Applicants with special reception needs
Member States shall take into account the specific situation of applicants with special reception needs.
Member States shall take into consideration the fact that certain applicants such as those falling within any of the following categories, are more likely to have special reception needs:
(a)
minors;
(b)
unaccompanied minors;
(c)
persons with disabilities;
(d)
elderly persons;
(e)
pregnant women;
(f)
lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex persons;
(g)
single parents with minor children;
(h)
victims of trafficking in human beings;
(i)
persons with serious illnesses;
(j)
persons with mental disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder;
(k)
persons who have been subjected to torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence, for example victims of gender-based violence, of female genital mutilation, of child or forced marriage, or violence committed with a sexual, gender, racist or religious motive.
Assessment of special reception needs
1. In order to effectively implement Article 24, Member States shall, as early as possible after an application for international protection is made, individually assess whether the applicant has special reception needs, using oral translation where necessary.
The assessment referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph may be integrated into existing national procedures or into the assessment referred to in Article 20 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348.
The assessment referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be initiated by identifying special reception needs based on visible signs or on the applicants’ statements or behaviour or, where applicable, statements of the parents or the representative of the applicant.
The assessment referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be completed within 30 days from the making of the application for international protection or, where it is integrated into the assessment referred to in Article 20 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, within the timeframe set out in that Regulation, and the special reception needs identified on the basis of such assessment shall be addressed.
Where special reception needs become apparent at a later stage in the procedure for international protection, Member States shall assess and address those needs.
Member States shall ensure that the support provided to applicants with special reception needs in accordance with this Directive takes into account their special reception needs throughout the duration of the procedure for international protection and shall provide for appropriate monitoring of their situation.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, Member States shall ensure that the staff assessing special reception needs in accordance with this Article:
(a)
are trained and continue to be trained to detect signs that an applicant has special reception needs and to address those needs when identified;
(b)
include information concerning the nature of the applicant’s special reception needs in the applicant’s file held by the competent authorities, together with a description of the visible signs or the applicants’ statements or behaviour relevant for the assessment of the applicants’ special reception needs as well as the measures that have been identified to address those needs and the authorities responsible for addressing those needs; and
(c)
subject to prior consent in accordance with national law, refer applicants to the appropriate medical practitioner or psychologist for further assessment of their psychological and physical state where there are indications that their mental or physical health could affect their reception needs; where necessary, oral translation shall be provided by professionals trained in translation to ensure that the applicant is able to communicate with medical staff; where the lack of such trained professionals would risk delaying the treatment, oral translation may be provided by other adult individuals, subject to the applicant’s consent.
The competent authorities shall take into account the result of the assessment referred to in point (c) when deciding on the type of special reception support which may be provided to the applicant.
3. The assessment referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 need not take the form of an administrative procedure.
4. Only applicants with special reception needs may benefit from the specific support provided in accordance with this Directive.
5. The assessment provided for in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the assessment of international protection needs pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/1347.
Minors
1. The best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration for Member States when implementing the provisions of this Directive that possibly affect minors. Member States shall ensure a standard of living adequate for the minor’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.
2. In assessing the best interests of the child, Member States shall in particular take due account of the following factors:
(a)
family reunification possibilities;
(b)
the minor’s well-being and social development, taking into particular consideration the minor’s background and the need for stability and continuity in care;
(c)
safety and security considerations, in particular where there is a risk of the minor being a victim of any form of violence or exploitation, including trafficking in human beings;
(d)
the views of the minor in accordance with his or her age and maturity.
3. Member States shall ensure that minors have access to leisure activities, including play and recreational activities appropriate to their age, and to open-air activities within the premises and accommodation centres referred to in Article 20(1)(a) and (b), as well as to school materials where needed.
4. Member States shall ensure access to rehabilitation services for minors who have been victims of any form of abuse, neglect, exploitation, torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, or who have suffered from armed conflicts, and ensure that appropriate mental health care is developed and qualified counselling is provided where needed.
5. Member States shall ensure that minor children of applicants or applicants who are minors are accommodated with their parents or with the adult responsible for them and their unmarried minor siblings whether by the law or practice of the Member State concerned, provided it is in the best interests of the minors concerned.
6. Persons working with minors, including representatives and persons suitable to provisionally act as representatives as referred to in Article 27, shall not have a record of child-related crimes or offences, or of crimes or offences that lead to serious doubts about their ability to assume a role of responsibility with regard to minors, shall receive initial and continuous appropriate training concerning the rights and needs of minors, including those relating to any applicable child safeguarding standards, and shall be bound by the confidentiality rules provided for in national law in relation to any information they obtain in the course of their work.
Unaccompanied minors
1. Where an application is made by a person who claims to be a minor, or in relation to whom there are objective grounds to believe that that person is a minor, Member States shall designate:
(a)
a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative under this Directive until a representative has been appointed;
(b)
a representative as soon as possible and no later than 15 working days from the date on which the application is made.
The representative and the person suitable to provisionally act as a representative shall meet with the unaccompanied minor and take into account the minor’s own views about his or her needs.
