Comparison of fingerprint data
Article 17
1. With a view to checking whether a third-country national or a stateless person found illegally staying within its territory has previously lodged an application for international protection in another Member State, a Member State may transmit to the Central System any fingerprint data relating to fingerprints which it may have taken of any such third-country national or stateless person of at least 14 years of age together with the reference number used by that Member State. As a general rule there are grounds for checking whether the third-country national or stateless person has previously lodged an application for international protection in another Member State where: (a) the third-country national or stateless person declares that he or she has lodged an application for international protection but without indicating the Member State in which he or she lodged the application; (b) the third-country national or stateless person does not request international protection but objects to being returned to his or her country of origin by claiming that he or she would be in danger, or (c) the third-country national or stateless person otherwise seeks to prevent his or her removal by refusing to cooperate in establishing his or her identity, in particular by showing no, or false, identity papers. 2. Where Member States take part in the procedure referred to in paragraph 1, they shall transmit to the Central System the fingerprint data relating to all or at least the index fingers and, if those are missing, the prints of all the other fingers, of third-country nationals or stateless persons referred to in paragraph 1. 3. The fingerprint data of a third-country national or a stateless person as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be transmitted to the Central System solely for the purpose of comparison with the fingerprint data of applicants for international protection transmitted by other Member States and already recorded in the Central System. The fingerprint data of such a third-country national or a stateless person shall not be recorded in the Central System, nor shall they be compared with the data transmitted to the Central System pursuant to Article 14(2). 4. Once the results of the comparison of fingerprint data have been transmitted to the Member State of origin, the record of the search shall be kept by the Central System only for the purposes of Article 28. Other than for those purposes, no other record of the search may be stored either by Member States or by the Central System. 5. As regards the comparison of fingerprint data transmitted under this Article with the fingerprint data of applicants for international protection transmitted by other Member States which have already been stored in the Central System, the procedures provided for in Article 9(3) and (5) and in Article 25(4) shall apply.