Asylum application in the Dublin procedure: how to do it?

Verified 16 February 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Dublin asylum

Published on 19 July 2024

Several decrees implementing the law 2024-42 of 26 january 2024 to control immigration, improving integration modifies the information contained in this card:

Decree No. 2024-799 of July 2, 2024 amends contentious procedures

Decree No. 2024-815 of July 12, 2024 provides for the transmission of information to OFPRA and OFII

The Service-Public.fr team is currently updating this page.

The asylum application you wish to lodge in France may be submitted by another European State, pursuant to the so-called Dublin III. According to this text, the asylum application is examined by a single European country. Several criteria are used to determine which country is concerned. If France is not responsible for your request, you will be obliged to travel to the country concerned. If this is not possible, you will be allowed to stay in France.

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General case

Several criteria laid down by the Regulation Dublin III and prioritized, to determine the country responsible for examining your asylum claim.

The country responsible for your application is either the country through which you entered and were checked, or the country that granted you a visa or residence permit.

But there are other criteria, including whether a family member you want to join resides as a refugee or asylum seeker in another country. The principle of family unity is then applied.

The Regulation Dublin III applies in the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.

However, a country may accept your asylum application for humanitarian reasons even if it does not fall within its jurisdiction.

Unaccompanied minor

If you are an unaccompanied minor, the state responsible for your application is the one in which you are located. This principle is valid even if you have applied for asylum in several countries. You must not have a family legally residing in Europe.

Please note

in the context of this procedure, theOfpra: titleContent is not consulted.

If you have crossed the border illegally or are in an irregular situation, your fingerprints are recorded, unless you are under 14 years of age.

If you have applied for asylum in several European countries, this registration helps you to know in which country you originally applied and to determine the country responsible for your application.

Your fingerprints are taken during your appointment at the one-stop shop for asylum applications (GUDA).

Demand

The French authorities send a request to take charge or take back to the State that they consider responsible for your asylum application.

While awaiting the answer, 2 situations are possible:

  • If you are at the border, you are not allowed to enter France and can be placed in a waiting area.
  • If you are already in France, you have the right to stay there temporarily. However, this right is valid only until the end of the procedure for determining the State responsible for your request and, possibly, until your actual transfer to that State. For this, you receive a certificate of asylum application bearing the mention Dublin procedure.

This certificate is valid for 1 month. It shall be renewable for four-month periods. It can be withdrawn (or not renewed) if you refuse to respond to a request from the prefecture or to go to a control.

You may be accommodated in an emergency accommodation center, but not in a reception center for asylum seekers.

You can also be under house arrest until the country responsible for your request has been found. This measure must be justified and taken for a period of 6 months. It is renewable once.

You shall be informed, in a language you understand, of the procedure, its time limits and its consequences.

Agreement

In case of agreement on the care, the prefecture will notify a written and reasoned decision. This decision informs you that your asylum application in France will not be examined and that you will be transferred to the responsible European country.

Pending this transfer, if you have not been placed under house arrest, you may be subject to a detention.

You can travel to the country by yourself, with a deadline set for you. You can also be transferred there under escort.

Refusal

In case of refusal of the care, you are admitted to stay in France and are authorized to to lodge an application for asylum.

If you are subject to a refusal of entry and a transfer decision, you can appeal to the administrative court within 48 hours of the notification of this decision.

If you are already in France and you are the subject of a transfer decision, you have 15 days from the notification of this decision to bring the matter before the administrative court.

Who shall I contact

The court shall decide within 72 hours of being seised.

The decision refusing entry for asylum and the transfer decision may not be applied before the expiry of a period of 48 hours following their notification. If you have filed a case with the administrative tribunal, these decisions cannot be enforced before the tribunal's decision.

You can appeal the administrative court's decision within 15 days before the administrative court of appeal. This call isn't suspensive.

If the refusal of entry for asylum and the transfer decision are revoked, the holding in the transit zone is immediately terminated if you are in this situation.

You are then allowed to enter France with an 8-day regularization visa. Within this period, you will receive, upon your request, a certificate of asylum application. It will allow you to lodge your asylum application with theOfpra: titleContent.