Safe country of origin

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Cyprus Refugee Council Visit Website

Article 12B-ter of the Refugee Law defines safe country of origin with reference to the recast Asylum Procedures Directive. This includes countries set out in a common EU list,[1] as well as the possibility to designate additional countries based on a range of sources of information, as per Article 37 of the recast Asylum Procedures Directive. The “safe country of origin” concept may be used as a ground for channelling the application in the accelerated procedure.[2]

The safe country of origin was used for the first time in mid-2019 with the issuance of a Ministerial Decision designating Georgia. This initiated, also for the first time, the use of accelerated procedures to examine asylum applications submitted by Georgians (see Accelerated Procedure).[3] The new list, increasing the number of safe countries of origin from 1 to 21, was published in May 2020,[4] In May 2021, the number of countries listed as safe was increased from 21 to 29[5] and in May 2022 reduced to 27 as Ukraine and Kosovo were removed.[6]  Accelerated procedures were not significantly used until  September 2022 and from then on have been used systematically, focusing mostly on nationalities such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Nigeria.[7]

^{[1] While the recast Asylum Procedures Directive currently provides no legal basis for an EU list, this could be done through the adoption of the Commission proposal for a Regulation establishing a common EU list of safe countries of origin.}

^{[2] Article 12Δ(1) Refugee Law.}

^{[3] Ministerial Decision on Safe Countries, available in Greek at: http://bit.ly/37YKdbU.}

^{[4] Ministerial Decision on Safe Countries, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3CjDCJQ.}

^{[5] Ministerial Decision on Safe Countries, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3tyT40M. The countries included in the updated list are:1. Egypt; 2. Albania; 3. Algeria; 4. Armenia; 5. Vietnam; 6. Northern Macedonia; 7. Bosnia and Herzegovina; 8. Georgia; 9. Gambia; 10. Ghana; 11. India; 12. Kenya; 13. Kosovo; 14. Morocco; 15. Montenegro; 16. Mongolia; 17. Moldova; 18. Bangladesh; 19. Benin; 20. Nepal; 21. Nigeria; 22. Ukraine (excluding Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk regions); 23. Pakistan; 24. Senegal; 25. Serbia; 26. Sri Lanka; 27. Togo; 28. Tunisia; 29. Philippines.}

^{[6] Ministerial Decision on Safe Countries, Ukraine, and Kosovo are removed, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/42jOTpX.}

^{[7] Based on information provided by Cyprus Refugee Council.}