Migration and asylum : building an open and safe Europe.
Date: 2014-11-12
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: EU migration policy, dissemination of EU information, migration control, political refugee, public awareness campaign, right of asylum

Migration  
and asylum 

T H E   E U R O P E A N  
U N I O N  
E X P L A I N E D

Building an 
open and safe 
Europe

Mig r atio n  t o  E uro pe   is  a  lo n gs ta nd i ng 
p hen o m en on.   To  s eize  t he 
o p po r tu nit ies  an d  co n fr o nt  t he 
c hal le nges   eng en de red   by  th is  k in d  of 
in te rn atio n al   m ob il it y, t he  E ur o p e an 
U nio n   (E U)  i s  de velo p in g a  co m m o n 
ap pr o ac h  to   m ig r ati o n .  Likew is e,   t h e 
EU   has   deve lo p ed  a C o m m o n  E ur o p ean 
As yl um   Sy st em   to   p ro te c t  th o se 
s eek in g  r ef ug e i n  E uro p e  fr o m 
p er se cu tio n  o r   r isk  of   s eri o us  ha r m   
in   the ir  ho me  c o un tr y.  Wo r k  in   th ese 
p o li cy  a reas   als o  in vol ve s  c l os er 
d ial og ue  an d  co o pe rat io n   wi th   
no n -E U  c ou nt ri es .

CONTENTS

Why we need a common policy  
on immigration
Immigration: more an opportunity  
than a challenge  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  3

What the EU does
A common EU approach  
to managing immigration  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Outlook  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .

 4

 8

Why we need a common approach  
to asylum
The EU as an area of protection  .  .  .  .  .  .  . . 9

What the EU does
The Common European Asylum System 
(CEAS)  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10

Outlook  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 12

Find out more  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 12

The EU explained:  
Migration and asylum

European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Citizens information
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM

Manuscript updated in November 2014

Cover and page 2 picture: © ccvision.de

12 pp. — 21 × 29.7 cm
ISBN 978-92-79-42288-1
doi:10.2775/6639

Luxembourg: Publications Office  
of the European Union, 2014

© European Union, 2014
Reproduction is authorised. For any use or reproduction 
of individual photos, permission must be sought directly 
from the copyright holders.

THE EUROPEAN UNION 
EXPLAINED

This publication is a part of a series that explains  
what the EU does in different policy areas,  
why the EU is involved and what the results are. 

You can find the publications online:
http://europa.eu/pol/index_en.htm
http://europa.eu/!bY34KD

How the EU works
Europe in 12 lessons 
Europe 2020: Europe’s growth strategy
The founding fathers of the EU

Agriculture
Banking and finance 
Borders and security 
Budget
Climate action
Competition
Consumers
Culture and audiovisual
Customs
Digital agenda 
Economic and monetary union and the euro
Education, training, youth and sport 
Employment and social affairs
Energy
Enlargement
Enterprise
Environment
Fight against fraud
Food safety
Foreign affairs and security policy
Humanitarian aid and civil protection 
Internal market
International cooperation and development
Justice, fundamental rights and equality 
Maritime affairs and fisheries 
Migration and asylum

Public health
Regional policy
Research and innovation
Taxation
Trade
Transport

3

Why we need a common policy  
on immigration

Immigration: more an opportunity than a challenge

Immigration to Europe, in one form or another, is a 
reality and will continue to be so in the future. There are 
different reasons why people move to the EU. Some 
come for studies or research, some come for work and 
some to join their families already living in the EU. 
Simultaneously, an increasing number of global crises, 
both man-made and natural, have prompted people to 
leave their country of origin. Of the approximately  
507 million people living in the EU, around 20 million 
are citizens of non-EU countries.

EU-28 POPULATION IN 2013

What if there was no more immigration 
into the EU over the next 20 years?
 — The EU would lose 33 million working-age 

persons (- 11 %);

 — The EU’s old-age dependency ratio (number of 
people over 65 years of age to number of 
people in the working age group) would 
increase from 28 % to 44 %;

 — The portion of young workers (20–30 age 

group) in the EU labour force would decrease by 
25 %, while those aged 60–70 would increase 
by 29 %.

Non-EU citizens
20 million (4 %)

EU citizens
487 million (96 %)

Source: ‘Is what we hear about migration really true? 
Questioning eight stereotypes’ — Migration Policy Centre .

