Overview of the main changes since the previous report update

Author

JRS Romania

The previous update was published in May 2023.

International protection

Asylum procedure

• Key statistics: in 2023, according to the authorities, 10,178 asylum applications were made in Romania, the highest number of asylum seekers coming from Bangladesh (2,821) followed by asylum seekers from countries such as Syria, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Iraq, Egypt, Somalia, Ethiopia. There were 9,225 adults and 933 minors, of which 159 were unaccompanied minors. 1,016 people were granted international protection, coming mainly from Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq (see Statistics). On average, applications were handled within 30 days, and in general applications by vulnerable applicants were treated with priority, albeit with some exceptions (see Regular procedure – Prioritised examination).
• Legal reform: In May 2023, the asylum law 122/2006 was amended.[1] The changes introduced limit asylum seekers’ right to remain in Romania until the end of the asylum procedure, allow EUAA experts to register, interview and analyse asylum applications, and foresee the issuance of return decisions in the administrative phase of the procedure together with the negative decision on international protection.
• Borders: in 2023, 214 migrants were returned to Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and Hungary under readmission agreements, a sharp decrease from 1,396 in 2022. Allegations of poor treatment at the border continued to be reported by asylum seekers to NGOs, including physical violence (see Access to the territory).
• Interpretation: availability of interpretation for rare languages remained an issue. Moreover, issues with quality of interpretation remained. Applicants claimed either that they did not understand very well what the translator had translated, or that the interpreters had not translated their answers accurately, had given a different meaning to their statements in the interview, or had a biased attitude towards them. The CNRR pursued specific efforts to ensure training of interpreters (see Regular procedure – Interview).
• Dublin procedure: in the outgoing procedure, Romania sent 1,288 requests, of which 1,037 were accepted and 99 transfers were implemented, making for a 7.69% outgoing transfer rate; it received 4,851 requests in the incoming procedure, of which 3,675 were accepted and transferred 344 applicants, making for a 7.09% incoming transfer rate (see Dublin procedure).
• Court procedure: if the IGI-DAI rejects the asylum seeker’s application, they may lodge a complaint before a regional court. In 2023, the regional courts received 674 appeals and issued 610 decisions, of which only 20 granted refugee status and 28 subsidiary protection. Cases were handled on average within 60 days. In the case of onward appeals before Administrative County Courts, in 2023, a total of 354 onward appeals were registered and 149 decisions were issued, with no decisions to grant refugee status and only 23 decisions to grant subsidiary protection. Cases were handled on average within 90 days (see Regular procedure – Appeal).
• Accelerated procedure: in March 2023, a pilot project was launched by the European Commission, in Romania, as a direct follow-up to the EU Action Plan on the Western Balkans, President von der Leyen’s letter to the European Council, and European Council conclusions from February 2023. The pilot aimed at contributing to “an improved and more sustainable migration management in the EU”, focusing on asylum, returns, border management, etc. (see Access to the territory and Accelerated procedure).
• Legal representation of unaccompanied minors: still in 2023, various actors highlighted issues in the system of legal representation of unaccompanied minors. In some regional centres, the contact between the minors and the legal representatives works quite well, but in several other cases there are deficiencies, which impact the children’s asylum procedure and prevent them from receiving adequate support due to the lack of contact. The appointment, role, tasks, training and professional experience for representatives/guardians were specified in a Joint ministerial order adopted in August 2023 (for details see Legal representation of unaccompanied minors).