Where a Member State has assessed that an applicant who claims to be a minor is without any doubt above the age of 18 years, that Member State need not appoint a representative or designate a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative in accordance with the first or second subparagraph, respectively.
Member States shall include in their contingency plans referred to in Article 32 measures to be taken to ensure the appointment of representatives and the designation of persons suitable to provisionally act as representatives in accordance with this Article in cases where they are confronted with a disproportionate number of applications made by unaccompanied minors.
Where the implementation of measures referred to in the fourth subparagraph is insufficient in order to respond to a disproportionate number of applications made by unaccompanied minors, or in other exceptional situations, the appointment of representatives may be delayed for ten working days and the number of unaccompanied minors per representative may be increased, up to a maximum of 50 unaccompanied minors.
When applying the fifth subparagraph, Member States shall inform the Commission and the Asylum Agency accordingly.
The duties of the representative and the person suitable to provisionally act as a representative shall cease where the competent authorities, following the age assessment referred to in Article 25(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, do not assume that the applicant is a minor or consider that the applicant is not a minor, or where the applicant is no longer an unaccompanied minor.
2. Member States shall ensure that the person suitable to provisionally act as a representative is immediately informed when an application for international protection is made by an unaccompanied minor of any relevant facts pertaining to that minor. Persons whose interests conflict or could potentially conflict with those of the unaccompanied minor shall not be designated as a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative. The unaccompanied minor shall be immediately informed that a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative has been designated.
3. Where an organisation is appointed as a representative or designated as a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative, it shall appoint a natural person to carry out the tasks of the representative in respect of the unaccompanied minor in accordance with this Directive.
4. The representative provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article may be the same person as provided for in Article 23(2) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348.
5. The competent authorities shall immediately inform:
(a)
the unaccompanied minor that a representative has been appointed for him or her and how to lodge a complaint against that representative in confidence and safety in an age-appropriate manner and in a manner that ensures that the minor understands that information;
(b)
the authority responsible for providing reception conditions that a representative has been appointed for the unaccompanied minor; and
(c)
the representative of relevant facts pertaining to the unaccompanied minor.
6. The representative or the person suitable to provisionally act as a representative shall be changed only where necessary, in particular when the competent authorities consider that that representative or person has not performed his or her tasks adequately.
Organisations or natural persons whose interests conflict or could potentially conflict with those of the unaccompanied minor shall not be appointed as a representative or designated as a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative.
7. Member States shall place a natural person appointed as a representative or designated as a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative in charge of a proportionate and limited number of unaccompanied minors and, under normal circumstances, of no more than 30 unaccompanied minors at the same time, in order to ensure that that person is able to perform tasks effectively.
8. Member States shall ensure that there are administrative or judicial authorities or other entities responsible to supervise the proper performance of tasks by the representatives and persons suitable to provisionally act as representatives, including by reviewing the criminal records of those appointed representatives and designated persons at regular intervals in order to identify potential incompatibilities with their role. Those administrative or judicial authorities or other entities shall review complaints lodged by unaccompanied minors against their appointed representatives or designated persons.
9. Unaccompanied minors who make an application for international protection shall, from the moment they are admitted to the territory of a Member State in which the application for international protection was made or is being examined until the moment when they are obliged to leave that Member State, be placed:
(a)
with adult relatives;
(b)
with a foster family;
(c)
in accommodation centres with special provisions for minors;
(d)
in other accommodation suitable for minors.
Member States may place unaccompanied minors aged 16 or over in accommodation centres for adult applicants, if it is in their best interests, as provided for in Article 26(2).
As far as possible, siblings shall be kept together, taking into account the best interests of the minor concerned and, in particular, his or her age and degree of maturity. Changes of residence of unaccompanied minors shall be limited to a minimum.
10. Member States shall start tracing the members of the unaccompanied minor’s family, where necessary with the assistance of international or other relevant organisations, as soon as possible after an application for international protection is made, whilst protecting the best interests of that unaccompanied minor. Where there is a possible threat to the life or integrity of the minor or the minor’s close relatives, in particular if those relatives have remained in the country of origin, care must be taken to ensure that the collection, processing and circulation of information concerning those persons is undertaken on a confidential basis, so as to avoid jeopardising their safety.
Victims of torture and violence
1. Member States shall ensure that persons who have been subjected to trafficking in human beings, torture, rape or other serious acts of psychological, physical or sexual violence, including violence committed with a sexual, gender, racist or religious motive, are provided with necessary medical and psychological treatment and care, including rehabilitation services and counselling where necessary, for the damage caused by such acts. Those persons shall be provided, where needed, with an oral translation in accordance with Article 25(2), point (c).
Access to such treatment and care shall be provided as early as possible after those persons’ needs have been identified.
2. Those working with the persons referred to in paragraph 1, including health professionals, shall be appropriately trained and continue to receive appropriate training concerning those persons’ needs and appropriate treatments, including necessary rehabilitation services. They shall also be bound by the confidentiality rules provided for in national law and applicable professional ethics codes in relation to any information they obtain in the course of their work.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
