Directive (EU) 2024/1346, CHAPTER I — SUBJECT MATTER, DEFINITIONS AND SCOPE (Article 1–Article 4) — Full Text

Subject matter

Article 1

This Directive lays down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection in Member States.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply: (1) ‘application for international protection’ or ‘application’ means a request for protection from a Member State made by a third-country national or a stateless person who can be understood to be seeking refugee status or subsidiary protection status; (2) ‘applicant’ means a third-country national or stateless person who has made an application for international protection in respect of which a final decision has not yet been taken; (3) ‘family members’ means, in so far as the family already existed before the applicant arrived on the territory of the Member States, the following members of the applicant’s family who are present on the territory of the same Member State during the procedure for international protection: (a) the spouse of the applicant or his or her unmarried partner in a stable relationship, where the law or practice of the Member State concerned treats unmarried couples as equivalent to married couples; (b) the minor or adult dependent children of the couples, as referred to in point (a) or of the applicant, provided that they are unmarried and regardless of whether they were born in or out of wedlock or adopted as provided for under national law; a minor is considered unmarried provided that, on the basis of an individual assessment, the minor’s marriage would not be in accordance with the relevant national law had it been contracted in the Member State concerned, having regard, in particular, to the legal age of marriage; (c) where the applicant is minor and unmarried, the father, mother or another adult responsible for that applicant, including an adult sibling, whether by the law or practice of the Member State concerned; a minor is considered unmarried provided that, on the basis of an individual assessment, the minor’s marriage would not be in accordance with the relevant national law had it been contracted in the Member State concerned, having regard, in particular, to the legal age of marriage; (4) ‘minor’ means a third-country national or stateless person below the age of 18 years; (5) ‘unaccompanied minor’ means a minor who arrives on the territory of the Member States unaccompanied by an adult responsible for him or her, whether by the law or practice of the Member State concerned, and for as long as that minor is not effectively taken into the care of such an adult, including a minor who is left unaccompanied after he or she has entered the territory of the Member States; (6) ‘reception conditions’ means the full set of measures that Member States grant to applicants in accordance with this Directive; (7) ‘material reception conditions’ means the reception conditions that include housing, food, clothing and personal hygiene products provided in kind, as financial allowances, in vouchers, or as a combination thereof, as well as a daily expenses allowance; (8) ‘daily expenses allowance’ means an allowance provided to applicants periodically to enable them to enjoy a minimum degree of autonomy in their daily life, provided as a monetary amount, in vouchers, in kind, or as a combination thereof provided that such an allowance includes a monetary amount; (9) ‘detention’ means the confinement of an applicant by a Member State within a particular place, where the applicant is deprived of his or her freedom of movement; (10) ‘accommodation centre’ means any place used for the collective housing of applicants; (11) ‘risk of absconding’ means the existence of specific reasons and circumstances in an individual case, which are based on objective criteria defined by national law, to believe that an applicant might abscond; (12) ‘absconding’ means the action by which an applicant does not remain available to the competent administrative or judicial authorities, such as by leaving the territory of the Member State without permission from the competent authorities, for reasons which are not beyond the applicant’s control; (13) ‘representative’ means a natural person or an organisation, including a public authority, appointed by the competent authorities, with the necessary skills and expertise, including with regard to the treatment and specific needs of minors, to represent, assist and act on behalf of an unaccompanied minor, as applicable, in order to safeguard the best interests and general well-being of that unaccompanied minor and so that the unaccompanied minor can benefit from the rights and comply with the obligations provided for in this Directive; (14) ‘applicant with special reception needs’ means an applicant who is in need of special conditions or guarantees in order to benefit from the rights and comply with the obligations provided for in this Directive.

Scope

Article 3

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1. This Directive applies to all third-country nationals and stateless persons who make an application for international protection on the territory, including at the external border, in the territorial sea or in the transit zones of the Member States, provided that those third-country nationals and stateless persons are allowed to remain on the territory as applicants. This Directive also applies to family members of an applicant provided that those family members are covered by such an application for international protection in accordance with national law. 2. This Directive does not apply to requests for diplomatic or territorial asylum submitted to representations of Member States. 3. Member States may decide to apply this Directive in connection with procedures for deciding on applications for forms of protection other than those under Regulation (EU) 2024/1347.

More favourable provisions

Article 4

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Member States may introduce or retain more favourable provisions as regards reception conditions for applicants as well as for family members and close relatives of applicants who are present in the same Member State provided that such family members and close relatives are dependent on the applicants, or for humanitarian reasons, insofar as those provisions are compatible with this Directive.

Directive (EU) 2024/1346 CHAPTER I — SUBJECT MATTER, DEFINITIONS AND SCOPE

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

Article 4

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