Source: Eurostat.

Immigration not only benefits the people moving to the 
EU, but also the receiving society. Immigrants can fill 
gaps in all levels of the labour force, ranging from 
highly qualified specialists, of whom there already is a 
lack in the EU, to workers in tasks that EU citizens might 
no longer want to undertake. Strengthening the EU’s 
labour force is becoming ever more crucial in view of 
the current and future demographic challenges. In 
addition, immigrants bring with them new ideas and 
methods, which can boost creativity and innovation.

For countries of origin, the economic benefits of 
migration are well documented and include 
contributions to poverty reduction through remittance 
transfers and diaspora investment initiatives. Financial, 
human and social capital from the diaspora can also 
directly contribute to meeting social development goals, 
including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on 
health and education. Other benefits that immigration 
brings are more social and cultural in nature. Mutual 
exchanges can be enriching and help create more 
tolerant environments.

However, the benefits of immigration can only be 
reaped if the immigrants successfully integrate into 
their receiving society. This is of course a two-way 
process. Immigrants must respect the rules and values 
of the society which receives them, while the latter 
must provide immigrants with opportunities for full 
participation in society. These include learning the 
language, studying or working, as well as enjoying the 
same rights as EU citizens.

One of the downsides of immigration is that it 
sometimes happens irregularly. People might arrive 
legally on a short-stay visa and then overstay. Some 
might enter and stay in an EU Member State without 
authorisation, sometimes against their will. Human 
trafficking networks and smugglers can easily exploit 
undocumented persons. The black labour market also 
attracts irregular immigration. Irregular immigration in 
all its forms must be tackled to protect the most 
vulnerable and to maintain public confidence in 
immigration policies.

In an EU of 28 Member States, where most internal 
borders have been abolished and where people can 
move freely, migration cannot be managed by one 
country alone. It is essential that EU Member States 
cooperate to better manage migration. At the same 
time, it is crucial to take full advantage of the external 
dimension of EU migration and mobility policy and 
strengthen cooperation with our neighbours and 
strategic partners.

MIGRATION AND ASYLUM4

What the EU does

A common EU approach to managing immigration

The EU Member States are mainly responsible for 
determining the procedures for immigrants’ entry into 
their territory and deciding on the number of labour 
immigrants that they will admit. To complement and 
harmonise national immigration policies, the EU is 
creating a common legal framework. This includes 
conditions for entry and residence for certain categories 
of immigrants, such as students, researchers and 
workers, in order to simplify their admission procedures 
and to provide them with rights that are homogeneous 
throughout the Union. For example, non-EU nationals 
who have been legally resident in an EU Member State 
for at least 5 years are entitled to long-term residence 
status, which is common to the entire EU, granting them 
a range of economic and social rights similar to those 
of EU citizens.

The EU Immigration Portal provides practical 
information about moving to the EU to potential 
immigrants as well as to those already living in 
Europe.

The European Migration Network provides up-to-
date and reliable information on migration and 
asylum to policymakers and the general public.

Immigration for the purpose  
of studies or research

To promote the EU as a centre of excellence for studies 
and vocational training, the EU has harmonised the 
admission conditions for non-EU nationals who wish to:

—  pursue studies leading to a higher education 

qualification (students);

—  follow recognised secondary education programmes 

(schoolchildren);

—  pursue unpaid internships (interns);

—  take part in national or EU volunteer programmes 

(volunteers).

There are common rules for foreign students  
to access the EU.

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To be admitted into the EU, immigrants falling within 
one of the above categories must fulfil certain 
requirements, such as having a valid travel document, 
health insurance and, in the case of minors, parental 
authorisation. They may also be required to prove that 
they have the financial means to support themselves 
for the length of their stay or that they have sufficient 
knowledge of the receiving country’s language. In turn, 
EU Member States grant these immigrants a residence 
permit and a set of rights, such as the right for students 
to work in order to cover part of their study costs.

Research is an essential element in boosting growth 
and competitiveness. To strengthen its position as an 
international research hub, the EU needs to attract 
more researchers from around the world. To this end, it 
has created a fast-track procedure for the admission of 
researchers who have been invited to come to work in 
an EU Member State by an approved research 
organisation. They receive a residence permit, which 
automatically grants them the right to work as a 
researcher. In addition, they enjoy a number of other 
rights equal to those of nationals, such as the right to 
social security and to carry out research in another EU 
Member State, as well as the right to family 
reunification (i.e. the researcher’s immediate family 
members may join him/her in the receiving country and 
receive a residence permit with the same duration).

