Author
The main forms of accommodation used during admissibility, including Dublin, and accelerated procedures on the national territory are CPR’s (funded) private accommodation and reception centres. As regards the regular procedure, private accommodation is usually used (see Types of Accommodation).
There is currently no regular monitoring of the reception system in place.
ISS is among the competent authorities for licensing, monitoring and providing technical support to the operation of reception centres for asylum seekers.[1] ISS has laid down specific rules for temporary reception centres for children at risk (such as CACR).[2] Furthermore, the law provides for specific standards regarding housing in kind for asylum seekers,[3] and children at risk (such as unaccompanied children).[4] The specific material reception standards relevant to CAR and CACR are foreseen in the underlying bilateral MOUs (see Types of Accommodation) and in the internal regulations of each facility.
CAR is composed of shared rooms with dedicated bathrooms/toilets and is equipped to accommodate asylum seekers with mobility constraints, e.g., it includes a lift and adapted bathrooms/toilets. Single men and women are accommodated in separate areas. The residents are expected to cook their own meals in a communal kitchen and have access to common fridges and cupboards. The centre also has a laundry service, a playground, a day-care/kindergarten for resident and local community children, as well as a library connected to the municipal library system and a theatre/event space that can be rented out.
CPR provides psychosocial and legal assistance, Portuguese language training, socio-cultural activities, as well as integration-related support (see Access to the Labour Market). Logistical support staff is present at CACR 24 hours a day and the overall cleaning of the centre is carried out by a private company, though the residents are expected to contribute to the cleaning of their room and that of the common kitchen. The team of the centre often liaises with other organisations to provide specific support to particularly vulnerable residents.
According to the current reception strategy, in general, spontaneous asylum seekers are initially accommodated at CAR for an initial period of 2 to 3 weeks during which social and health needs are identified and information on the host country is provided.[5] Afterwards, the applicant generally moves to another accommodation with the support of CPR (either a hostel, apartment, or room in the private market). Vulnerable applicants remain in CAR if deemed appropriate. Support continues to be ensured by CPR’s team.
The average accommodation period with the assistance of CPR in 2023 was of 109 days (roughly 3 and a half months). This followed the increase already registered in the second semester of 2022.
Since the last quarter of 2023 CPR has been unable to ensure the provision of accommodation to all spontaneous asylum seekers as per previous practice both due to the lack of further capacity of infra-structures, and to the lack of funding to that effect.[6]
AIMA has been directly providing accommodation to asylum seekers under the competencies assigned by the Asylum Act to the Ministry in charge of Migration.[7]
According to the information available to CPR, AIMA provides accommodation in hostels/hotels. CPR has received consistent reports of significant issues impacting asylum applicants within this context namely concerning: lack of information, lack of access to material reception conditions, instances of withdrawal of accommodation immediately following notification of a negative decision (in violation of the applicable legal framework), frequent and often unannounced changes of place of accommodation, and lack of response to specific needs (including access to health care). This is not the case according to AIMA.[8]
CACR is composed of shared rooms with dedicated bathrooms/toilets and is equipped to accommodate asylum seekers with mobility constraints. Two resident cooks are responsible for the provision of meals in line with the nutritional needs of children, although children can be allowed to cook their own meals under supervision. The centre also has a laundry service, a playground and a small library, and provides psychosocial and legal assistance, Portuguese language training and socio-cultural activities. Children accommodated at CACR are systematically enrolled in local schools or in vocational training programmes. In 2022, the staff of CACR included three social workers and support staff (present 24 hours a day to ensure the overall functioning of the centre), who were assisted by legal officers and a language trainer.
CACR offers unaccompanied children appropriate housing and reception conditions regardless of the stage of the asylum procedure. Given the specific needs and contexts involved, the average stay in 2023 stood at 242 days.
The official capacity of CACR stands at 13 places but the existing gap in specialised reception capacity has repeatedly resulted in overcrowding that has been partially averted by: changing arrangements in rooms to expand capacity while preserving adequate accommodation standards; resorting to separate accommodation of unaccompanied children above the age of 16 at the CAR and CAR 2, supervised by the Family and Juvenile Court (both as a measure of last resort in the case of capacity shortages, and in a process of growing autonomy for young applicants at more advanced stages of the integration process); and, depending on the individual circumstances, promoting the placement of children above the age of 16 in supervised private housing by decision of the Family and Juvenile Court in line with the protective measures enshrined in the Youths at Risk Protection Act.[9]
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 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. Information regarding the reasons/criteria underlying this practice is not available.[10]
Absconding and the associated risk of human trafficking remain relevant concerns. A total of 23 out of 61 (38%) unaccompanied children accommodated by CPR absconded in 2023 (see Special Reception Needs).
