A family with two minor children requested international protection in Lithuania. The Migration Department rejected their request and they appealed against this decision. The Migration Department argued that the claims raised by the applicants, which concerned also the state of health of the children did not support a recognition of international protection.

The Supreme Administrative Court held that there must be an individual assessment of the situation of children when the family as a whole applies for asylum. The court noted that although the Migration Department provided detailed information on the country of origin, still an individual assessment must be made and the country of origin information is just the general background and context for an individual assessment. Both individual circumstances and the contextual information support a conclusion on the qualification for international protection. In addition, the court noted that when one of the applicants is a child, this is a factor to be assessed, considering that in the case of a child the cumulative effects of various circumstances on the child may significantly differ from the effects of the same circumstances on an adult.