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
Immigration for the purpose of work

The EU has recognised the important role that labour 
migration can play in driving its economic development 
and in addressing the labour and skills shortages and 
demographic challenges it is facing. Consequently, it 
has put measures in place that make it easier for 
certain categories of immigrants to enter the EU.

Attracting highly qualified immigrant workers is 
essential to further strengthen the EU’s 
competitiveness. The EU Blue Card provides such 
immigrants with a special residence and work permit, 
thus facilitating their access to the labour market and 
granting them a set of socioeconomic rights, including 
the right to family reunification and, in due course, the 
right to move freely within the EU. By means of a 
harmonised fast-track procedure and common criteria 
for issuing the EU Blue Card, EU Member States can 
respond flexibly to the demands of their respective 
labour markets.

Moreover, an EU single permit for immigrants working 
and residing in the Union greatly simplifies the 
administrative procedures for both immigrants and 
their future employers by means of a single application 
procedure for a residence and work permit. Non-EU 
workers also receive a set of rights equal to those of 
EU nationals as regards working conditions, recognition 
of qualifications (educational and professional) and 
access to vocational training and social security.

EU rules on seasonal workers ensure that employers 
can temporarily, and in a responsible manner, draw on 
foreign labour when no EU workers are available. The 
EU rules will help avoid economic and social 
exploitation, and provide incentives and safeguards to 
prevent temporary stays from becoming permanent.

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The EU Blue Card makes it easier for European companies  
to hire highly qualified foreign workers.

5

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Family unity is important to successful integration.

As the world’s largest single market, the EU has an 
interest in allowing key staff of multinational 
companies to transfer temporarily to the EU and fulfil 
assignments in multiple Member States. The directive 
on intra-corporate transfers does just that, while 
ensuring that such workers do not distort local labour 
markets.

Immigration for the purpose of family 
reunification

Family reunification remains one of the main reasons 
why people move to the EU. Preserving the family life 
of those immigrants who already live in the Union is 
particularly important for their integration into the 
receiving society. The EU has common conditions for 
granting family reunification and related rights to 
family members. Non-EU nationals who are already 
legally residing in the Union may, subject to any specific 
conditions imposed by the receiving country (such as 
the requirement to have adequate accommodation and 
sufficient economic resources), be joined by their 
spouse, minor children and the children of their spouse. 
EU Member States may also include on the list of 
family members eligible for reunification the unmarried 
partner, dependent adult children and dependent older 
relatives. When entering the EU, family members 
receive a residence permit and are entitled to access 
education, employment and vocational training on an 
equal footing with other non-EU nationals. 

MIGRATION AND ASYLUM 
 
 
 
6

No immigration without integration 

The European Website on Integration helps create 
a European community of integration policymakers 
and practitioners by offering good practices, news, 
links, events and other features relating to the 
successful integration of non-EU nationals lawfully 
residing in the EU.

Only by active participation at all levels of society can 
immigrants living in the EU successfully integrate into 
their receiving country. To this end, they must enjoy 
rights similar to those of EU citizens as well as have the 
chance to learn the language of the receiving country, 
to study, to work and, in general, to acquire a sense of 
belonging. By participating actively in the receiving 
society, immigrants can also contribute to its economic 
and social development and the cultural diversity of the 
EU. At the same time, immigrants also have 
responsibilities — they must abide by and respect the 
rules and values of their receiving country.

Integration-related measures are mainly the 
responsibility of EU Member States. The EU promotes 
cooperation between them so that immigrants 
throughout the Union have comparable rights and 
opportunities. For example, the Common Basic 
Principles for immigrant integration policy in the EU 
provide Member States with a framework for 
cooperation and for further developing their integration 
policies. The European Agenda for the Integration of 
non-EU Nationals focuses on the economic, social, 
cultural and political participation of immigrants in their 
receiving society, placing particular emphasis on actions 
taken at the local level and on the role of countries of 
origin in the integration of their nationals. An EU 
network of national contact points on integration helps 
national governments exchange best practices and 
strive to find solutions to their integration challenges. In 
parallel, the European Integration Forum serves as a 
platform for dialogue between representatives of civil 
society, local and regional authorities and the EU 
institutions. A ‘toolbox’ of integration measures has 
been put in place to support the authorities and other 
stakeholders in EU Member States.

legally with a short-stay visa, but overstayed this visa. 
In order for European immigration policies to remain 
sustainable and credible, EU Member States must 
confront the problem of irregular immigration together.

