Author
General (scope, criteria, time limits)
An application is inadmissible where the applicant:
- Has been granted international protection by another Member State;[1]
- Comes from a First Country of Asylum;[2]
- Comes from a European safe third country which has agreed to their readmission;[3]
- Comes from a Safe Third Country;[4]
- Makes a subsequent application without new elements.[5]
The grounds relating to international protection granted by another Member State and safe country concepts were introduced in 2015.
According to IGI-DAI, Romania has no list of safe country of origin, European safe third country or safe third country.[6]
The law does not mention any specific time limits for taking a decision on the admissibility of the application.
Giurgiu: the director reported one application rejected as inadmissible because the applicants had been granted a form of protection by another Member State.
According to IGI-DAI, in 2022 there were no applications dismissed as inadmissible because the applicant came from a First Country of Asylum, European safe third country or safe third country, because Romania has no list of safe countries.[7]
Personal interview
Pursuant to Article 97^1 of the Asylum Act, the applicant is given the opportunity to present, in an interview, their personal situation in order to determine whether the safe country concepts are applicable. The responsible authority is IGI-DAI. The law does not prescribe specific requirements for the interview as part of the admissibility assessment.
An inadmissibility decision on first country of asylum, European safe third country or safe third country is issued without a substantive examination of the applicant’s request and shall be communicated under the general provisions of the law.[8]After communicating the decision, IGI-DAI informs the authorities of the European safe third country or, as the case may be, of the safe third country, in the language of that country, that the applicant’s application has not been assessed on the merits.[9]
In case the conditions provided by the law are not fulfilled, IGI-DAI grants access to the asylum procedure on the basis of a reasoned decision and examines the asylum application on the merits.
Appeal
The appeal in case of the first country of asylum, European safe third country and safe third country is the same as in the Accelerated Procedure.[10] The deadline for submitting the appeal is 7 days from the notification of the decision. The appeal has suspensive effect if it is filed within the deadline.
Legal assistance
The rules and practice applicable in the Regular Procedure: Legal Assistance apply.
Suspension of returns for beneficiaries of protection in another Member State
According to the information provided by IGI-DAI, Romania did not suspend returns of BIPs to any particular country in 2023.[11] In Romania there is no national jurisprudence on the matter of returns of BIPs. The information provided by the courts for the year 2023 showed that they had no such cases.
[1] Article 50^1 Asylum Act.
[2] Article 95 Asylum Act.
[3] Article 96 Asylum Act.
[4] Article 97 Asylum Act.
[5] Article 91(b) Asylum Act, in conjunction with Article 88(2)(a)-(b).
[6] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 20 February 2020 and 11 March 2022.
[7] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 22 February 2023.
[8] Article 97^1(2) Asylum Act.
[9] Article 97^1(4) Asylum Act.
[10] Article 97^1(3) Asylum Act.
[11] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 18 January 2024.