First country of asylum

Article 73 LFIP defines “first country of asylum” as a country (a) “in which the applicant was previously recognised as a refugee and that he or she can still avail himself or herself of that protection” or (b) “or where he or she can still enjoy sufficient and effective protection including protection against refoulement.”[1]

Article 76 RFIP provides additional interpretative guidance as to what can be considered “sufficient and effective protection”. The following conditions must apply for an applicant to be considered to avail themselves of “sufficient and effective protection” in a third country:

• There is no risk of well-founded fear of persecution or serious harm for the applicant in the third country concerned;
• There is no risk of onward deportation for the applicant from the third country concerned to another country where he or she will be unable to avail themselves of sufficient and effective protection;
• The third country concerned is a state party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol and undertakes practices in compliance with the provisions of the 1951 Convention;
•   The sufficient and effective protection provided by the third country concerned to the applicant shall persist until a durable solution can be found for the applicant.

[1] Article 73 LFIP; Article 75 RFIP. The wording resembles the EU definition in Article 35 recast Asylum Procedures Directive.