Author
General (scope, grounds for accelerated procedures, time limits)
An accelerated procedure applies for certain asylum applications lodged in the airport transit zone. If the MoI decides to apply the accelerated procedure, a decision has to be issued within 4 weeks.[1]
The accelerated procedure can be applied on grounds corresponding to those of inadmissibility in section 10a of the Asylum Act, or grounds of being manifestly unfounded in section 16 of the Asylum Act. Section 10a (i.e., grounds of inadmissibility) states:
Inadmissibility of an Application for International Protection
An application for international protection is considered inadmissible if:[2]
- it is submitted by an EU citizen who does not meet the conditions set by EU law;[3]
- another state is responsible for examining the application under the Dublin regulation;
- the applicant has already been granted international protection in another EU Member State;
- the applicant could have obtained effective protection in a first country of asylum;
- it is a subsequent application that has been assessed as inadmissible by the MoI;
- the applicant comes from a country considered by the Czech Republic as a safe European third country, unless they prove otherwise in their individual case; or
- the applicant (who is not an unaccompanied minor) comes from a country considered by the Czech Republic as a safe third country, unless they prove otherwise in their individual case.
If an application for international protection is inadmissible, the MoI does not examine whether the applicant meets the conditions for granting asylum or subsidiary protection.[4]
Section 16 of the Asylum Act states that an application for international protection shall be rejected as manifestly unfounded if the applicant does not present facts indicating a risk of persecution (§ 12) or serious harm (§ 14a), and at the same time:
- relies only on economic reasons,
- provides false information (or refuses to provide information) about identity or nationality without serious reason,
- tries only to escape a situation of general hardship,
- presents manifestly non-credible claims,
- destroys, conceals, damages, or submits falsified documents to obstruct the proceedings,
- refuses to provide fingerprints as required by law, or
- applies for international protection solely to avoid or delay expulsion, extradition, surrender under a European Arrest Warrant, despite being able to apply earlier.[5]
An application is also to be considered manifestly unfounded if:
- the applicant comes from a country considered by the Czech Republic to be a safe country of origin, unless they prove otherwise in their individual case;
- the applicant has multiple nationalities and has not sought protection from one of their countries of nationality, unless they prove they could not do so for protection-related reasons.[6]
If an application is rejected as manifestly unfounded, the authorities will not assess eligibility for asylum or subsidiary protection on the merits (i.e., whether the applicant qualifies for refugee status or subsidiary protection). Rejection of the application as manifestly unfounded is not a procedural decision but a quasi-merit one.
Unaccompanied minors cannot have their application rejected as manifestly unfounded.
Vulnerable applicants are not exempted from the accelerated procedure as such. They are, however, to be released from the airport reception centre due to their vulnerability within 5 days (which corresponds to the deadline for issuing the decision on the entrance to the territory which, in their case, should allow the entrance).[7] In practice, there are deficits in identifying the vulnerability correctly, and so the vulnerable persons might remain at the airport centre and the accelerated procedure might be applied.
Where the accelerated procedure applies, the decision on the inadmissibility or on the manifestly unfounded application at the airport transit zone must be decided within four weeks, otherwise the person is to be released from the airport centre to the territory. The decision on the inadmissibility or manifest unfoundedness can be adopted even after the person has been released from the airport reception centre. In such cases, there is a general deadline for the MoI applicable on the manifestly unfounded applications, which have to be decided within 90 days since the lodging of the application.[8]
The MoI, Department of Asylum and Migration Policy, is also responsible for taking decisions at first instance on asylum applications in accelerated procedures.
Personal interview
The law requires a personal interview of asylum seekers in the accelerated procedure under the same conditions as in the regular procedure.
As this procedure occurs at the airport transit zone, the same specifics apply as for the border procedure interviews (see above).
Appeal
As this procedure occurs at the airport transit zone, the same rules for the appeal procedure apply as to the border procedure (see above).
Legal assistance
The law provides for access to free legal assistance for asylum seekers during the accelerated procedure under the same conditions as in the regular procedure.
The legal aid scheme applies only to individuals who have already formally lodged an application for international protection and are therefore accommodated at the airport reception centre. On the contrary, the legal aid does not extend to persons who merely express an intention to seek asylum to the police in the transit zone of Prague Airport.
Although legal assistance should also be accessible at this preliminary stage,[9] in practice there is no mechanism ensuring that such individuals receive legal support before the formal lodging of their application. No organisation is effectively positioned to provide assistance at that point, and no existing programme — including UNHCR or EU-AMIF-funded schemes — specifically covers persons who have not yet formally applied.
[1] Section 73(11) of the Asylum Act.
[2] Section 10a(1) of the Asylum Act.
[3] Protocol (No 24) on asylum for nationals of Member States of the European Union.
[4] Section 10a(2) of the Asylum Act.
[5] Section 16(1) of the Asylum Act.
[6] Section 16(2) of the Asylum Act.
[7] Section 74(1) of the Asylum Act.
[8] Section 27(3) of the Asylum Act.
[9] Section 3a(2) of the Asylum Act states that the Police and a person engaged in the provision of legal assistance to refugees shall provide a person who intends to lodge an application for international protection with information relating to international protection already at the border crossing point or in the transit area of an international airport.