in admissibility and accelerated procedures and the right to appeal at the border (Article 24(5)); individual notification of SEF’s proposal for a first instance decision in the regular procedure (Article 29(2)); individual notification of the first instance decision and the right to appeal in the regular procedure (Article 29(6)); individual notification of the first instance decision, the right to appeal and the obligation to abandon national territory within 20 days regarding subsequent applications (Article 33(6) and (9)); individual notification of the first instance decision and the right to appeal regarding applications following a removal procedure (Article 33-A(6)); individual notification of outgoing Dublin take charge or take back decisions (Article 37(2)); individual notification of SEF’s proposal for the cessation, revocation, ending or refusal to renew the international protection status (Article 41(6)); individual notification of the cessation, revocation, ending or refusal to renew the international protection status (Article 43(2)).
[3] This includes immediate information in writing on the grounds of detention as well as the right to appeal and to free legal aid (Article 35-B(2)); information on the internal rules of the detention facility and the detainee’s rights and duties (Article 35-B(5)).
[4] This includes information on mandatory legal representation (Article 79(1)); information on the purpose, potential consequences and preparation of the personal interview by the legal representative (Article 79(4)); information on the submission to an age assessment expertise (Article 79(7)).
[5] Article 49(1)(d) Asylum Act.
[6] Articles 14(2), 24(2) and (5), 29(6), 33(6), 35-B(2) and (5), 37(2), 43(2), 49(1)(a), (b) and (2) and 66 Asylum Act.
[7] Attaching documents such as accelerated procedures decisions, Dublin transfer decisions or proposals for a final decision in the regular procedure, also in Portuguese.
[8] SEF, Informação para Menores Não-Acompanhados Requerentes de Proteção Internacional em Portugal, available in Portuguese at: https://bit.ly/2FFVjc3; SEF, Acolhimento em Portugal, available in Portuguese at: https://bit.ly/2MkBnvC; SEF, Informação para Requerentes de Proteção Internacional em Portugal, available in Portuguese at: https://bit.ly/2MoTRez; SEF, Regulamento Dublin III, available in Portuguese at: https://bit.ly/2Hq5aEy.
[9] Portuguese Ombudsman, Tratamento de Cidadãos Estrangeiros em situação irregular ou requerentes de asilo nos centros de instalação temporária ou espaços equiparados, September 2017, available in Portuguese at: http://bit.ly/2z15JPu, Chapter II, Section 9.
[10] Portuguese Ombudsman, Mecanismo Nacional de Prevenção – Relatório à Assembleia da República 2018, 30 May 2019, available in Portuguese at: https://bit.ly/2XTmicn.
[11] Article 28(2) Asylum Act.
[12] Available at: https://bit.ly/414z4BN.