One aspect of the challenge involves targeting human 
trafficking and smuggling networks. The EU criminalises 
human trafficking and provides assistance and 
protection to those who fall prey to it (see the brochure 
Borders and security for more information on this). EU 
Member States now have the possibility of granting 
residence permits to human trafficking victims who 
cooperate with the authorities in dismantling the 
criminal networks.

The EU also criminalises immigrant smuggling, which is 
the intentional facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit 
or residence in an EU Member State, and harmonises to 
a certain extent the sanctions for this offence. EU law 
does not target immigrants but those who facilitate 
their irregular entry, and allows EU Member States to 
not sanction acts that are carried out for the purpose of 
humanitarian assistance.

Another aspect of the challenge is the black labour 
market, which not only attracts irregular immigrants, 
but also contributes to their exploitation. To this end, 
the EU has strengthened the sanctions against 
employers who hire undeclared immigrant workers and 
has improved the measures that protect these workers, 
especially in cases where they are exploited by 
unscrupulous employers.

APPREHENDED IRREGULAR IMMIGRANTS IN THE EU

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700 000

600 000

500 000

400 000

300 000

200 000

100 000

0

Source: Eurostat.

2010

2011

2012

2013

Year

Tackling irregular immigration

Immigrants may attempt to enter the EU by land, air or 
sea either irregularly or by using false travel 
documents. They often rely on criminal organisations to 
help them with this and, at times, continue to be 
dependent on these criminals upon arrival in the EU. 
However, most irregular immigrants entered the EU 

The return of irregular immigrants to their country of 
origin is also an essential element of a sustainable and 
credible immigration policy. The EU-wide standards and 
procedures for returning irregularly staying non-EU 
nationals are based on the full respect of their 
fundamental rights (in line with the Charter of 
Fundamental Rights of the European Union) and 
promote, first and foremost, the voluntary departure of 
these immigrants, providing return assistance if needed. 

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
 
7

The EU seeks to harmonise EU Member States’ efforts 
to return irregular immigrants in a humane and 
dignified manner and to facilitate these immigrants’ 
reintegration into their country of origin. At the same 
time, more efficient ways are needed to forcibly return 
those who do not voluntarily comply with their 
obligations to return. This involves operational 
cooperation between EU Member States, such as the 
organisation of joint flights for removals, as well as the 
negotiation of agreements with countries of origin on 
the readmission of their nationals (setting the rules and 
procedures for countries of origin to accept the re-entry 
of their nationals).

GAMM includes an explicit migrant perspective; constant 
attention ought to be dedicated to the human rights of 
migrants, in particular vulnerable groups.
The four objectives are implemented through several 
political instruments (regional and bilateral policy 
dialogues and action plans), legal instruments (visa 
facilitation and readmission agreements), operational 
support and capacity-building (including via EU 
agencies, such as Frontex and EASO). A wide range of 
programme and project support is also made available 
for non-EU countries’ administration and other 
stakeholders, such as civil society, migrant associations 
and international organisations.

IRREGULAR IMMIGRANTS RETURNED FROM THE EU

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300 000

250 000

200 000

150 000

100 000

50 000

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Policy dialogues allow the EU to exchange experiences and 
best practices with partner countries and to identify concrete 
cooperation options. The principal bilateral cooperation 
frameworks are the Mobility Partnerships and Common 
Agendas on Migration and Mobility. So far, Mobility 
Partnerships have been signed with Moldova (2008), Cape 
Verde (2008), Georgia (2009), Armenia (2011), Morocco 
(2013), Azerbaijan (2013) and Tunisia (2014).

2010

2011

2012

2013

Year

EU funding to support the management 
of immigration

Source: Eurostat.

To support EU Member States’ efforts in managing 
immigration efficiently, the EU provides funding 
opportunities in the areas of integration of non-EU 
nationals and the return of irregular immigrants.

For example, over the period 2014–20, the EU will have 
provided €3.137 billion through the Asylum, Migration 
and Integration Fund (AMIF) for its Member States’ 
initiatives that promote the efficient management of 
migration flows and the implementation, strengthening 
and development of a common Union approach to 
immigration. The Fund supports initiatives both at 

Help with translation is one of the services offered  by the Warsaw 
(Poland) ‘Salvation’ office, which  is part-financed through the 
European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals.

