Author
| Name in English | Number of staff | Ministry responsible | Is there any political interference possible by the responsible Minister with the decision making in individual cases by the first instance authority? |
| General Inspectorate for Immigration – Directorate for Asylum and Integration (IGI-DAI) | 41[1] | Ministry of Internal Affairs | ☐ Yes ☒ No |
The General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI), a government agency under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is in charge of the asylum procedure through its Directorate of Asylum and Integration (DAI). IGI-DAI is also in charge of operating the Regional Centres for Asylum Seekers (“reception centres”) and specially designed closed spaces within the reception centres.
The competent authority for taking decisions on asylum applications at first instance is the General Inspectorate for Immigration – Directorate for Asylum and Integration (IGI-DAI), specifically specialised in the field of asylum.
IGI-DAI may request public institutions, agencies or organisations operating on the territory of Romania, the necessary documentation to analyse the applicant’s situation and take a decision, respecting the confidentiality rules. In these cases, the consent of the applicant is not required.[2]
The Head of IGI, the general inspector, is appointed by an order of the Minister of Internal Affairs.[3] The head is assisted by 2 deputy general inspectors, who are selected after an examination/competition organised by IGI. The examination is organised in compliance with the provisions of Law no. 360/2002 on the Status of the Police Officer, the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs no. 140/2016 on the human resources management activity in the Ministry, the General Manager’s Order of the General Directorate of Human Resources Management no. II / 1620 / 15.09.2015 on procedures and forms used in human resource management activity by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
IGI-DAI includes a director and a deputy director. These positions are filled through an exam, the reassignment from a different location or by direct designation, according to Law 360/2002 on the Status of the Police Officer.[4]
Both the institutional structure and the IGI’s mandate are prescribed by Government Decision no.639 of 20 June 2007.
At the regional level, IGI-DAI has 6 regional centres for the accommodation of and the legal procedures for asylum seekers. Every regional centre has a director and a deputy director; integration officer(s); officers responsible for fingerprinting and photographing; officers conducting preliminary interviews; case officers conducting interviews and drafting decisions; legal counsellors representing the institution in the court in relation to asylum cases; a logistics department, a financial department and medical personnel. The same case officers conducting the regular procedure conduct the border and accelerated procedure.
In 2022[5] as in 2021 IGI-DAI had 29 case officers[6], in comparison with 2020 when there were 23 case officers[7] and 16 officers responsible for the preliminary interviews.[8] In 2022, 4 new case officers were hired, another 2 case officers were on maternity leave and 5 case officers’ positions remain vacant.[9]
In 2023 IGI-DAI had 39 case officers qualified to conduct preliminary interviews.[10]
According to IGI-DAI, all case officers receive specific training, through the organisation of seminars, the processing of guidelines, ad-hoc meetings, monitoring visits and quality assessment.[11]
Besides, information provided in individual cases if requested, case officers are provided information regularly through the specialised department within IGI-DAI and through the materials developed by UNHCR and EUAA.[12]
Specialised training on vulnerable groups is provided to all officers through the organisation of seminars, the processing of guidelines, ad-hoc meetings, monitoring visits and quality assessment.
Any officer may assess applications made by vulnerable asylum seekers.[13]
In 2022 IGI-DAI reported that it monitors the quality of the decisions issued through an internal procedure and monitoring visits conducted jointly with UNHCR.[14] The quality decision is assessed after the decision has been taken.[15] In 2023, 4 assessment missions were organised at the level of the IGI regional centres and carried out in cooperation with UNHCR.[16]
EUAA involvement in decision making
Starting in May 2023,[17] competence to examine asylum applications was extended to the experts of the European Union Agency for Asylum, in accordance with article 16(2)(c) of the EUAA Regulation (EU) 2021/2303, including activities of interviewing and analysing pending asylum procedures. According to the reasoning provided by the initiator of this change, the Ministry of Internal Affairs,[18] the proposed addition takes into account the situation generated by the armed conflict in Ukraine, the increase in the presence of people displaced from Ukraine on the territory of Romania and who were registered as beneficiaries of temporary protection pursuant to the Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of the Council (approximately 80,000), and who can at any time request the granting of a form of international protection, either of their own volition or if they had to so following the expiration of temporary protection. In this context, it is necessary to highlight that EUAA experts are not given decision-making tasks or power: they carry out interviewing and file analysis activities, but do not directly take decisions (see further under Registration of the asylum application and Regular procedure – Personal interview).
[1] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 18 January 2024.
[2] Article 49(2) Asylum Act.
[3] Art.2(1) DECISION no. 639 of 20 June 2007 (amended) on the organisational structure and attributions of the General Inspectorate for Immigration.
[4] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 22 July 2019.
[5] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 22 February 2023.
[6] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 11 March 2022.
[7] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 16 February 2021.
[8] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 22 July 2019.
[9] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 22 February 2023.
[10] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 18 January 2024.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 22 July 2019.
[16] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 18 January 2024.
[17] On 18 May 2023, article 48 of Section 1, Chapter V was supplemented by Point 4, Article I of Emergency Ordinance no. 35 of May 17, 2023, published in the Official Gazette no. 436 of May 18, 2023, available in Romanian here.
[18] Ministry of Internal Affairs, Notă de fundamentare, Ordonanță de urgență pentru modificarea și completarea unor acte normative privind domeniul străinilor și azilului în România, available in Romanian here.