Decision
After the interview the application for asylum is examined based on two criteria:
- the credibility/truthfulness of the statements;
- whether the application for asylum complies with the criteria of the Refugee Convention (Geneva Convention) and the provisions concerning subsidiary protection.
The CGRS then takes a decision with respect to the application for asylum.
The most common types of decision are:
- recognition of refugee status, if the asylum seeker complies with the two criteria mentioned above;
- granting of subsidiary protection status, if he/she does not fulfil the conditions for recognition as a refugee but is likely to really suffer serious harm in case of return to his/her country of origin;
- refusal of recognition of refugee status and refusal to grant of subsidiary protection status, if the asylum seeker’s reasons are unfounded;
- refusal to consider an application for asylum made by a national of a European Union member state (or of a candidate country), if it is not clear from his/her statements that there is a well-founded fear of persecution or a real risk of serious harm. In the opposite case, the application for asylum will be considered. The CGRS will then decide on whether the asylum seeker will be granted refugee status or subsidiary protection status. The decision to refuse to consider the application must be taken within 5 working days;
- an application for asylum which does not proceed to judgment, if the asylum seeker has voluntarily waived his/her application for asylum, has returned to his/her country of origin, has been regularised or has deceased in the course of the procedure.
In addition to these main categories the CGRS can:
- exclude an asylum seeker from refugee status or subsidiary protection status, if there are serious reasons to assume that he/she is guilty of a serious offence, such as a war crime or a crime against humanity;
- end the status, when the situation in the asylum seeker’s country of origin has undergone radical and lasting changes, rendering the protection of the Belgian authorities unnecessary;
- withdraw the status, when the asylum seeker obtained his/her status in a deceitful manner (based on false statements or false documents) or when he/she should have been excluded from the asylum procedure.
