Luxembourg has a case-by-case approach in terms of allocation of asylum applicants to reception facilities. Indeed, when deciding on the attribution of social aid, which includes accommodation, the Luxembourgish Reception and Integration Office (OLAI), takes into consideration two main criteria: the individual situation of the applicant (household composition, age of family members, potential specific needs, financial resources) and the availability of rooms. Specific reception facilities are foreseen for unaccompanied minors and female applicants when alone. During the first stage of accommodation, all applicants are accommodated in the sole initial/transit reception facility. Following the assessment of the applicant by the OLAI, applicants are allocated according to the two criteria described above. All reception facilities are collective open premises, but differ in type. The OLAI has a central coordinator role and manages directly the facilities or establishes cooperation agreements with NGOs, private hotel owners or local authorities. Overall, Luxembourg’s reception capacity has been increased substantially since 2008. In particular, following an important increase of applications in 2011 and 2012, the number of total premises available rose from 31 in 2009 to 55 in 2013, with a total reception capacity of approximately 2400 beds.
In attributing accommodation, national authorities do not take into consideration criteria such as the profile of the applicant, the type or length of the procedure. All applicants are treated equally and entitled to accommodation during the entire procedure until a final decision on their application is reached.