Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 establishing a common procedure for international protection in the Union and repealing Directive 2013/32/EU

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation establishes a common procedure for granting and withdrawing international protection pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/1347.

Article 2

Scope

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘refugee’ means a third-country national who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, is outside the country of nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, or a stateless person who, being outside of the country of former habitual residence for the same reasons as mentioned, is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to return to it, and to whom Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1347 does not apply;

(2) ‘person eligible for subsidiary protection’ means a third-country national or a stateless person who does not qualify as a refugee but in respect of whom substantial grounds have been shown for believing that that person, if returned to his or her country of origin or, in the case of a stateless person, to his or her country of former habitual residence, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm as defined in Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1347, and to whom Article 17(1) and (2) of that Regulation does not apply, and is unable or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country;

(3) ‘refugee status’ means the recognition by a Member State of a third-country national or a stateless person as a refugee in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1347;

(4) ‘subsidiary protection status’ means the recognition by a Member State of a third-country national or a stateless person as a person eligible for subsidiary protection in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1347;

(5) ‘international protection’ means refugee status or subsidiary protection status;

(6) ‘minor’ means a third-country national or stateless person below the age of 18 years;

(7) ‘unaccompanied minor’ means a minor who arrives on the territory of the Member States unaccompanied by an adult responsible for him or her, whether by law or practice of the Member State concerned, and for as long as that minor is not effectively taken into the care of such an adult, including a minor who is left unaccompanied after he or she has entered the territory of the Member States;

(8) ‘final decision’ means a decision on whether or not a third-country national or stateless person is granted refugee status or subsidiary protection status pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/1347, including a decision rejecting the application as inadmissible or a decision rejecting an application as implicitly or explicitly withdrawn, which is no longer subject to a remedy under the framework of Chapter V of this Regulation or has become final in accordance with national law, irrespective of whether the applicant has the right to remain in accordance with this Regulation;

(9) ‘examination of an application for international protection’ means an examination of the admissibility or the merits of an application for international protection in accordance with this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2024/1347;

(10) ‘biometric data’ means biometric data as defined in Article 2, point (s), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1358;

(11) ‘adequate capacity’ means the capacity required at any given moment to carry out the asylum border procedure, and the return border procedure established pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/1349 or, where applicable, an equivalent return border procedure established under national law;

(12) ‘application for international protection’ or ‘application’ means a request for protection from a Member State made by a third-country national or a stateless person who can be understood to be seeking refugee status or subsidiary protection status;

(13) ‘applicant’ means a third-country national or a stateless person who has made an application for international protection in respect of which a final decision has not yet been taken;

(14) ‘applicant in need of special procedural guarantees’ means an applicant whose ability to benefit from the rights and comply with the obligations provided for in this Regulation is limited due to individual circumstances, such as specific vulnerabilities;

(15) ‘stateless person’ means a person who is not considered to be a national by any State under the operation of its law;

(16) ‘determining authority’ means any quasi-judicial or administrative body in a Member State responsible for examining applications for international protection and competent to take decisions under the administrative procedure;

(17) ‘withdrawal of international protection’ means a decision by a determining authority or a competent court or tribunal to revoke or end, including by refusing to renew, international protection, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1347;

(18) ‘remain in the Member State’ means to remain on the territory, including at the border or in transit zones, of the Member State in which the application for international protection has been made or is being examined;

(19) ‘subsequent application’ means a further application for international protection made in any Member State after a final decision has been taken on a previous application, including cases in which the application has been rejected as explicitly or implicitly withdrawn;

(20) ‘Member State responsible’ means the Member State responsible for the examination of an application in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1351.

Article 4

Competent authorities

Each Member State shall designate in accordance with national law a determining authority to carry out the tasks conferred on it pursuant to this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2024/1347, in particular:

(a) receiving and examining applications for international protection;

(b) taking decisions on applications for international protection;

(c) taking decisions on the withdrawal of international protection.

The determining authority shall be the only authority, during the administrative procedure, with the power to decide on the admissibility and the merits of an application for international protection.

