Dublin III Regulation and EU Entry Procedures: A Comprehensive Overview

When submitting an asylum application, fingerprinting at the prefecture is mandatory. A police officer at the prefecture will check your fingerprints against the Eurodac and Visabio databases to determine the country responsible for your asylum application, based on a hierarchy of criteria:

1. The responsible state may be the country that issued your entry visa.

2. Or the country that granted you a residence permit (titre de séjour).

3. Or the country through which you entered the European Union.

The Dublin III Regulation (EU Regulation No. 604/2013), signed by EU member states in June 2013 to replace the Dublin II Regulation, establishes that a single state is responsible for examining an asylum claim. This means that if an individual has previously claimed asylum in an EU member state, that state remains responsible for the claim as long as it is ongoing, and even if it has been rejected.

Legally, that state's responsibility expires twelve (12) months after the irregular border crossing. However, other significant criteria may alter the trajectory of the application, such as age or family ties with family members residing legally in France.

The prefecture examines fingerprints using two main databases:

Visabio: The Visa Information System file, used to verify whether you have obtained a visa from another EU member state.

Eurodac: The database where your fingerprints are recorded if they were taken in another EU country (across 28 EU member states and four associated countries: Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein).

- Category 1: Asylum seekers – fingerprints are stored for 10 years.

- Category 2: Individuals apprehended while crossing an external border irregularly – fingerprints are stored for 18 months.

- Category 3: Persons residing irregularly in an EU member state – fingerprints may occasionally be taken for comparison purposes, but they are not stored and are destroyed immediately after comparison.

Note: EU countries are recording fingerprints with increasing systematic consistency. However, in some instances, countries through which you transited may have recorded your fingerprints incorrectly, or not recorded them at all.

Please note that the prefecture requires your fingerprints during the initial appointment—fingerprinting is a compulsory procedure. Refusing to provide fingerprints allows the prefecture to place your application under the accelerated procedure (Procédure accélérée). However, it is unlawful for the prefecture to refuse to register your application altogether. An appeal against the refusal to register an asylum claim can be lodged with the Administrative Court with the assistance of an NGO or an attorney.

1. Implementation of the Dublin Procedure

If it is established that you have transited through another EU member state, you will be subject to the Dublin procedure and scheduled for an individual interview, conducted either in the presence of an interpreter or via telephone interpretation. The prefecture must provide you with a written transcript of this interview, as well as an informational leaflet on the Dublin procedure in a language you understand, including the leaflet titled 'I have asked for asylum in the EU – which country will handle my application?'

Even if France is not designated as the responsible state, it retains the discretionary authority to examine your asylum application under the sovereignty clause (Article 17: Discretionary clauses).

For this purpose, you must submit all relevant documents and information to the prefecture that could substantiate France assuming responsibility for your claim, including:

- A previously issued French visa or residence permit;

- Family members residing legally in France, whether as asylum seekers or beneficiaries of international protection;

- Health conditions or medical grounds;

- Pregnancy;

- Evidence of ill-treatment in the EU member state to which they intend to transfer you.

Note: If you presented this information during the interview, it is strongly advised to also send it to the prefecture by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt (Lettre recommandée avec avis de réception - AR). This establishes verifiable proof of submission that an attorney or an NGO can utilize on your behalf in an appeal against a transfer decision.

2. Response Deadlines

France and the requested member state must observe strict deadlines during the Dublin procedure (deadlines to send the request and deadlines to receive a response).

Important: If you pass through an evaluation and examination center (CAES), your fingerprints may be taken for the first time. It is vital to retain written proof of this step, as it marks the formal beginning of your procedural timeline under Dublin.

- In the absence of such proof, the prefecture may restart the entire procedural timeline from zero upon your transfer to another accommodation center (such as CHUM or CAO) in a different department—a practice that remains legally questionable.

- If you are not transferred within six months from the date the responsible state accepted the transfer (the date specified in the transfer decision), France becomes responsible for examining your asylum application.

- The expiration date of this six-month period is also indicated on the passage pass issued by the prefecture. If you lodge an appeal against the transfer decision, the six-month clock restarts from the notification of the court's final ruling.

3. Absconding Status (Statut de fuite)

You will be classified as having absconded ('en fuite') if you miss one or more appointments at the prefecture, the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII), the police station, or the airport. Declarations of absconding have risen sharply recently, often immediately following the initial asylum application, as prefectures have increasingly imposed house arrest orders requiring asylum seekers to report to police stations frequently.

Summonses are often formulated in an intimidating manner (e.g., 'Appointment at the removal office, please arrive with luggage' or 'Appointment at the border police offices to execute your procedure'), causing asylum seekers to avoid attending out of fear, resulting in their declaration as absconders.

Warning: If you are placed under absconding status, you must immediately contact an attorney or an NGO, as it is possible to contest this classification before the Administrative Court.

If you are designated as an absconder and do not challenge the status, or if the court dismisses your appeal, you must wait 18 months before you can lodge a new asylum application in France.

During this period, OFII will terminate your asylum seeker allowance (ADA). Housing arrangements will vary depending on your accommodation facility; while some centers may attempt to retain you for as long as possible, others will move to evict you immediately.

After 18 months, you may return directly to the reception platform (SPADA) to reapply for asylum in France. OFII may initially refuse to grant material reception conditions; in such cases, consult an NGO to assess whether an administrative appeal is feasible.

4. Consequences of the Dublin Procedure on Asylum Rights

• You cannot submit a regular asylum application in France; the prefecture issues you an asylum application certificate specifically marked 'Procédure Dublin'.

• You are entitled to the standard rights granted to asylum seekers, notably material support (ADA financial allowance, healthcare coverage, schooling for children), but you are not eligible for placement in a standard Reception Center for Asylum Seekers (CADA); accommodation is provided through specialized facilities designated for Dublin cases.

• You may be placed under house arrest (for up to six months, renewable once) throughout the procedure, or placed in an administrative detention center (CRA) prior to your transfer to the responsible state.

Detention measures have escalated significantly following the law of March 20, 2018, which legalized the administrative detention of persons subject to Dublin procedures based on a presumed 'significant risk of absconding'.

5. Appealing a Transfer Decision

Once the requested state accepts responsibility, you are formally served with a transfer decision. You have the right to challenge this decision before the Administrative Court (suspensive appeal).

Deadlines for legal action:

- An appeal must be submitted to the Administrative Court within 15 days of receiving the transfer decision under standard conditions.

- If you are placed in administrative detention or under house arrest: you must lodge the appeal within 24 hours of notification.

6. Execution of Transfer and Judicial Rulings

A transfer cannot be carried out prior to the expiration of the appeal deadline or before the administrative judge issues a ruling.

Appealing carries strategic considerations: filing an appeal resets the six-month transfer period to begin on the date of the final judicial decision (whether from the Administrative Court or the Administrative Court of Appeal), rather than from the date the responsible state accepted the request. This effectively restarts the clock from zero.

Consequently, if a court decision is delivered late in the procedure (for example, in the fourth or fifth month of the original six-month window), France receives a fresh six-month period to carry out the transfer.

- If the judge annuls the transfer decision solely on procedural or formal grounds (such as failure to provide required informational leaflets), the prefecture may issue a new, corrected transfer order.

- If the annulment is based on substantive grounds (such as an administrative error that cannot be retroactively rectified, evidence of systemic flaws or ill-treatment in the responsible state, or its lack of reception capacity), the prefecture cannot issue a new transfer order. If the court issues an injunction ordering the prefecture to register the asylum claim, the administration must comply.

Therefore, after the hearing, it is often advisable to consult your lawyer or an NGO regarding whether to report to the prefecture or wait out the initial six-month period, even if the court overturns the transfer decision.

- If you have already received appointment summonses linked to the transfer procedure, you are legally not required to attend if the transfer order has been annulled. However, failing to attend often leads prefectures to automatically declare you an absconder and terminate your ADA allowance.

Warning: Upon notifying transfer decisions, some prefectures have directed migrants directly to the Administrative Court registry to file an immediate appeal. Unaware of the consequences, individuals frequently sign standard pro-forma appeal templates in French. An on-duty legal aid attorney, who may not specialize in Dublin litigation, is then assigned to plead the case in the applicant's absence with minimal substantive evidence.

- Several weeks later, notification of the decision—frequently a rejection—is delivered by mail.

In such scenarios, it is critical to consult your legal counsel immediately to introduce substantive arguments before the hearing, which is typically held within days of filing.

- An appeal against a court ruling, whether initiated by you or by the prefecture, does not extend the statutory deadline after which France becomes responsible for your asylum claim; the prefecture must proceed with registration.

- In ordinary appellate procedures, challenges before the Administrative Court of Appeal involve lengthy adjudication timelines.

7. Appealing House Arrest Orders

- Individuals placed under house arrest are generally required to report to a designated police station twice weekly or more to sign an attendance register.

- Before deciding whether to attend scheduled summonses, consult an NGO to evaluate potential risks. Non-compliance entails severe consequences, including being classified as an absconder, extending the transfer deadline to 18 months, and forfeiting material reception rights.

- Appealing a house arrest order entails legal timelines and effects similar to appeals against transfer decisions.

Notice: The enforcement of the Dublin procedure varies significantly between prefectures, reflecting local administrative directives aimed at increasing transfer executions or absconding classifications. Decisions regarding legal appeals and attendance at summonses carry varying degrees of legal risk depending on the territorial jurisdiction.

Crucial Rule: If you are not transferred within six months from the date the requested state accepted responsibility, and you have not been declared an absconder, France automatically becomes responsible for examining your asylum application. You may then report back to the initial reception platform (SPADA) or the prefecture, depending on regional administrative practices (e.g., in the Île-de-France/Paris region, applicants may approach SPADA directly without going through the OFII telephone platform).

8. Individuals Returning to France Following a Transfer

If you return to France after having been transferred to another EU member state, the prefecture may take one of four courses of action:

1. Refuse to register your asylum claim. In this case, contact an NGO immediately to initiate legal proceedings against the refusal.

2. Register the application but re-initiate the Dublin procedure from the beginning. You may present evidence proving that you were ordered to leave the state to which you were transferred, or that authorities there compelled you to return. Any official documentation (expulsion orders, photographic evidence, etc.) must be submitted.

- It is also crucial to submit evidence of private and family ties established in France that could influence the prefecture's assessment.

- Ensure you are accompanied by a fluent French speaker who can articulate the nuances of your case during the interview.

- Always retain a copy of any obligation to leave French territory (OQTF); prefectures may attempt to retain the original document. Even if disregarded administratively, it can serve as evidence before a judge during an appeal.

3. Register the claim under the accelerated procedure on the grounds of deliberate obstruction of the Dublin procedure. In this case, contact an NGO to challenge any subsequent decision by OFII denying ADA financial allowance.

4. In the most favorable scenario, register your claim under the standard procedure and issue you the OFPRA application dossier to proceed with regular examination.

9. Legal Penalties and Legislative Framework

Article L. 624-3 of the French Code on Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right to Asylum (CESEDA) formerly imposed criminal prison sentences on foreign nationals who evaded or attempted to evade removal orders, or who returned to France without authorization after removal.

Current Legal Status:

• This article has been repealed (Abrogé).

• The repeal was enacted via Ordinance No. 2020-1733 of December 16, 2020, which entered into force on May 1, 2021, as part of a comprehensive restructuring of the CESEDA code.

• Penalties for evading removal or violating entry bans were reorganized into Book VIII of the reformed CESEDA, notably under Article L. 824-3 and subsequent provisions.

Historical Context of Former Article L. 624-3:

The former provision stated: 'Any foreign national who has evaded or attempted to evade the execution of a measure taken pursuant to provisions governing removal [including Dublin transfer procedures or deportation], or who, having been subject to such a measure, has re-entered France without authorization, shall be punished by three years' imprisonment. The court may also impose a ban on entering French territory for a period not exceeding three years.'

This article was frequently cited by prefectural authorities to pressure asylum seekers subject to the Dublin procedure. If the administration deemed that an applicant intentionally obstructed their transfer (l'obstruction), authorities would threaten criminal prosecution under this statute, place the asylum claim under the accelerated procedure, and terminate ADA allowances.

Following the recodification of the CESEDA, the provisions previously grouped under Article L. 624-3 were categorized under Book VIII (Livre VIII), Chapter IV:

1. General evasion of removal measures (Article L. 824-9): Punishes with three years' imprisonment any foreign national who evades or attempts to evade execution of an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF), an expulsion order, or an administrative ban on French territory (ITF).

2. Evasion specific to Dublin transfers (Article L. 824-10): Because Dublin transfers are governed by specific procedures, this dedicated provision punishes with three years' imprisonment any foreign national who evades or attempts to evade execution of a transfer decision to another European state issued pursuant to Article L. 572-1.

3. Unlawful stay following detention or house arrest (Article L. 824-3): Penalizes individuals who remain irregularly in France following the expiration of administrative detention (rétention) or house arrest (assignation à résidence) without the removal having been executed, punishable by one year's imprisonment and a fine of €3,750.

4. Irregular re-entry after removal (Article L. 824-11): Punishes with three years' imprisonment any foreign national who re-enters France in violation of an administrative or judicial entry ban.

Summary: Evading a standard removal measure is governed by Article L. 824-9, whereas evading a Dublin transfer procedure falls specifically under Article L. 824-10.

Illustrative Example: Transfer from France to Spain

If you are transferred to Spain—whether following explicit acceptance or tacit agreement through administrative silence—you will receive a voluntary departure notification or be accommodated in a hotel near the airport pending the earliest scheduled flight, potentially escorted by police officers aboard the aircraft for formal handover to Spanish authorities.

Upon arrival at Madrid International Airport, you are transferred to the Spanish police, who subsequently place you in the care of the Spanish Red Cross for up to 24 hours. Officials will inquire whether you hold travel documentation allowing transit to your intended city; if you do not, they will issue a domestic transit document valid for 24 hours permitting travel across Spanish municipalities.

GISTI / France News