• Portugal

Faced with a declining demographics and wanting to portray itself as a "humanist" country, Portugal is open to attracting newcomers to its territory. To that end, the country actively participates in European resettlement programs and is favorably inclined toward requests to accept migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by humanitarian vessels. But it is also getting an increasing number of requests for "spontaneous" asylum, filed by people who arrived in Portugal by their own means. For these people, the course is often more complicated. InfoMigrants went to meet them in the reception center in Bobadela, a suburb of Lisbon.

• Tunisia
• Pakistan
• Morocco

Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has voted in favor of declaring four additional countries "safe countries of origin." However, the Bundesrat, the upper house, still has to ratify the decision. The addition of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Georgia to list of safe nations is not without controversy.

• Belgium

When Belgium signed up to the UN Migration pact in December, the Prime Minister said he wanted to be 'on the right side of history.' At the same time, the government has faced criticism for 'stigmatizing and criminalizing' migrants.

• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary

Italy passed the "Salvini decree," clamping down on asylum rights, and refused to grant entry to rescue ships. Greece struggled – and failed – to provide adequate accommodation on Samos and Lesbos. Meanwhile, Hungary effectively banned helping asylum seekers. 2018 was not an easy year for migrants and refugees. We sum up the biggest developments of the year.

• Italy

A growing number of refugees are getting permits for family, work and study reasons, according to a study by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

• Germany

Right-wing members of the conservative CDU/CSU alliance have questioned Germany's constitutional right to asylum and its commitment to an international migration treaty. Bavaria's state premier does not want any changes.

• Germany

Friedrich Merz, a candidate for the leadership of Germany’s biggest party - the Christian Democratic Union, has said that Germany is the only country in the world to guarantee the right to asylum in its Constitution. He’s called for a debate on the issue. But is Merz actually correct?

• Afghanistan
• Germany

Azimullah Sahaag, first secretary and acting consul at the Afghan General Consulate in Munich, has applied for asylum in Germany after finishing his tenure at the diplomatic mission. The case could prove tricky for Germany, as deportations of rejected Afghan asylum seekers have been increasing.

• Ethiopia
• Jordan
• Syria

The Olympic Refugee Team gives athletes who fled violence and war a chance to show off their skills. Here's a look at what the team does and what's in store for them when they compete in 2020.

• Denmark

Denmark will not take in any refugees under the United Nations quota system in 2018, according to the immigration minister, Inger Stojberg. The announcement came ahead of a meeting with the Austrian interior minister, Herbert Kickl, on EU migration.

• Bosnia & Herzegovina

Bosnia has experienced a dramatic drop in the number of registered migrants in the country, and it expects numbers to further decrease with the arrival of winter on the so-called "Bosnian route".

• Sweden

Sweden’s far-right and anti-immigrant party, the Sweden Democrats, scored high in the country’s recent elections, massively increasing its influence. This stands in sharp contrast to the fact that Sweden stood at the forefront of helping refugees during the 2015 migrant crisis. Here is a brief history of Sweden's generous immigration and asylum policies.