The Directorate of Immigration has decided to alter the material handling and assessment of applications from asylum seekers, including those who have applied for international protection, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, RÚV reports.
For the past few weeks, many European countries have closed their borders, making it impossible to deport asylum seekers to those countries on the basis of the Dublin Regulation. Approximately 240 cases are awaiting processing, with many of them expected to remain incomplete by the time their deadline arrives, in light of current travel bans. The applications of asylum seekers who would otherwise have been deported to Greece or Italy will be materially processed and reassessed with regard to the state of affairs within those countries worst affected by the pandemic.
Speaking to RÚV, Minister of Justice Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir stated that it was important to react quickly to the present circumstances in order to do away with all uncertainty.