Article 5

Assistance to competent authorities

Without prejudice to Article 4(7) and (8), at the request of the Member State, competent authorities identified under Article 4 may, for the purpose of receiving and registering applications for international protection and of facilitating the examination of applications, including with regard to the personal interview, be assisted by:

(a) experts deployed by the European Union Agency for Asylum (the ‘Asylum Agency’) in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/2303; and

(b) the competent authorities of another Member State that have been entrusted by that Member State with the task of receiving, registering or examining applications for international protection.

Competent authorities designated pursuant to Article 4 may assist the authorities of another Member State only for the tasks with which they have been entrusted by their Member State.

The competence to decide on individual applications for international protection shall remain solely with the determining authority of the Member State responsible.

Article 6

The role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Member States shall allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to:

(a) have access to applicants, including those in reception centres, in detention, at the border and in transit zones;

(b) have access to information on individual applications for international protection, on the course of the procedure and on the decisions taken, subject to the consent of the applicant;

(c) present its views, in the exercise of its supervisory responsibilities under Article 35 of the Convention of 28 July 1951 Relating to the Status of Refugees, as supplemented by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967 (the ‘Geneva Convention’), to any competent authorities regarding individual applications for international protection at any stage of the procedure.

Article 7

Confidentiality principle

Throughout the procedure for international protection and after a final decision on the application has been taken, the authorities shall not:

(a) disclose information regarding the individual application for international protection or the fact that an application has been made, to the alleged actors of persecution or serious harm;

(b) obtain any information from the alleged actors of persecution or serious harm in a manner that would result in such actors being informed of the fact that an application has been made by the applicant in question.

CHAPTER II

BASIC PRINCIPLES AND GUARANTEES

SECTION I

Rights and obligations of applicants

Article 8

General guarantees for applicants

The determining authority or, where applicable, other competent authorities or organisations tasked by Member States for that purpose shall inform applicants, in a language which they understand or are reasonably supposed to understand, of the following:

(a) the right to lodge an individual application;

(b) the time limits and stages of the procedure to be followed;

(c) their rights and obligations during the procedure, including those under Regulation (EU) 2024/1351, and the consequences of not complying with those obligations, in particular as regards the explicit or implicit withdrawal of an application;

(d) the right to free legal counselling for the lodging of the individual application and to legal assistance and representation at all stages of the procedure pursuant to Section III of this Chapter and in accordance with Articles 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19;

(e) the means by which they can fulfil the obligation to submit the elements as referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1347;

(f) the decision of the determining authority in accordance with Article 36.

All the information referred to in this paragraph shall be provided as soon as possible to enable applicants to exercise the rights guaranteed in this Regulation and to enable them to adequately comply with the obligations set out in Article 9. The information referred to in the first subparagraph, points (a) to (e), of this paragraph shall be provided to the applicant at the latest when the application for international protection is registered. That information shall be provided by means of the leaflet referred to in paragraph 7, either physically or electronically, and, if necessary, orally. Information shall be provided to minors in a child-friendly manner and with the involvement of the representative or the person referred to in Article 23(2), point (a), of this Regulation.

The applicant shall be given the opportunity to confirm that he or she has received the information. Such confirmation shall be documented in the applicant’s file. If the applicant refuses to confirm that he or she has received the information, a note of that fact shall be entered in his or her file.

Article 9

Obligations of applicants

The applicant shall fully cooperate with the competent authorities referred to in Article 4 in matters covered by this Regulation, in particular by:

(a) providing the data referred to in Article 27(1), points (a),(b) and (d);

(b) providing an explanation where he or she is not in possession of an identity or travel document;

(c) providing information on any changes as regards his or her place of residence, address, telephone number or email address;

(d) providing biometric data;

(e) lodging his or her application in accordance with Article 28 and remaining available throughout the procedure;

(f) handing over as soon as possible documents in his or her possession relevant to the examination of the application;

(g) attending the personal interview, without prejudice to Article 13;

(h) remaining on the territory of the Member State where he or she is required to be present, in accordance with Article 17(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351.

Where the competent authorities decide to retain any document as referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph, they shall ensure that the applicant immediately receives copies of the originals. In the event of a transfer pursuant to Article 46 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351, competent authorities shall hand back such documents to the applicant at the time of the transfer.

