In six cases involving Syrian nationals with temporary subsidiary protecting status in Denmark the Asylum Appeal Board (Flygtningenaevnet) has overturned decisions by the Danish Immigration Service to withdraw or refuse the extension of residency permits.
Earlier this year the Danish Immigration Service redraw or refused to extend residency permits of six Syrian nationals on a temporary subsidiary protecting status (section 7.3 Danish Aliens Act) that was introduced in 2015. The controversial status excludes a number of basic rights that comes with other types of protection including limitations of the right to education and no right to family reunification for the first three years. The status has to be renewed and can be revoked based on a “not too temporary” improvement of the security situation in the country of origin, by Danish Asylum authorities.
In six cases, Danish Immigration Service found that there was no longer basis for granting temporary subsidiary protection status on the grounds of the general security situation in Damascus and redrew or rejected extension of residency permits. The Asylum Appeal Board however, have overturned all six decisions and granted conventional protection status (section 7.1 Danish Aliens Act) in three cases and subsidiary protection status (section 7.1 Danish Aliens Act) in three cases based on individual circumstances and the risk of persecution from the Syrian regime.
Director of Asylum for ECRE member the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) Eva Singer, stated: “This is an important ruling for the many Syrian refugees on temporary protection status who have been under threat of return. We share the position of the Asylum Appeal Board that not only the general security situation but also the individual risks of human rights violations should be considered”.
- ECRE, Denmark: ‘Paradigm Shift’ Takes Race to the Bottom to a New Low, March 2019
Photo (CC): thecrazyfilmgirl, January 2009
This article appeared in the ECRE Weekly Bulletin . You can subscribe to the Weekly Bulletin here.