Dublin procedure
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An asylum application may be placed under the Dublin procedure during the appointment at the single-desk contact point for asylum seekers (GUDA).
What is a Dublin Procedure?
Asylum seekers are placed under the Dublin procedure when another EU Member State is deemed responsible for examining their asylum application.
« a single European State is responsible for examining the asylum application of an individual from a third country. This regulation applies to the 28 Member States of the European Union and extends to the four countries associated under agreements: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway. »
Who is concerned?
An asylum application may be placed under the Dublin procedure during the GUDA appointment if:
- Another Member State has previously issued a residence permit or visa to the asylum seeker in France;
- The asylum seeker has illegally crossed the external border of another Member State by land, air or sea;
- The asylum seeker entered the territory of the European Union by crossing the borders of another Member State;
- The asylum seeker has previously applied for asylum in another Member State.
During the GUDA appointment, the Prefecture determines the State responsible for the asylum application. It utilises Eurodac to take fingerprints to verify the applicant's identity, track their journey prior to their entry into French territory and identify any previous application made in other Member States.
If the fingerprints reveal that an asylum application has already been made, or that borders have been crossed illegally in another EU Member State, that State will be considered responsible.
The Prefecture also checks the Visabio database.
If your application is classified under the Dublin procedure at the time of your GUDA appointment, the Prefecture will issue you a “procedure Dublin” asylum application certificate. This certificate is valid for one month and can be renewed for periods of four months throughout the Dublin procedure.
Applicants placed under the Dublin procedure are entitled to material reception conditions, namely accommodation and an asylum seeker’s allowance (ADA).
However, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless people (OFPRA) does not examine their application, as this is the responsibility of another Member State.
The procedure consists of 3 stages:
- Implementation of the procedure for taking charge or taking back the applicant by the responsible Member State
- Response from the responsible Member State. It has a maximum of 2 months to respond to the request.
- Transfer of the applicant within 6 months of acceptance by the Member State responsible for examining the application.
This transfer period may be extended by 6 months (i.e. a total of 12 months) if the applicant is imprisoned, or by 12 months (i.e. a total of 18 months) if the applicant has absconded.
During the application procedure between Member States, the applicant must attend the Prefecture's summons. If they fail to attend two of their summons, they will be considered to be “absconded” and the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII) will cease to provide the material reception conditions.
What happens if the asylum seeker is not transferred?
If the applicant is not transferred to the Member State within the legal time limit, or after being absconding for 18 months, they will return to the Prefecture's single-desk contact point and the Dublin procedure will be reclassified as a normal or accelerated procedure, giving France responsibility for processing their asylum application.
This reclassification does not automatically reinstate material reception conditions if they have been interrupted. An explicit, reasoned request must be made to the OFII to reinstate them.
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