Reception conditions

• Material reception conditions: the amount of the monthly financial allowance for food and other expenses granted to asylum seekers was 960 RON / EUR 195, the same as in previous years. Depending on the personal situation of the person, the amount of money could be increased.
• NGO support: This was partially supplemented between June and December 2023 by an AIDRom project financed by UNHCR, providing inter alia for material aid in the form of installation and transfer packages. The programme also foresaw information and social counselling on rights, assistance for cultural-educational integration, Romanian language courses for adults and minors, assistance for the translation of documents (see Activities in the centres). However, in parallel AMIF funded projects were ended in October 2023, preventing several civil society actors from continuing to intervene at the same level as before if at all, and medical assistance has not been covered by any civil society actor since. Only basic counselling could be provided by CNRR under a UNHCR project.
• Reception conditions: compared to 2022, in 2023 the Ombudsman did not carry out visits in the regional centres for accommodation and procedures for asylum seekers. According to the information provided by IGI-DAI, in 2023 a number of improvement/hygienisation works were carried out in some of the centres. Information about the refurbishments was not available from other actors, inter alia because of the lack of Ombudsperson visit (see Conditions in reception facilities).
• Specially designed closed space: the regional centres (except Giurgiu) have also some closed spaces where asylum seekers can be kept for serious reasons (e.g. national security reason), however in 2023 there were no cases of asylum seekers kept in specially designed closed space.
• Transfers of asylum seekers between regional centres: in 2023, according to data provided by IGI-DAI a total of 3,901 asylum seekers were transferred between the regional centres. The main purpose of the transfers was to maintain a balance in terms of accommodation capacity and processing of asylum applications between the regional centres. However, CNRR highlighted that these transfers sometimes caused issues, particularly concerning asylum seekers temporarily accommodated in the Timisoara regional centre and then transferred to other regional centres. Because these transfers often occur very shortly after their arrival in this centre (24h-48h), they are not offered food, hygiene products, clothing or shoes. NGOs had to step in to cover asylum seekers basic needs through the AIDRom transfer packages distributed between June and December 2023 and include food, water, towels, etc. However, local collaboration protocols were established at the Timisoara Centre with the food bank, which provides the necessary food upon the arrival of the applicants. (see Freedom of movement).
• Access to the labour market: in 2023, according with CNRR the majority of asylum seekers wanted to have a job during the reference period. The main obstacle indicated by the asylum seekers assisted by CNRR was lack of proper knowledge of the Romanian language. However, the ones who spoke English were able to find a job more easily. From the cases identified, asylum seekers did unskilled work in construction, car service, car wash, fast food, delivery services. The National Employment Agency stated it did not have statistics on the number of asylum seekers working under employment contracts (see Access to the labour market).
• Access to education: in 2023, NGOs such as AIDRom and Save the Children provided education opportunities in the regional centres, in the form of Romanian language classes, support in access to the education system, access to extracurricular activities. Minor asylum seekers are enrolled as ‘auditors’ in the public schools and they are also following Romanian language classes in the public system. However, NGOs highlight that the Romanian authorities, still do not offer educational programmes tailored to the needs of asylum-seeking children (see Access to education).

Detention of Asylum Seekers

• Statistics: In 2023 there was a total of 1,316 foreign citizens held in public custody at the Otopeni Centre and Arad Centre. At the Public Detention Centre, 41 detained foreign citizens applied for asylum during their detention at the centre, their countries of origin being Guinea, Sudan, Pakistan, India, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Russian Federation, Tunisia, Senegal and Sri Lanka. IGI-DAI also stated that 3 Syrian nationals undergoing Dublin procedures had been detained (see Detention – General).
• Detention of vulnerable applicants: according to IGI-DAI, no children were detained in Arad or Otopeni in 2023. The Public Custody Centre in Arad indicated that in 2023, out of the total of 993 foreigners detained, there were 37 women and 1 person with disabilities (see Detention of vulnerable applicants).

Content of international protection

• Integration programme: 739 adults newly registered into the integration programme in 2023 and 761 adults who had registered in 2022 continued the programme in 2023. 16 unaccompanied minors followed the integration programme in 2023. The main countries of origin of participants in the integration programme were Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iraq. Moreover, CNRR organised multiple community empowerment activities, also some specifically geared towards children. Until October 2023 (when EU-AMIF funding ended), JRS also provided Romanian / daily language courses, support for minors in the instructional educational process, and cultural and recreational activities within the Gentru Galati and Constanta Regional Integration centres. The Romanian language courses in Galati were organised in a hybrid regime (physical and online) in order to be able to cover beneficiaries of international protection who do not live in the city of Galati, but within the geographical implementation area of the AMIF project.
• Travel documents: IGI-DAI issued a total of 2,981 travel documents for beneficiaries of international protection (refugee status, subsidiary protection).
• Cessation of protection status: in 2023, a total number of 84 cessation of status decisions were issued by the General Inspectorate for Immigration, Directorate for Asylum and Integration, again a slight increase from 2022 and especially from 2021 (34 cessation decisions). In parallel, the IGI-DAI issued two withdrawals of protection status (see Cessation and Withdrawal).
• Family reunification: a total of 245 applications for family reunifications were made in 2023, and 192 applications were admitted. On average, applicants waited between 6 and 9 months. The CNRR specifically flagged issues regarding family reunification for unaccompanied minors. Indeed, the deficiencies in the legal representation of unaccompanied minors impact their family reunification procedures as the legal representative needs to initiate steps for the immediate identification of the minor’s family and verifying the possibility of reunification with them. However, in practice, the CNRR is not aware of any ex officio proceedings made by the legal representatives, finding that there is limited proactive behaviour of the legal representatives accompanied by ignorance of the law in some cases (see Family reunification).
• Access to the labour market: according to CNRR in 2023, beneficiaries of international protection in Romania are mainly employed in the hospitality industry and construction. They are generally paid the minimum wage, which does not allow a decent living, especially in the case of families with several children. Part of the issues highlighted by JRS are the lack of knowledge of the Romanian language, but also the lack of study documents to be able to start procedures of recognition / equivalence of studies. The “Second Chance” educational programme, available for them to complete their studies and to follow vocational training courses, is not accessed by BIPs in practice as they lack the financial resources to support themselves during the programme, and thus prefer to take unskilled jobs. Although access to the labour market is easier for educated people, they still face difficulties especially regarding knowledge of their rights, and are victims of pressure from employers to work overtime or to accept delayed pay, for example (see Access to the labour market).
• Access to healthcare: According to CNRR, JRS and IOM Romania, many barriers remain in beneficiaries of international protection’s access to adequate healthcare, mainly lack of knowledge as to how to access the right, language barriers, arbitrary refusals of care by doctors, long delays in accessing specialists, costs of medical services and lack of medical insurance for certain categories of beneficiaries of protection, etc. Some of these issues (delays in accessing specialised healthcare notably) are not specific to BIPs but are faced also by Romanian nationals; however, most BIPs are not able to afford to consult quicker in private clinics. (see Health care).