Dialogue and cooperation with  
non-EU countries

The key to many immigration-related challenges lies in 
relations with non-EU countries, which calls for 
improved cooperation and a closer link between the 
EU’s internal and external policies. The EU’s Global 
Approach to Migration (GAMM) provides the 
overarching framework for the external migration and 
asylum policy. It shapes how the EU conducts policy 
dialogue and cooperation with non-EU countries, based 
on clearly defined priorities and embedded in the EU’s 
overall policy framework, including development 
cooperation.

GAMM presents a balanced and comprehensive menu 
for cooperation that is aimed at four equally important 
objectives:

—  better organising legal migration and fostering 

well-managed mobility;

—  preventing and combating irregular migration and 

eradicating trafficking in human beings;

—  maximising the development impact of migration 

and mobility;

—  promoting international protection and enhancing 

the external dimension of asylum.

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MIGRATION AND ASYLUM 
 
 
 
 
8

national and EU levels, such as information measures 
and campaigns in non-EU countries on legal migration 
channels, language and civic orientation courses for 
immigrants, information exchange and cooperation 
between EU Member States and intercultural training 
for civil society. In particular, the Fund aims to 
contribute to the following four objectives:

—  supporting legal migration to the EU Member States 
in line with labour market needs and promoting the 
efficient integration of non-EU nationals;

—  enhancing fair and effective return strategies, which 

contribute to combating irregular migration;

—  making sure that EU Member States that are most 
affected by migration and asylum flows can count 
on solidarity from other EU Member States;

—  strengthening and developing the Common 

European Asylum System by ensuring that EU 
legislation in this field is efficiently and uniformly 
applied (for more information on this, see the 
chapter on asylum below).

ASYLUM, MIGRATION AND INTEGRATION FUND

Over the period 2007–13, the EU has allocated nearly 
€4 billion for the management of the Union’s external 
borders and the implementation of common asylum 
and immigration policies through the General 
programme ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration 
Flows’ (SOLID). The General Programme consisted of 
four instruments: External Borders Fund (EBF), European 
Return Fund (RF), European Refugee Fund (ERF) and the 
European Fund for the Integration of third-country 
nationals (EIF), the latter having provided €825 million 
to EU Member States’ initiatives facilitating the 
integration of immigrants into their societies.

The European Return Fund provided €676 million to EU 
Member States’ voluntary and forced return activities, 
including to their joint return operations. The Fund also 
contributed to activities that improved the quality of 
information to irregular immigrants on assistance 
provided for voluntary return and on the risks related to 
irregular immigration. In particular, the EU supported its 
Member States’ cooperation with countries of return, in 
order to assist the returnees’ reintegration into their 
country of origin.

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Note: Denmark does not participate in the AMIF.
Source: European Commission.

Outlook

The EU will continue its efforts to find common 
solutions to the immigration challenge for the benefit 
of both European societies and those moving to Europe 
to seek a better life. The EU’s approach towards 
migration cannot be one-sided; instead, it must be 
balanced, comprehensive and anchored in respect for 
human rights and fundamental freedoms. Immigration 
is in the EU’s own long-term interest, especially when 
considering the demographic projections and the ageing 
of the EU’s population. The EU needs to become an 
attractive migration destination; it needs to respond to 

skill shortages and attract talents, including by 
addressing the limitations of the EU Blue Card. The 
activities of researchers, students, schoolchildren and 
interns will also be made easier by means of more 
effective and transparent conditions for entry, residence 
and intra-EU mobility. The EU will also further develop 
and strengthen regional and bilateral dialogue and 
cooperation with its partner countries to secure their 
cooperation on migration management, on return and 
readmission of irregular migrants, and to address the 
root causes of forced migration.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
 
 
 
Why we need a common approach to asylum

The EU as an area of protection

9

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The EU protects people fleeing persecution and war.

A country’s location, wealth, benefits system or the 
degree to which it has liberal asylum policies help to 
explain why some EU Member States receive more 
asylum applicants than others. This is why the EU must 
act in solidarity and help share the responsibility for 
protecting refugees.

