The “Dublin Procedure”/Dublin Regulation

Under the Dublin Procedure, a review is performed as to whether Germany or another European country is responsible for your asylum proceedings.

Germany is not responsible for your proceedings if you have already been registered in the EURODAC database in another European country (EU countries, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein). This is the case if all 10 finger prints have already been taken or if you entered Germany with a Schengen visa from another European country.

If another European country is responsible for your asylum proceedings, Germany must inquire with the authorities of that country, within three months from the time of your asylum application, whether you can return to that country. (The exact date on which you filed your request for asylum with the German authorities can be seen from the proof of arrival.) The other country must respond to this inquiry within two months. No answer will be deemed an agreement.

If your return to that country (“transfer”) was consented to, the German authorities will have six months’ time to take you back to that country. The period is extended to 18 months if you cannot be reached by the German authorities. Once this period has expired, Germany will be responsible for your asylum proceedings.

If you receive a notice of transfer (in a large yellow envelope), you must immediately go to the counseling service for asylum seekers. You have only one week to file an appeal against the notice with the administrative court. In addition, an emergency motion will have to be lodged within one week – otherwise you could be sent back to the country responsible before a ruling is issued on the appeal.

Until a decision is made by the administrative court, the permission to stay will be taken away from you and you will be granted a temporary suspension of deportation. The certificate of temporary suspension of deportation shows that your asylum procedure has not yet been processed and that you are in Germany “illegally” but that you should not be deported.