Temporary protection

The information given hereafter constitute a short summary of the 2023 Report on Temporary Protection, for further information, see Annex on Temporary Protection.

Temporary protection procedure

• Key temporary protection statistics: In 2023, a total of 51,984 Ukrainian nationals obtained temporary protection in Romania according to UNHCR, including 611 unaccompanied and separated children, bringing the total number of people having received temporary protection in Romania in 2022 and 2023 to 148,409 according to UNHCR / 149,943 according to the Romanian Government. According to UNHCR, there were 83,675 refugees from Ukraine currently present in Romania in December 2023. In parallel, 60 Ukrainians made an asylum claim in Romania in 2023.

In 2023, the Border Police recorded 2,467,487 entries into Romania from Ukraine and Moldova, out of which 300,808 were third-country nationals and the rest Ukrainians. The authorities also registered a total of 1,872,099 exits from Romania to Ukraine, although it is understood that this number might also include a share of pendular movement.

• Unaccompanied and separated children: 611 unaccompanied and separated children applied for and obtained temporary protection in Romania in 2023. The authorities continued to use the Primero software which helps outreach workers identify and register refugee children, including unaccompanied and separated children, and to refer them to specialised services as needed. By the end of January 2023, 18,782 children had been registered.

Content of temporary protection

• Changes to the housing support programme: Most TPD beneficiaries live in in private accommodation within the host communities. As of 1 May 2023, the support programme granting financial assistance to TPD beneficiaries was amended with new amounts, conditions and mechanisms. The period for providing assistance was extended and the amounts set on a monthly rather than daily basis and modified: from the 50 RON / day for accommodation and 20 RON / day for food and subsistence, to 2000 RON / month per family (750 RON / month for single persons) for accommodation and 600 RON / month, per person for food and subsistence. After four months, only the accommodation aid continues, the food and subsistence aid is suspended. UNHCR also provided accommodation assistance, either to access collective accommodation, to find private accommodation and/or cash assistance for renting a private accommodation.
• Employment: In 2023, a lower number of people registered with the regional state employment agencies (544 persons, compared to over 20,000 in the previous year). However, mid-2023, the legal framework was amended and now requires people to register with the employment agency to continue receiving financial aid, so this number is expected to increase. According to the authorities, almost half of all registered active employment contracts for TPD beneficiaries were recorded in Bucharest (2,764 out of 5,271 total). The fields of activity with the highest number of registered employment contracts are: manufacturing industry (1,312), construction (1,146), trade (738), hotels and restaurants (735), information and communications (496), administrative services and support services (459).
• Access to education: according to the authorities, at the end of 2023 78% of the 46,812 Ukrainian children benefiting from temporary protection in Romania were enrolled in the national education system, either as auditors (the majority) or pupils.
• Child financial aid: currently, the state child allowance is not granted to Ukrainian children. In June 2023, a group of MPs put forward a suggestion to modify the Asylum Act in order to allow beneficiaries of temporary protection to receive the state child allowance under the same conditions and up to the same amount as Romanian nationals. Although the draft amendment was discussed in the Economic and Social Council of the Parliament, it did not lead to a change of the Asylum Act.
• Access to basic benefits: Based on a survey conducted by IOM Romania, the main challenges encountered when accessing basic benefits were the language barrier, a lack of information regarding the benefits they were entitled to, the complexity of the system, and having no knowledge on how to apply; moreover, people highlighted that the benefits provided are not enough to cover their needs.

[1] Emergency Ordinance 35/2023 of 17 May 2023, available in Romanian here.