Author
The “first country of asylum” concept is a ground for inadmissibility (see Admissibility Procedure and Fast-Track Border Procedure).
According to Article 85 IPA, a country shall be considered to be a “first country of asylum” for an applicant provided that he or she will be readmitted to that country, if the applicant has been recognised as a refugee in that country and can still enjoy of that protection or enjoys other effective protection in that country, including benefiting from the principle of non-refoulement. The “first country of asylum” concept is not applied as a stand-alone inadmissibility ground in practice. No application was rejected solely on this ground in 2021.[1]
[1] Information provided by the Asylum Service, 26 March 2019.