Asylum is a form of international protection that is 
granted to people fleeing their home countries because 
of a well-founded fear of being persecuted. Protection is 
also granted to people who face a real risk of suffering 
serious harm if returned to their home country. Nearly 
890 000 people sought asylum worldwide in 2013 
according to the United Nations High Commission for 
Refugees (UNHCR). The majority of the world’s refugees 
are hosted by developing countries, and most people 
fleeing their home countries seek refuge in neighbouring 
countries. That said, the EU as a whole received 
approximately 43.5 % of the total asylum applications 
worldwide. The EU’s duty to protect those in need is 
enshrined in its Charter of Fundamental Rights and 
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 
It is also an international obligation that results from the 
1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of 
Refugees.

The number of asylum seekers arriving into the EU each 
year is not evenly spread among its Member States. In 
2013, for example, over 90 % of all asylum claims were 
dealt with in just 10 countries, with Germany and 
France at the top of the list. In relative terms, Sweden 
and Malta were the countries that received the highest 
number of applicants per head of population.

ASYLUM APPLICATIONS IN THE EU-28

450 000

400 000

350 000

300 000

250 000

200 000

150 000

100 000

50 000

0

8
9
9
1

9
9
9
1

0
0
0
2

1
0
0
2

2
0
0
2

3
0
0
2

4
0
0
2

5
0
0
2

6
0
0
2

7
0
0
2

8
0
0
2

9
0
0
2

0
1
0
2

1
1
0
2

2
1
0
2

3
1
0
2

Source: Eurostat.

MIGRATION AND ASYLUM 
 
10

What the EU does

The Common European Asylum System (CEAS)

Since 1999, the EU has been working on creating a  
Common European Asylum System (CEAS). A second 
generation of laws was adopted in 2013, which will 
harmonise certain aspects of national asylum 
processes, ensuring that they are safe, fair, effective 
and impervious to abuse. At the heart of the common 
system is the harmonisation of protection and reception 
standards in the EU. In this way, asylum seekers are 
guaranteed the same opportunities for international 
protection throughout the Union. At the same time, the 
common system is underpinned by EU Member States’ 
effective practical cooperation and solidarity with each 
other and with countries of origin or transit of asylum 
seekers.

The European Asylum Support 
Office (EASO) supports EU Member 
States’ practical cooperation by 
helping to identify good practices, facilitating 
information exchanges and organising training at 
EU level. EASO also provides technical and 
operational support to EU Member States that face 
particular pressures due to, for example, a large 
number of asylum claims.

Responsibility for asylum claims  
(the ‘Dublin’ system)

In order to avoid transferring asylum seekers from one 
EU Member State to another without any of them 
taking responsibility or to prevent so-called ‘asylum 
shopping’ (where an asylum seeker submits multiple 
applications to different EU Member States), each EU 
Member State must be able to determine if and when it 
is responsible for handling an asylum claim. The 
common EU rules allow for the rapid identification of 
the sole country that is responsible for examining an 
asylum application. These rules are based on criteria 
such as where the asylum seeker has family members, 
where he/she is residing or which country issued him/
her a visa or was his/her point of entry into the EU. To 
help in this process, EU Member States have access to 
a database called Eurodac, which enables fingerprints 
to be compared in order to verify if an asylum seeker 
has previously submitted an asylum application in 
another EU Member State.

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A refugee at a care centre in Rome (Italy)  
that is supported by the European Refugee Fund.

Reception conditions of asylum seekers

Asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their 
application must be provided with certain essentials 
that guarantee them a dignified standard of living. 
Having appropriate and comparable reception 
conditions throughout the Union should also discourage 
asylum seekers from moving between EU Member 
States in search of more generous treatment. According 
to the EU common minimum standards for the 
reception of asylum applicants, EU Member States must 
provide applicants with material support, such as 
accommodation, clothing, food and pocket money. They 
must also ensure that the applicants receive medical 
and psychological care and, in the case of children, that 
they have access to education. Asylum seekers also 
have the right to family unity, to vocational training 
and, under certain conditions, to access the labour 
market.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
11

Procedures for granting refugee 
status

The way EU Member States grant or withdraw refugee 
status has differed considerably due to their specific 
constitutional and administrative traditions. However, 
common safeguards must be ensured for people fleeing 
persecution and seeking international protection — 
asylum seekers must have access to fair and efficient 
asylum procedures. The EU has therefore set out rules 
on the whole process of claiming asylum, including on 
how to apply, how the application will be examined, 
what help the asylum seeker will be given, how to 
appeal a negative decision, what can be done if the 
applicant absconds or how to deal with repeated 
applications. This creates a coherent system which 
ensures that asylum decisions are efficient and fair and 
that all EU Member States examine applications with a 
common high-quality standard.

