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The concept of the first country of asylum is a ground for inadmissibility of the application for international protection.[1] According to Article 63 IPA, a first country of asylum is either the country in which the applicant was granted a refugee status which is still valid, or a country in which the applicant enjoys sufficient protection, including from refoulement.
When applying the first country of asylum concept, the criteria for its application are not the same as those of the Safe Third Country concept. The criteria listed in Article 38(1) of the recast Asylum Procedures Directive do not explicitly apply as the Ministry only has to establish that the applicant is granted refugee status in the first country of asylum or enjoys sufficient protection there.
The concept is used in practice, but so far only in a few cases per year. It was used in 1 case in 2023. [2]
Applicants can challenge the application of the first country of asylum concept by referring to the specific circumstances of their case.[3] If a first country of asylum refuses the entry of the applicant to its territory, the Migration directorate revokes the inadmissibility decision and proceeds to the examination of the asylum application.[4]
[1] Article 51(1) IPA.
[2] Official statistics provided by the Migration directorate, March 2024.
[3] Article 63(3) IPA.
[4] Article 63(4) IPA.