Dublin Procedure

The Dublin procedure has as a main scope determination of a single Member State responsible for examining an asylum application lodged by a third country national on the territory of one of the Member States.

(Example. A citizen of a third country lodged an application for asylum for the first time in Romania. The application is examined by the Romanian authorities, and during that the respective citizen moves illegally from the Romanian territory and arrived in Austria. The person concerned submits an asylum application also in Austria. In that moment this person is known with asylum application both in Romania and Austria. Taking into account that the asylum application lodged in Romania is the first asylum application lodged on the territory of the Member States, Romania will be the Member State responsible for examining the asylum application submitted by the third country national in Austria. Therefore, the citizen concerned will be transferred in Romania.)

Applicability:

The Dublin Regulation is applicable only when a third country national lodged an asylum application in one of the Member States. To understand the applicability of this procedure is necessary to know the legal provisions concerned. From the provisions of the Regulation, as well as from the practice in Romania, there have been several cases when the Dublin Procedure is applicable:

-          in the situation when the third country national lodged an asylum application in Romania, and after checks are done, it results that he/she previously lodged an asylum application in a different state;

-          in the situation when the third country national is found illegal on the Romanian territory, and after checks are done, it results that he/she previously lodged an asylum application in a different Member State;

-          in the situation when the third country national lodged an asylum application in Romania, and after checks are done, it results that he/she is in possession of one (more than one) visas or one (more than one) residence permits valid issued by other Member State, which enabled him/her actually to previously enter on the territory of the Member States, or even when these documents have not enabled him/her to enter on the territory of the Member States;

-          in the situation when the third country national is found after illegal entry on the Romanian territory, and after checks are done, it results that he/she previously lodged an asylum application in a different Member State.

To these situations more can be added, which derives from the provisions of Council Regulation (E.C.) 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 (Dublin Regulation). Among these situations can be identified cases in which the asylum applicant is an unaccompanied minor or cases in which humanitarian clauses can be invoked.

In the same time, it must be known that the Dublin Regulation is applied taking into account the principles and the hierarchy of criteria as mentioned. 

The Dublin Procedure can take long between 2 weeks and 2 months according with the deadlines from the communitarian legislation. If your asylum application is under examination in another Member State, then in a period of 6 months from the acceptance of the requested state you will be transferred in that state. Access to the asylum procedure in Romania will be denied. If you will move illegally to the territory of another third member state is it useful to know that during 18 months that state can transfer you in the member state responsible or after the expiry of the 18 months back to Romania.