Qualifying for refugee status

Before a person can receive asylum, he/she must be 
recognised as a refugee. It is therefore essential that 
EU Member States share a common understanding of 
the term ‘refugee’. To this end, the EU has harmonised 
the criteria for deciding who can qualify: a non-EU 
national or stateless person who is located outside of 
his/her country of origin and is unwilling or unable to 
return to it due to a well-founded fear of being 
persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, 
political opinion or because he/she is part of a particular 
social group.

If a person does not qualify as a refugee, but cannot 
nevertheless return to his/her country of origin due to a 
real risk of suffering serious harm (death penalty or 
execution, torture or inhumane or degrading treatment 
or serious individual threat to the life or person as a 
result of indiscriminate violence), he/she has the right 
to subsidiary protection.

Beneficiaries of international protection are entitled to a 
minimum set of rights, such as the right to non-
refoulement (which means that the person will not be 
returned to where he/she risks persecution), to a 
residence permit and to travel within and outside his/
her country of residence. Such persons must also have 
access to employment, social welfare, medical care, 
education and any programmes that may facilitate their 
integration into the country of residence. However, 
beneficiaries of subsidiary protection may face less 
favourable treatment under national rules in certain 
cases, such as in accessing social welfare.

A family help centre for Chechen refugees in Lublin (Poland), 
which is co-financed by the European Refugee Fund.

Dialogue and cooperation  
with non-EU countries

As part of its Global Approach to Migration (GAMM), 
the EU aims to promote international protection and to 
assist non-EU countries in strengthening their asylum 
systems. The objective is to improve access to 
protection for those who need it and as close to their 
region of origin as possible. To this end, in cooperation 
with the UNHCR, the EU implements Regional 
Protection Programmes that are designed to enhance 
the protection capacity of the regions involved and to 
improve refugee protection by means of durable 
solutions (return, local integration or resettlement in a 
non-EU country).

EU funding to support the reception  
of asylum seekers and refugees

The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF 
2014–20) will contribute to support and improve the 
efforts made by EU Member States to fully and properly 
implement the CEAS. EU Member States are supposed 
to allocate 20 % of the resources available to them 
under the AMIF instrument for achieving this goal. To 
grant appropriate reception conditions to displaced 
persons and to applicants for, and beneficiaries of, 
international protection is one of the important 
activities to be supported.

In the past 6 years (2008–13), this support was 
ensured as part of the European Refugee Fund, which 
allocated around €678 million to national and EU-level 
actions, particularly in EU Member States that received 
high numbers of asylum seekers and where reception 
capacities and asylum systems were under particular 
pressure. It also supported EU Member States’ 
relocation activities, i.e. the transfer of persons with 
international protection status from one EU Member 
State to another or the transfer from a non-EU country 
to an EU Member State, known as resettlement.

MIGRATION AND ASYLUM12

Outlook

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The EU has been working over the past few years to 
improve the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). 
The legislation has recently been updated in order to 
further harmonise EU Member States’ asylum practices 
with a view to making them faster, fairer and more 
efficient. This is not only in the interest of EU Member 
States, but will also guarantee asylum seekers equal 
opportunities for protection throughout the Union. Now, 
the EU needs to ensure that its Member States apply 

the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) fully and 
in a consistent manner. The role of the European 
Asylum Support Office (EASO) will also be extended, in 
particular as regards cooperation with non-EU countries. 
The EU will further increase its efforts to support 
non-EU countries in dealing with refugee and asylum 
issues, including through regional protection 
programmes.

Find out more

 X European Commission Directorate-General for Home Affairs website: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs
 X EU Immigration Portal: http://ec.europa.eu/immigration
 X European Migration Network website: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/networks/european_

migration_network/index_en.htm

 X European Website on Integration: http://ec.europa.eu/ewsi
 X European Asylum Support Office website: http://easo.europa.eu
 X United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees website: http://unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home
 X Questions about the European Union?  

Europe Direct can help: tel. 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (http://europedirect.europa.eu)

ISBN 978-92-79-42288-1
doi:10.2775/6639

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED