Author
General (scope, criteria, time limits)
According to Chapter 5, Section 1b of the Aliens Act, an application can be dismissed as inadmissible where the applicant:
- Has obtained international protection in another EU Member State;
- Comes from a First Country of Asylum;
- Comes from a Safe Third Country.
In 2022, the Migration Agency received 210 applications that were processed under Track 5B and 6 applications were processed under Track 5C. 260 decisions were taken under Track 5B and 4 decisions taken under track 5C.[1] There is no time limit from the SMA to process these cases.
Personal interview
There are no differences in the way the personal interview is conducted in cases where grounds for inadmissibility exist.
Appeal
The Migration Agency may take a decision with immediate enforcement for applications dismissed on the basis of protection in another EU Member State or the first country of asylum concept; not for safe third country cases.[2]
Therefore, the appeal has automatic suspensive effect in cases dismissed on safe third country grounds, but it not in cases concerning protection in another EU Member State and in first country of asylum cases. That said, the April 2021 legal opinion of the Migration Agency suggests that in first country of asylum cases a decision with immediate enforcement should be taken only when it is obvious that the applicant enjoys sufficient protection in the country concerned.[3]
Legal assistance
As a rule, legal assistance is not granted in cases falling under the grounds for inadmissibility, unless a more thorough assessment of first country of asylum or safe third country considerations is required. Such an assessment is conducted by the Migration Agency depending on the difficulty of the case. However, legal assistance is always granted to unaccompanied children and may exceptionally be granted to applicants depending on factors such as age or mental illness.[4]
[1] Information provided by the Migration Agency’s statistics unit.
[2] Ch. 8, Section 19 Aliens Act.
[3] Migration Agency, Rättsligt ställningstagande angående avvisning av ansökan om uppehållstillstånd med stöd av 5 kap. 1 b § utlänningslagen, RS/065/2021, 23 April 2021, available in Swedish at: https://bit.ly/3lm5rtq, 9.
[4] Migration Agency, Rättsligt ställningstagande angående avvisning av ansökan om uppehållstillstånd med stöd av 5 kap. 1 b § utlänningslagen, RS/065/2021, 23 April 2021, available in Swedish at: https://bit.ly/3lm5rtq, 11.