Dublin

Author

Cyprus Refugee Council Visit Website

General

Dublin statistics: 1 January – 31 December 2025

 Source: Dublin Unit, Cyprus Asylum Service

Source: Dublin Unit, Cyprus Asylum Service

Source: Dublin Unit, Cyprus Asylum Service.

Application of the Dublin criteria

The applicant is interviewed by Dublin Unit officers of the Asylum Service and all documents and information are collected in collaboration with them. For unaccompanied minors, both the interview and family tracing are done in the presence and with the collaboration of the Social Welfare Service’s officers. Following this, the request is submitted via ‘DubliNet’ to the relevant Member State.[1]

In practice, the evidential requirements requested from the asylum applicant that are needed to prove family links are mostly documents that prove familial relationship with the individual in question, such as identity documents, family registration documents, birth/marriage certificates, photographs, any documents available and, when necessary, DNA tests. The authorities conducting the Dublin procedure will apply the family provisions even if the asylum applicant has not indicated the existence of family members in another Member State from the outset.[2]

The criterion most frequently used in practice for incoming requests is previous applications for international protection; for outgoing requests, family unity for unaccompanied children.[3]

The dependent persons and discretionary clauses

The humanitarian clause may be applied when the other criteria are not applicable and humanitarian reasons arise, whereas the sovereignty clause may be applied when the transfer is not going to be implemented within the time limits for reasons not foreseen in the Regulation, i.e., health issues.

In 2024, 381 take charge requests were made under the humanitarian clause, 93 of which were accepted, a significant number under the voluntary relocation programme. In 2025, 271 take charge requests were made under the humanitarian clause (219 relocation), of which 203 were accepted (180 relocation).[4]

In June 2022, the voluntary relocation programme was agreed upon with the aim of providing concrete support to frontline countries (MED5) to manage increased flows of asylum applicants. The programme is supported by EU funding, at the request of the concerned Member States, with assistance from the EU Asylum Agency and IOM. More specifically, resettlement activities are 100% financed by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF). The transfers are carried out with the cooperation of the Asylum Service of the Ministry of the Interior of Cyprus, the European Asylum Service (EUAA), the European Commission and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).[5] In December 2022, the first relocations of 48 Syrian and Afghan refugees took place.[6]

In 2023, 1,773 persons were relocated, mainly to Germany and France, and some to Romania, Bulgaria, Belgium, Finland, Norway, and Portugal. Persons relocated are mainly nationals from Syria, Afghanistan and smaller numbers from Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Somalia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Djibouti, and Palestine.[7]

According to ECRE 2023 statistical update on Dublin transfers, the sharpest relative increase in outgoing Dublin requests was registered by Cyprus, which issued 730 requests in 2022 and 2,068 in 2023, thus marking a 183% increase.  At first glance, the numbers in Cyprus could appear abnormal; while asylum applications decreased by over 50%, from 22,182 applicants in 2022 to 10,662 in 2023, outgoing Dublin requests almost tripled, 730 in 2022 to 2,068 in 2023. However, most of these requests (1,765) were based on article 17(2) Dublin Regulation, i.e. the humanitarian clause, and 1,528 of those corresponded to requests sent under the auspices of the voluntary solidarity mechanism agreed in June 2022. Regarding outgoing transfers, Cyprus implemented over 14 times more transfers, with 1,709 transfers in 2023 and 109 in 2022. However, as with Dublin requests, this is mostly explained by the significant increase in reported transfers based on article 17(2) Dublin regulation, the humanitarian clause, which correspond to relocations under the voluntary solidarity mechanism that this represented over 1,300 of the 1,700 transfers from Cyprus. [8]

In 2024, 852 persons (592 cases) were relocated mainly to Germany and France, and to a lesser extent Belgium and Bulgaria. Persons relocated are mainly nationals from Syria, Afghanistan and smaller numbers from Cameroon, DRC, Ethiopia, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Somalia.[9]

In 2025, some 430 persons were relocated mainly to Germany and France, and to a lesser extent Romania and Croatia. Persons relocated are mainly nationals from Syria, Afghanistan and smaller numbers from Cameroon, DRC, Ghana, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Rwanda and Somalia.[10]

In view of the rise of asylum applicants from Syria requesting relocation to other EU Member States, upon arrival, in mid-2023 the government decided to exclude new asylum applicants from the voluntary relocation Program to act as a deterrent to future arrivals. Persons arriving in Cyprus from January 2023 onwards are not eligible to the Program.[11] However, the majority of asylum applicants are not aware of this limitation and continue to request upon arrival when they will be relocated.[12]

Furthermore, with the upcoming implementation of the Pact, the Solidarity Mechanism will become permanent, and a new pool of candidates and procedures is expected to be initiated in June 2026. As a result, most cases that are pending for relocation are to be removed from the relocation pool and forwarded for examination of their asylum application.

Procedure

All asylum applicants aged 14 and over as well as their dependants, also aged 14 and over, are systematically fingerprinted and checked in Eurodac.[13] There is no specific policy in place for cases where applicants refuse to be fingerprinted and, to CyRC’s knowledge, there have been no cases to indicate such practice.

The Dublin procedure is systematically applied in all cases;[14] when lodging an application for asylum, the applicant also fills in a Dublin questionnaire where they have to state any previous travel or any relatives present in another Member State. Should they have travelled through another Member State or have relatives present in one Member State, the Dublin Unit invites the applicant for an interview.

Despite improvements in 2021 in relation to the submission of take-charge requests within the timeline set by the Dublin Regulation, delays were observed in the first half of 2022 in cases of adults and unaccompanied children alike. The situation improved during the second half of 2022 and throughout 2023 as the team handling take charge requests was staffed with additional personnel. In 2024, the situation continued improving, the majority of the take charge requests were submitted within the timeframe of the regulation with minor exceptions mainly concerning cases of unaccompanied children informing the authorities of their intent to submit an application after their initial screening at Pournara, the First Reception Center.[15]

In 2025, the Dublin Unit was able to meet all deadlines in line with the Regulation. The only cases that may face delays is due to applicants’ delay in providing necessary evidence or delays in concluding age assessment procedures of UASC who arrive without necessary documentation. In such cases and where possible, a take charge request will be made under the humanitarian clause.[16]

Individualised guarantees

The Dublin Unit seeks individualised guarantees that the asylum applicant will have adequate reception conditions and access to the asylum procedure upon transfer to countries facing difficulties in their asylum systems.[17] Such guarantees are sought after the responsible Member State has agreed to take charge of/take back the applicant.

Transfers

When another EU Member State accepts responsibility for the asylum applicant, it takes on average three-six months before the applicant is transferred to the responsible Member State.[18]  Asylum applicants are not detained for the purpose of transfers, whereas the actual transfer takes place under supervision or when necessary, under escort.

 Source: Dublin Unit, Cyprus Asylum Service.

Personal interview

The interview for the Dublin procedure is carried out by the Dublin Unit of the Asylum Service. These interviews are conducted in the same manner as in the regular procedure, meaning that an interpreter is always available when needed and applicants can choose the gender of the interpreter[19] and/or interviewer.[20]

The interview for the Dublin procedure focuses on determining the Member State responsible for examining the application for international protection. For possible “take back” cases, questions focus on the applicants’ entry into other Member States prior to reaching Cyprus, whether they have applied for asylum in said countries as well as the reasons for applying, the duration of stay along with specific dates of entry, and the reason for leaving the country. For family unity reasons, questions focus on whether the individual has family members in other Member States, as well the relationship with the individual in question, their relatives’ status in the country, and whether they can obtain any documents proving the familial relationship. Applicants are also informed about the Dublin procedure, what it entails, and the possibilities and effect on the case.[21]

Appeal

The law allows for an appeal against Dublin decisions before the IPAC during which the applicant has a right to remain within the territory.[22] The rules and procedure are the same as in in the regular procedure (see Regular Procedure: Appeal).

The majority of cases are not challenged by asylum applicants, as they are related to family unity reasons and the asylum applicants’ preference is to not remain in Cyprus.

Legal assistance

There is no access to free legal assistance from the State during first instance Dublin procedures. Such cases can be assisted by the free legal assistance provided for by NGOs under project funding, but their capacity is extremely limited (see Regular Procedure: Legal Assistance). Legal aid is offered by the State only for the judicial review of the Dublin decision by the IPAC.[23] The application for legal aid is subject to a “means and merits” test and is extremely difficult to be awarded (see Regular Procedure: Legal Assistance). However, asylum applicants, as stated above, rarely submit appeals against the Dublin transfer; as such, no free legal assistance request has ever been submitted during the appeal procedure.

Suspension of transfers

The majority of cases that fall under the Dublin procedure in Cyprus are outgoing requests from UASC and adult asylum applicants requesting to join family members in other Member States, or incoming requests from other Member states requesting for Cyprus to take responsibility (“take back” requests). In case a transfer is not possible within the time limits foreseen by the Dublin Regulation, Cyprus will assume responsibility for examining the asylum application and asylum applicants will have full access to reception conditions and all other rights enjoyed by asylum applicants.

There are no national court rulings on Dublin transfers.

The situation of Dublin returnees

Source: Dublin Unit, Cyprus Asylum Service.

Asylum applicants transferred back from another Member State who had not been issued a first instance decision prior to their departure from RoC were, in most cases, not detained upon return and the examination of the asylum application resumed. However, from 2023 onwards, cases were identified where the asylum application was considered to have been implicitly withdrawn when the asylum applicant departed from Cyprus and in some cases  the applicants were detained upon return.[24]

In the event that asylum applicants returned are not detained, they have a right to reception conditions. However, they will face the same difficulties all asylum applicants face in accessing reception conditions (see section: Reception Conditions). If they have no place to stay on their own, they may be transferred to Kofinou Reception Centre, which is an open centre for asylum applicants, however usually there is no availability at the Centre. If there is no availability at the Centre and in view of the lack of other accommodation options for asylum applicants, they may become homeless or be hosted by other asylum applicants in below standard accommodation. In cases of vulnerable persons, they may be provided with accommodation by the social welfare services, but this is not always ensured and stay is temporary (usually 3 months), after which the asylum applicant is expected to have identified accommodation alternatives without assistance.[25]

There is no information available as to whether requests sent to the Dublin Unit ask for the provision of individual guarantees for incoming transfers.

For asylum applicants transferred back from another Member State and for whom a final decision had already been issued prior to their departure from RoC, deportation procedures are initiated.

[1] Information provided by Cyprus Refugee Council.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Cyprus Asylum Service.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Asylum Service, Relocation, available in Greek here.

[6] Kathimerini, First group of asylum applicants relocated to Germany from Cyprus, 22 January 2023, available here; Schengen Visa, First Group of Asylum Applicants Gets Relocated From Cyprus  to Germany, 21 December 2022, available here.

[7] Information provided by the Cyprus Asylum Service.

[8] ECRE, AIDA Statistical Update: The Implementation of the Dublin III Regulation in 2023, 22 January 2025, available here.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] InfoMigrants, Cyprus excludes new asylum applicants from resettlement scheme, 20 July 2023, available here.

[12] Information provided by Cyprus Refugee Council.

[13] Article 11A Refugee Law.

[14] Article 11B Refugee Law.

[15] Information provided by the Cyprus Refugee Council.

[16] Information provided by the Dublin Unit.

[17] Information provided by the Dublin Unit, July 2017.

[18] Based on estimations from practical experience of the Cyprus Refugee Council.

[19] Article 13A(9)(c).

[20] Article 13A(9)(b).

[21] Information provided by testimonies of individuals who have undergone a Dublin interview.

[22] Articles 12A(η) IPAC Law.

[23] Article 68(8) Legal Aid Law.

[24] Information provided by the Cyprus Refugee Council.

[25] Information provided by the Cyprus Refugee Council.