S.L. 420.9 Art. 4Information.

(1) The Detention Services Agency and the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers, as applicable, shall provide applicants with information relating to the reception conditions established in these regulations, including information specific to their reception systems, as soon as possible and in good time, in order to effectively enable applicants to benefit from the rights and comply with the obligations provided for in these regulations.

(2) Applicants shall be provided with standard information relating to reception conditions established in these regulations. Such information shall be provided as soon as possible and not later than three (3) days from when the application was made or within the time-frame for its registration which shall in any case shall not be less than five (5) days from when the application was made.

(3) The Detention Services Agency and the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers shall ensure that applicants are provided with information on organisations or groups of persons that provide specific legal assistance and representation, including information on organisations or groups of persons that provide legal assistance and representation free of charge, and organisations that might be able to assist or inform them about the available reception conditions, including health care.

(4) The Detention Services Agency and the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers shall ensure that the information referred to in sub-regulation (1) is provided in writing in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language and in a language that the applicant understands or is reasonably supposed to understand. Where necessary, the said information shall also be provided orally or, where appropriate, in a visual form such as by using videos or pictograms, and shall be adapted to the applicant’s needs:

Provided that unaccompanied minors shall be provided with the information referred to in sub-regulation (1) in an age-appropriate manner and in a manner that ensures that the unaccompanied minor understands it, by using information materials specifically adapted to minors, where appropriate. The said information shall be provided in the presence of the representative of the unaccompanied minor or of the person suitable to provisionally act as a representative until the representative is appointed:

Provided further that in exceptional cases, information referred to in sub-regulation (1) may be provided to the applicant by means of an oral translation, or where appropriate in a visual form such as videos or pictograms, where:

(a) such information may not be provided in writing within the time limit stipulated in sub-regulation (2) due to the fact that the language that an applicant understands or is reasonably supposed to understand is a rare language; and

(b) that the applicant subsequently confirms that he understands the information provided:

Provided further that in cases where a translation is required, the competent authority shall as soon as possible obtain a translation of the information referred to in sub-regulation (1) in writing and provide it to the applicant.