Background information
As soon as a non-EU-country national or stateless person lodges an application for international protection in an EU+ country, that country has to assess which EU+ country is responsible for examining the application in accordance with the Dublin III regulation.
If ‘Dublin triggers’ are recorded during the lodging phase, the applicant is channelled to the Dublin procedure, where their file is handled by the Dublin Unit of your country.
It is therefore recommended to provide basic information on the Dublin procedure as soon as possible. If the applicant is an unaccompanied child, a legal representative must be appointed and assist the child. An assessment of the best interests of the child will be conducted as part of the procedure to determine the EU+ country responsible for examining the application for international protection (Article 6 Dublin III regulation ‘Guarantees for minors’).
Detailed provisions regarding implementation of the Dublin III regulation are provided in the Commission Regulation (EC) No 1560/2003, as amended by the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 118/2014 (111). It also contains the full texts of the common information leaflets, including a specific leaflet for unaccompanied minors, which were designed to explain the Dublin procedure to applicants and which must be provided to them.
Related EUAA tool
For more information refer to the EASO, Practical Guide on Information Provision in the Dublin Procedure, December 2021. Information about Dublin criteria is provided in Section 1.7. ‘The criteria used to determine responsibility and their hierarchy’.
Refer also to the EUAA training module on identification of Dublin cases.
(30) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1560/2003 of 2 September 2003 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national (OJ L 222, 5.9.2003, p. 3), as amended by the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 118/2014 of 30 January 2014.
Explain these messages to the applicant during the first contact (making) and registration/lodging:
- The Dublin procedure is an EU system to determine which EU+ country is responsible for examining their application for international protection. This means that applicants cannot choose the country in which they apply for international protection. The authorities will determine which country will be responsible for the examination of their application.
- The applicant must not leave the country responsible for the examination of their application and move to another country on their own initiative before the end of the procedure. If they do so, they will be returned to the country that is responsible for their application.
- The importance of cooperating with the authorities and provide relevant information, in particular if they have a family member in another European country, since they may be reunited with them through the Dublin procedure.
Explain these additional messages to the applicant during the registration/lodging:
- the criteria for establishing responsibility;
- a list of the countries that apply the Dublin procedure;
- if Dublin triggers are detected, provide additional information about the Dublin procedure and share the information leaflet developed for this purpose (112).
(112) Annex X of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1560/2003 of 2 September 2003 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national (OJ L 222, 5.9.2003, p. 3), as amended by as modified by the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 118/2014 of 30 January 2014.
Practical tip: acknowledging the sensitivity of the topic and encouraging the applicant to ask questions
This information provision topic can be sensitive as it includes the prospect of being reunited with relatives. For this reason, encourage the applicant to ask questions. This will help to clarify any misunderstandings and diminish the potential expectations that are not in line with the Dublin procedure