Visits the pages below for information provision messages and practical tips on a selection of special needs:
Ensuring effective information provision is vital for granting access to rights and fostering safety, well-being and inclusion among applicants, especially those with special needs or in a situation of vulnerability.
Applicants with special reception needs require specific conditions or guarantees to access their rights and meet their obligations.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of categories of applicants more likely to have special reception needs in accordance with Article 24 RCD (2024).
- minors
- unaccompanied minors
- persons with disabilities or serious illnesses
- elderly people
- pregnant women
- LGBTI persons
- single parents with minor children
- victims of trafficking
- persons who have been subjected to torture, rape, or other serious forms of psychological, physical, or sexual violence (e.g. victims of gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, child or forced marriage, or violence committed with a sexual, gender, racist, or religious motive).
Member States must initiate the assessment of special reception needs as early as possible. It must be carried out within 30 days from the making of the application. Special needs should be addressed also later, whenever they appear. The assessment is based on visible signs, the applicant’s statements or behaviour, and, in the case of children, also on information provided by parents or representatives.
Member States must ensure that staff assessing special reception needs record in the applicant’s file:
- the nature of the special reception needs
- relevant visible signs of special reception needs, statements, or behaviour
- measures identified to address those needs
- the authorities responsible for implementing those measures.
Moreover, reception staff must ensure that oral translation is available to facilitate communication with applicants. They must also refer applicants for a health assessment where a physical or mental condition may influence their reception needs. The assessment should be taken into account when determining the appropriate reception support measures. In addition, staff must receive ongoing training on detecting and addressing applicants’ special reception needs.
Information provision messages
Design and adapt additional content to the individual circumstances and special needs of an applicant.
Inform applicants about the following.
- What special needs are and that applicants are entitled to specific support and reception arrangements.
- What the individual assessment of needs entails, including the timeframe.
- The importance of communicating their vulnerabilities and special needs to the reception staff.
- That confidentiality, privacy and personal data are protected.
- The possibility for the assessment of needs to be reviewed whenever the applicant’s situation or condition changes and they require additional support or assistance.
- The possibility to request an interpreter to facilitate communication with reception staff during the needs assessment.
- The possibility to request a specific gender of the reception staff who conduct assessment and/or interpreter, if this possibility is applicable.
- The possibility to be accompanied in the assessment by a support person and/or a representative, where needed.
- The possibility to receive written and oral information about the outcome of the needs assessment.
- The type of specific services and facilities available to applicants with special needs.
- Who the focal points are and how to reach out to them. This should be complemented by information on the area of expertise and contact details of relevant organisations or other service providers.
- The existence of a complaint and response mechanism and its accessibility for applicants with special needs.
- The complaint timeframe and the guarantee of confidentiality.
The EUAA Operational Standards and Indicators on Reception including Vulnerability-related Aspects, 2026, highlights information provision needs to be adapted to the particular circumstances and needs of the applicants. In this regard, there needs to be a process in place to determine the information and communication needs which considers the needs of the applicants in a vulnerable situation (Standard 98, Indicator 1, p. 131). Information needs to be tailored to the particular circumstances of the applicant (Indicator 2), using different communication channels to support understanding (Indicator 3), delivered regularly and in person when needed (Indicator 5), and ensuring privacy and confidentiality during information sessions (Indicator 6). Applicants should also be informed about organisations or services that offer specialised support relevant to their situation (Standard 99, p. 134).
Practical Tips
- Organise regular information sessions with the involvement of relevant local stakeholders, such as healthcare service providers and relevant civil society organisations.
- Involve specialised service providers, interpreters (including sign-language) and cultural mediators when deciding on the content of the information provision messages as well as when delivering the information to applicants with special needs.
- Consider using a semi-structured interview approach that includes predetermined questions and topics. Allow flexibility through open and follow-up questions to gather accurate and comprehensive information about the applicant’s situation.
- Use communication methods that match the applicant’s individual situation (e.g. literacy level, education, maturity). Give priority to oral explanations, especially for children or applicants with limited understanding, and support these explanations with printed materials, digital or audiovisual tools and pictograms.
- Regularly collect feedback from applicants to check whether the information is accessible and understandable, and adjust the communication methods accordingly.
- Visit the ‘Methodology’ page on the Let’s Speak Asylum portal for more information on how to adapt communication techniques to the applicant’s personal circumstances.