Information About the Dublin Procedure
Information in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person (Dublin III Regulation).
The fact that an application for recognition is submitted in Hungary does not necessarily mean that the asylum procedure will be carried out in Hungary. Specifically because, under the Dublin Regulations, where certain legal prerequisites apply, another State that is a party to the regulations (a Member State of the European Union, or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein) may also be responsible for examining the application for asylum.
Member State Responsible for Examining the Application for Asylum
The responsibility for examining your application for asylum may be transferred from Hungary to another State under the following conditions:
Principle of Family Unity and Protection of Unaccompanied Minors
If the members of a family have been separated while fleeing and they apply for asylum in different European States, family reunification may take place and the family members’ applications for asylum will be examined together. In addition, if the asylum procedure of a close family member is already in progress in a specific State, or the family member legally resides or has been granted refugee status in such State, the responsibility of that State may be established.
In order to have your application for refugee status adjoined under the Dublin III Regulation with the applications submitted by your family members, relatives in other Member States, your written consent is required.
The asylum applications of unaccompanied minors will be examined in the Member State where a member of his or her family is legally present.
In the cases of unaccompanied minors with no family member or relative in the territory of the Member States the following rules apply in accordance with the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in case C-648/11:
- If an unaccompanied minor with no family member in the territory of the Member States applies for asylum in two or more Member States, including the Member State in which he/she resides, the responsibility lies with the Member State where the minor filed the application for asylum and where he/she is a resident.
- If a minor who previously applied for asylum in any Member State resides in a Member State where he/she did not apply for asylum, the minor has two options: he/she applies for international protection in that Member State or he/she does not file such an application. If the minor decides to submit the application, the responsibility for examining the application lies with the given Member State. If the minor does not wish to submit another application in the Member State where he/she resides, the responsibility lies with the Member State where the minor submitted his/her last application.
- If a Member State which has previously refused the minor’s application for asylum upon examination as to merits, responsibility shall accrue upon that Member State.
Visa and Residence Permit
If you have been provided with a residence permit by any Member State or with a visa by the diplomatic or consular mission of one of the Members States before you applied for asylum, that Member State will be responsible for carrying out the asylum procedure.
Illegal Entry or Stay
Responsibility may accrue upon another Member State if you entered the territory of the Dublin States illegally or resided for more than five months in any one of the States indicated after the unlawful entry before you applied for asylum in another Dublin State.
Previous Asylum Application
If you previously applied for asylum in a Member State, then you travelled to another Member State without permission, on general principle the State where you first applied for asylum will be responsible for examining your asylum application.
In order to ascertain your circumstances you will be interviewed personally in the presence of an interpreter, where you will be required to answer questions in that respect.
In addition, when you lodge an application for asylum, and if you are 14 years of age or older, your fingerprint will be taken by the Hungarian authorities and transmitted to a fingerprint database of the EU called “Eurodac” to determine if you have previously applied for asylum in another EU Member State or if you previously resided in another EU Member State. Your statements, personal data and fingerprints are treated confidentially by the authorities.
What happens after the Member State responsible is determined?
If the prevailing facts suggest that another Member State may be responsible for examining your application for asylum, and there is a Eurodac hit from another Member State available in your case, the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing will request that Member State to take you back or to take charge of your application for asylum within two months of receiving the Eurodac hit. If there is no Eurodac hit from another Member State available in your case, the Immigration and Asylum Office will send said request to the Member State presumed responsible within three months from the date of submission of your application for international protection in Hungary. In case of take charge requests (regardless of whether a Eurodac hit is available or not) the requested State shall reply within two months, while in case of take back requests (i.e. if you have already submitted an application for international protection in another Member State) the time-limit for replying to the request is two weeks (or one month in the absence of a Eurodac hit). If no reply is given within the above-mentioned time limits, on general principle it shall be construed as acknowledgement of responsibility and acceptance of the take charge or take back request by the requested State.
If the requested State definitively refused the request, your application for asylum will be examined in Hungary.
If responsibility of any one of the other States for carrying out the asylum procedure has been determined and that Member State officially acknowledged its responsibility, the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing shall adopt a ruling on the responsibility of that Member State for examining your application for asylum. After that you and your case will be transferred within a specific timeframe to the Member State responsible for carrying out the asylum procedure.
Remedies
Said ruling contains information on the remedies available as well, and – if the ruling can be enforced – you will be transferred to the Member State responsible for carrying out the asylum procedure, and your asylum procedure will then be carried out in that Member State.
What happens after the decision?
In order to ensure your physical transportation out of the country, the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing may oblige you to stay at your appointed place of residence, or may order your detention.
As a main rule you will be transferred within 6 months after the date when the request of the Immigration and Asylum Office was accepted by the other State. This six-month time limit may be extended up to a maximum of 12 months if you are serving time of imprisonment in a penal institution, or up to 18 months if you absconded your appointed place of residence. If you take legal action with suspensive effect against the transfer decision, the time limit to carry out your transfer will begin upon the final decision of the court. Failure to observe those time limits will result in the responsibility for examining your application for asylum being transferred back to Hungary.
Other useful information
Within the framework of the Dublin Procedure the legally delegated authorities of the Member States may exchange information concerning your or your family members’ personal data, documents, papers and routes travelled. In duly justified cases, and upon your written consent, the requested State may provide the decisions and the grounds for the decisions taken concerning you. Please note that you have the right to be informed, on request, of any data that is processed concerning you during the Dublin Procedure, and if you find that the data have been processed are incomplete or inaccurate, you are entitled to demand to have them corrected, erased or blocked.