Introduction

The Dublin III Regulation provides the legal basis for establishing the criteria and mechanism for determining the member state responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the member states by a third country national or a stateless person. This mechanism is known as the Dublin procedure. The Dublin III Regulation applies to 32 countries which include the EU member states, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. In this document, they are referred to as the Dublin countries.

When you make your application for a declaration as a refugee, your case may be examined under the Dublin III Regulation. It is open to you to make written representations, in this regard, to the Refugee Applications Commissioner, Dublin Regulation Unit — see ‘Where to apply’ below. The Commissioner shall take into consideration all relevant matters known to him or her, including any representations made by you or on your behalf when deciding whether your application will be transferred.

Consideration of your application under the Dublin III Regulation

In some cases, applicants may be required to participate in a separate interview relating to an application under the Dublin III Regulation. However, more usually, such information will be gathered during the course of the initial interview or as a result of fingerprint evidence.

If at any stage during the course of the investigation of your application, it appears that your application should be dealt with in another Dublin country, your application may be dealt with in accordance with the Regulation.

Your case may be one where Ireland requests another Dublin country to take charge of your application. For example, this would be where another country has issued you with a visa or work permit or where you irregularly crossed the frontier of another Dublin country before applying for asylum in Ireland.

Alternatively, Ireland may request that another Dublin country take back your application because, for example, you have made an asylum claim in another Dublin country and that the claim has not yet been finalised, or you withdrew your asylum claim in that country or your application for asylum was rejected and you are in Ireland without permission.

A summary of the different time limits to take charge and take back cases is set out as follows:

Take charge

A request to another Dublin country to take charge of your application, that is, to accept responsibility for it, must be made within 3 months from the date of your application. The requested country must give a decision no later than 2 months from the date on which the request was received.

Where the request to take charge of an application for asylum is not made to the other country by Ireland within the period of 3 months, responsibility lies with Ireland.

Ireland may ask for an urgent reply from the requested country in cases where you were refused leave to enter or remain in Ireland. Also, Ireland can make an urgent request if you have been arrested for unlawful stay or after the service or execution of a removal order and/or where you are held in detention. The request shall state the reasons warranting the urgent reply and the period within which a reply is expected. This period shall be at least one week.

If the requested country fails to act within the 2-month period or the one-month period referred to above, this is tantamount to the requested country’s acceptance of Ireland’s request to take charge of your application.

Take back

A take back request to another Dublin country to take responsibility for your application must be made within 2 months of receipt of a Eurodac hit. If the take back request is based on other evidence, it shall be sent to the other Dublin country within 3 months of the date on which Ireland becomes aware that another Dublin country may be responsible for your application.

Where Ireland calls on another Dublin country to take back your application for asylum, the Dublin country called upon to take back the application, shall be obliged to make the necessary checks. The Dublin country is also required to reply to the request made by Ireland as quickly as possible and under no circumstances is it to reply more than one month from the date of the request.

Where Ireland’s request is based on data obtained from the Eurodac system, the one-month time limit referred to above is reduced to 2 weeks.

Where the requested country does not respond to Ireland’s request to take back within the one-month period or the 2-week period referred to above, the requested country shall be considered to have agreed to take back your application for asylum.

If another Dublin country is found to be responsible for examining your application and it agrees to accept responsibility for the transfer of your application, you will be informed immediately (in writing) that it is proposed to transfer you to that country for consideration of your application.

Family unity

Note that Ireland may also call on and agree with another Dublin country to take charge of your spouse and or your minor dependent children, in addition to your application, even if your spouse or minor dependent children did not make an asylum application in the Dublin country responsible for your asylum application.

Transfer to another Dublin country

The transfer of your asylum claim will be arranged by the Department of Justice and Equality. The transfer will take place as soon as is practicably possible and at the latest within 6 months of acceptance by the other Dublin country. The Minister for Justice will be notified of the determination with a view to making arrangements for your transfer to the Dublin country concerned.

Dublin III Regulation appeal

You will have 10 working days from the date of the Refugee Applications Commissioner’s determination to appeal to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. You will be provided with an information leaflet and a notice of appeal for that purpose. Any appeal submitted by you will suspend the transfer of your application pending the outcome of your appeal.

If the Refugee Appeals Tribunal overturns the determination of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, your application will be returned by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal to the Refugee Applications Commissioner for examination. You will receive a written notification advising you of this.