A study focusing on the situation of asylum-seeking unaccompanied children and ageing out in Portugal published in 2021 revealed, inter alia, that the children and young people involved reported challenges related to the cultural and religious diversity of those living in reception centres, as well as difficulties in adjusting to different alimentary practices. Some of those questioned also highlighted difficulties in transitioning to autonomous living due to financial hurdles and, when dispersed to locations outside the Lisbon area, social isolation.[11]
Access to adequate housing is identified as a major issue within the national context by asylum seekers, refugees and NGOs.[12] Factors such as high prices, and contractual demands including high deposits, need of guarantors and proof of income hinder the capacity of asylum seekers and refugees to access the market directly, and that of frontline service providers to increase reception capacity. Consequently, asylum seekers and refugees often have to resort to overcrowded or sub-standard housing options when accessing the private housing market.[13]
[1] Decree-Law No 64/2007.
[2] These rules are contained among others in technical guidelines that provide for quality standards on issues such as capacity, duration of stay, composition and technical skills of staff, hygiene and security standards, location and connectivity, access to the building, construction materials, composition and size of the building, internal regulation, personal integration plans, activities planning, reporting and evaluation etc. An earlier version from 1996 is available at: http://bit.ly/2meygMC. According to the information available at: http://bit.ly/2mljDHo, the ISS has also adopted quality standards for other temporary reception centres (such as the CAR and the CATR) contained in technical guidelines dated 29 November 1996 (unpublished).
[3] Article 59 Asylum Act: protection of family life, including the unity of children and parents/legal representatives; right to contact relatives and representatives of UNHCR and CPR; adoption of adequate measures by the management of the facility to prevent violence, and notably sexual and gender-based violence.
[4] Articles 52-54 Children and Youth at Risk Protection Act.
[5] Efforts have been developed to reduce the initial evaluation period to around 1 week.
[6] On the one hand, there were significant delays in the provision of AMIF funding at national level, on the other since the beginning of its operations AIMA publicly stated that it wanted to evaluate the provision of services by the organisation before renewing any cooperation frameworks. While AIMA and CPR signed a contract for the provision of accommodation for a limited number of asylum seekers in January 2024, this did not ensure the payment of services previously ensured by the organisation and did not provide sufficient resources for CPR to continue ensuring the usual reception model. In fact, by the end of the year the organisation often faced financial constraints leading to delays in the payment of financial allowances to asylum seekers and salaries to employees. See, for instance: Público, Conselho Português para os Refugiados confirma salários e verbas em atraso, 8 January 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/t73nw4ue. Within the context of the right of reply of the authorities to the draft AIDA report, AIMA affirmed that it has expanded reception capacity and that the procedures adopted aimed to ensure transparency. It also confirmed that the transition between financial frameworks created constraints, but asserted that such constraints had been overcome by June 2024. Information provided by AIMA, 25 June 2024.
[7] Article 61(1) Asylum Act.
[8] Within the context of the right of reply of the authorities to the draft AIDA report, AIMA noted that all asylum seekers are informed of the available accommodation and its conditions, and that all asylum seekers were offered accommodation. It has also noted that asylum seekers are duly informed of changes to their accommodation arrangements, and that applicants are referred to healthcare authorities. AIMA did not provide further information regarding the procedures and criteria for withdrawal of accommodation. Information provided by AIMA, 25 June 2024.
[9] Act 147/99.
[10] 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. Information provided by AIMA, 25 June 2024.
[11] Sandra Roberto, Carla Moleiro, ed. Observatório das Migrações, De menor a maior: acolhimento e autonomia de vida em menores não acompanhados, April 2021, pp.53 et seq, available at: https://bit.ly/3fqMKBK
[12] In addition to CPR, SCML and JRS also expressed this concern when providing information for the AIDA report.
[13] It should be noted that while these issues are not only specific to applicants and beneficiaries of international protection, factors such as the absence of support networks increase their impact in asylum seeking and refugee families.