Member States shall establish in national law the method of communication and the moment that the communication is considered to have been received by the applicant.

Article 10

Right to remain during the administrative procedure

Member States may provide for an exception to the applicant’s right to remain on their territory during the administrative procedure where that applicant:

(a) makes a subsequent application in accordance with Article 55 and the conditions laid down in Article 56 have been fulfilled;

(b) is or will be extradited, surrendered or transferred to another Member State, a third country, the International Criminal Court or another international court or tribunal for the purpose of conducting a criminal prosecution or for the execution of a custodial sentence or a detention order;

(c) is a danger to public order or national security, without prejudice to Article 12 and 17 of the Regulation (EU) 2024/1347, provided that applying such an exception does not result in the applicant being removed to a third country in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.

SECTION II

Personal interviews

Article 11

Admissibility interview

Article 12

Substantive interview

Article 13

Requirements for personal interviews

The presence of a cultural mediator may be provided during the personal interviews.

Member States shall give preference to interpreters and cultural mediators that have received training, such as training referred to in Article 8(4), point (m), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303.

Member States shall ensure that interpreters and cultural mediators are made aware of the key concepts and terminology relevant to the assessment of applications for international protection, for example through a standard leaflet or a guide. Communication shall take place in the language preferred by the applicant unless there is another language which he or she understands and in which he or she is able to communicate clearly.

Where there is a disproportionate number of third-country nationals or stateless persons who make an application within the same period of time, making it unfeasible to conduct timely personal interviews of each applicant, the determining authority may be assisted temporarily by the staff of other authorities of that Member State who shall receive in advance the relevant training which shall include the elements listed in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 to conduct such interviews or by the Asylum Agency in accordance with Article 5.

The person conducting the interview shall:

(a) be competent to take account of the personal and general circumstances surrounding the application, including the situation prevailing in the applicant’s country of origin, and the applicant’s cultural origin, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, vulnerability and special procedural needs;

(b) not wear a military or law enforcement uniform.

Staff interviewing applicants, including experts deployed by the Asylum Agency, shall have:

(a) acquired general knowledge of factors which could adversely affect the applicant’s ability to be interviewed, such as indications that the person may have been tortured in the past or a victim of trafficking in human beings;

(b) received, in advance, training that includes relevant elements from those listed in Article 8(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303.

In such a case, the determining authority shall ensure the necessary arrangements for the appropriate facilities, procedural and technical standards, legal assistance and interpretation taking into account guidance from the Asylum Agency.

The admissibility interview or the substantive interview, as applicable, may be omitted where:

(a) the determining authority is able to take a positive decision with regard to the refugee status or the subsidiary protection status on the basis of the evidence available, provided that the subsidiary protection status offers the same rights and benefits as refugee status under Union and national law;

(b) the determining authority considers that the application is not inadmissible on the basis of the evidence available;

(c) the determining authority is of the opinion that the applicant is unfit or unable to be interviewed owing to enduring circumstances beyond his or her control;

(d) in the case of a subsequent application, the preliminary examination referred to in Article 55(4) is carried out on the basis of a written statement;

(e) the determining authority considers the application inadmissible pursuant to Article 38(1), point (c).

The omission of a personal interview pursuant to point (c) of the first subparagraph shall not adversely affect the decision of the determining authority. Where the personal interview is omitted pursuant to that point, the determining authority shall give the applicant an effective opportunity to submit further information in writing.

When in doubt as to the fitness or ability of the applicant to be interviewed, the determining authority shall consult a medical professional to establish whether the applicant is temporarily unfit or unable to be interviewed or whether his or her situation is of an enduring nature. Where, following consultation of that medical professional, it is clear that the condition making the applicant unfit or unable to be interviewed is of a temporary nature, the determining authority shall postpone the personal interview until such time as the applicant is fit or able to be interviewed.

Where the applicant is unable to attend the personal interview owing to specific circumstances beyond his or her control, the determining authority shall reschedule the personal interview

The absence of the legal adviser shall not prevent the determining authority from conducting the interview.

Member States may stipulate in national law that, where a legal adviser participates in the personal interview, the legal adviser may only intervene at the end of the personal interview.

Article 14

Report and recording of personal interviews