Problem 2 – it’s all about trust
On what grounds can asylum seekers be send back to another Member State?
What are the exceptions?
Boeles – European Migration law
Chapter 6.3 – Dublin Regulation
The Dublin Regulation (DR) establishes 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
(Article 1 DR). The system of distributing asylum seekers among EU Member States is a key feature of the
common EU asylum seekers and is governed by a fully harmonised set of rules which should be applied directly
by the Member States.
The key aim of the DR is to reduce secondary movements of asylum seekers within the EU and it serves
to prevent ‘asylumshopping’ (= lodging multiple applications in more than one Member State). The legal basis
for the DR is Article 78(2)(e) TFEU.
The allocation criteria
Article 3(1) DR mentions that the Member State shall examine any application for international protection by a
third country national, and that the application shall be examined by a single Member State. To determine the
Member State responsible articles 7-15 lay down a hierarchy of criteria, which works as a kind of checklist. The
first listed provision that matches the factual situation points out the Member State responsible. The criteria can
be grouped into three principles of allocation:
1. Special guarantees for minors and families. The Articles 8-11 contain criteria for unaccompanied
minors and applicant who have family members who are already present in a Member State. If the
applicant is an unaccompanied minor, the Member State responsible is that where a family member, a
sibling or a relative who can take care of him or here, is legally present. If the minor has no family
members present in the Member States, the Member State where the application is lodged, is responsible
(Article 8). When the minor has lodged applications in more than one Member State, the Member State
responsible is the one where the minor is present.
Articles 9 and 10 ensure that applicants must be reunited with a family member who either has
been granted international protection or who has an outstanding application in a Member State. Article
11 provides for the maintenance of family unity in the case that family members apply for asylum
simultaneously in the same Member State, and where applying the Dublin criteria would otherwise
result in their separation.
2. The Member State that has facilitated legal entry into the union. Article 12 and 14 state that the Member
State responsible is the one which has issued a valid residence document or visa to the applicant or
which the applicant entered and has waived the visa requirement.
3. The Member State where illegal entry into the EU was effectuated. Article 13 mentions that the Member
State responsible is the one whose borders where irregularly crossed by an applicant
If none of these rules apply, Article 3(2) states that the first Member State in which the application was lodged,
is responsible. This rule should be read together with Article 15, setting forth the same principle in respect of
applications made in an international transit area of an airport of a Member State.
The obligation to be a safe state
One of the premises of the Dublin mechanism is that all Member States are safe countries in which transferred
asylum applicants will be granted appropriate protection according to international agreed standards. However,
when a Member State carries out the Dublin mechanism and transfers an applicant to another state, it is not
relieved from the duty the ensure that the transfer does not result in exposure to a real risk of ill-treatment (the
prohibition of refoulement), as laid down in Article 3 ECHR.
On what grounds can asylum seekers be send back to another Member State?
What are the exceptions?
Boeles – European Migration law
Chapter 6.3 – Dublin Regulation
The Dublin Regulation (DR) establishes 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
(Article 1 DR). The system of distributing asylum seekers among EU Member States is a key feature of the
common EU asylum seekers and is governed by a fully harmonised set of rules which should be applied directly
by the Member States.
The key aim of the DR is to reduce secondary movements of asylum seekers within the EU and it serves
to prevent ‘asylumshopping’ (= lodging multiple applications in more than one Member State). The legal basis
for the DR is Article 78(2)(e) TFEU.
The allocation criteria
Article 3(1) DR mentions that the Member State shall examine any application for international protection by a
third country national, and that the application shall be examined by a single Member State. To determine the
Member State responsible articles 7-15 lay down a hierarchy of criteria, which works as a kind of checklist. The
first listed provision that matches the factual situation points out the Member State responsible. The criteria can
be grouped into three principles of allocation:
1. Special guarantees for minors and families. The Articles 8-11 contain criteria for unaccompanied
minors and applicant who have family members who are already present in a Member State. If the
applicant is an unaccompanied minor, the Member State responsible is that where a family member, a
sibling or a relative who can take care of him or here, is legally present. If the minor has no family
members present in the Member States, the Member State where the application is lodged, is responsible
(Article 8). When the minor has lodged applications in more than one Member State, the Member State
responsible is the one where the minor is present.
Articles 9 and 10 ensure that applicants must be reunited with a family member who either has
been granted international protection or who has an outstanding application in a Member State. Article
11 provides for the maintenance of family unity in the case that family members apply for asylum
simultaneously in the same Member State, and where applying the Dublin criteria would otherwise
result in their separation.
2. The Member State that has facilitated legal entry into the union. Article 12 and 14 state that the Member
State responsible is the one which has issued a valid residence document or visa to the applicant or
which the applicant entered and has waived the visa requirement.
3. The Member State where illegal entry into the EU was effectuated. Article 13 mentions that the Member
State responsible is the one whose borders where irregularly crossed by an applicant
If none of these rules apply, Article 3(2) states that the first Member State in which the application was lodged,
is responsible. This rule should be read together with Article 15, setting forth the same principle in respect of
applications made in an international transit area of an airport of a Member State.
The obligation to be a safe state
One of the premises of the Dublin mechanism is that all Member States are safe countries in which transferred
asylum applicants will be granted appropriate protection according to international agreed standards. However,
when a Member State carries out the Dublin mechanism and transfers an applicant to another state, it is not
relieved from the duty the ensure that the transfer does not result in exposure to a real risk of ill-treatment (the
prohibition of refoulement), as laid down in Article 3 ECHR.
