The Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) launches a new website asyluminbelgium.be, which provides information in 9 languages (English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Arabic, Pashto, Farsi, Tigrinya and Somali) about the asylum procedure in Belgium.
According to Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons Dirk Van den Bulck “this new website provides objective information about the asylum procedure tailored to the needs of the applicants for international protection and wants to inform them correctly about their rights and obligations during this procedure”.
The CGRS has been able to realize this website thanks to the input of both professionals in the field and (former) asylum seekers.
The website provides an answer to the following questions:
- What are the different stages asylum seekers go through during the asylum procedure?
- How can asylum seekers prepare themselves for the interview at the CGVS?
- What does the CGVS expect from an asylum seeker?
- What does the asylum procedure look like for unaccompanied minors?
- In which cases can a minor who stays with his parents in Belgium, make his own application for asylum?
- On which conditions can an applicant reapply for asylum after having been refused?
All texts are audio-supported, so that an asylum seeker who is unable or less able to read, has access to all the information.
The website also presents four videos, through which the viewer can follow the itinerary of Zana, who testifies about her itinerary from the beginning of her asylum application until the moment she receives a decision. This video testimony helps asylum seekers in an accessible way to visualize the different stages they will go through.
The general website of the CGRS (www.cgvs.be) remains the reference for recognized asylum seekers, lawyers, procedure guides, the press and the general public. With asyluminbelgium.be, the CGRS fulfils its duty to comprehensively inform the asylum seeker. For the first time, the CGRS takes information for asylum seekers to a digital level. With this mobile website, asylum seekers have at any time access to the most recent and reliable information.
This project was partly made possible thanks to AMIF (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund).