Dublin III refers to Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, adopted on 26 June 2013, which establishes 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. It replaced the earlier Dublin II Regulation (343/2003) and entered into application on 1 January 2014.
The regulation applies across all EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. Its core principle is that a single member state is responsible for processing each asylum claim, preventing both "asylum shopping" (multiple applications) and "refugees in orbit" (no state accepting responsibility). Responsibility is allocated through a hierarchy of criteria, including family unity, possession of visas or residence documents, and—most commonly invoked—the country of first irregular entry into the EU.
Key features include:
- Take-charge and take-back requests between member states, with strict deadlines.
- A fingerprint database (Eurodac) used to identify where an applicant first entered or previously applied.
- A discretionary clause (Article 17) allowing any state to examine a claim even if not responsible.
- Procedural safeguards, including the right to appeal a transfer decision.
Dublin III has been heavily criticised for placing disproportionate burdens on frontline states such as Greece, Italy, and Malta. The Court of Justice of the EU and the European Court of Human Rights have restricted transfers in cases of systemic deficiencies, notably in N.S. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department (C-411/10, 2011) regarding Greece, and Tarakhel v. Switzerland (ECtHR, 2014) regarding vulnerable families being sent to Italy.
Reform efforts culminated in the Pact on Migration and Asylum, adopted in 2024, which replaces Dublin III with the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation and introduces a solidarity mechanism for relocations or financial contributions.
Example
In 2015, Germany temporarily suspended Dublin III transfers of Syrian asylum seekers back to their country of first entry, allowing claims lodged in Germany to be processed there during the European refugee crisis.
Frequently asked questions
Most commonly the EU member state where the applicant first irregularly entered the bloc, though family ties, valid visas, or residence permits can override this criterion.
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