The notion of effective protection
1. A third country that has ratified and respects the Geneva Convention within the limits of the derogations or limitations made by that third country, as permitted under that Convention, shall be considered to ensure effective protection. In the case of geographical limitations made by the third country, the existence of protection for persons who fall outside of the scope of the Geneva Convention shall be assessed in accordance with the criteria set out in paragraph 2.
2. In cases other than that referred to in paragraph 1, the third country shall be considered to ensure effective protection only where the following criteria are met as a minimum:
(a)
the persons referred to in paragraph 1 are allowed to remain on the territory of the third country in question,
(b)
the persons referred to in paragraph 1 have access to means of subsistence sufficient to maintain an adequate standard of living with regard to the overall situation of that hosting third country,
(c)
the persons referred to in paragraph 1 have access to healthcare and essential treatment for illnesses under the conditions generally provided for in that third country;
(d)
the persons referred to in paragraph 1 have access to education under the conditions generally provided for in that third country; and
(e)
effective protection remains available until a durable solution can be found.
The concept of first country of asylum
1. A third country may only be considered to be a first country of asylum for an applicant where in that country:
(a)
the applicant enjoyed effective protection in accordance with the Geneva Convention, as referred to in Article 57(1), or enjoyed effective protection as referred to in Article 57(2), before travelling to the Union, and he or she can still avail himself or herself of that protection;
(b)
the applicant’s life and liberty are not threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion;
(c)
the applicant faces no real risk of serious harm as defined in Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1347;
(d)
the applicant is protected against refoulement in accordance with the Geneva Convention and against removal in violation of the right to protection from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as laid down in international law.
2. The concept of first country of asylum may only be applied provided that the applicant cannot provide elements justifying why the concept of first country of asylum is not applicable to him or her, in the framework of an individual assessment.
3. A third country may only be considered to be a first country of asylum for an unaccompanied minor where it is not contrary to his or her best interests and where the authorities of Member States have first received from the authorities of the third country in question the assurance that the unaccompanied minor will be taken in charge by those authorities and that he or she will immediately benefit from effective protection as defined in Article 57.
4. Where an application is rejected as inadmissible as a result of the application of the concept of first country of asylum, the determining authority shall:
(a)
inform the applicant in accordance with Article 36; and
(b)
provide him or her with a document informing the authorities of the third country in question, in the language of that country, that the application has not been examined in substance as a consequence of the application of the concept of first country of asylum.
5. Where the third country in question does not readmit the applicant to its territory or does not reply within a time limit set by the competent authority, the applicant shall have access to the procedure in accordance with the basic principles and guarantees provided for in Chapter II and in Section I of Chapter III.
The concept of safe third country
1. A third country may only be designated as a safe third country where in that country:
(a)
non-nationals’ life and liberty are not threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion;
(b)
non-nationals face no real risk of serious harm as defined in Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1347;
(c)
non-nationals are protected against refoulement in accordance with the Geneva Convention and against removal in violation of the right to protection from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as laid down in international law;
(d)
the possibility exists to request and, where conditions are fulfilled, receive effective protection as defined in Article 57.
2. The designation of a third country as a safe third country both at Union and national level may be made with exceptions for specific parts of its territory or clearly identifiable categories of persons.
3. The assessment of whether a third country may be designated as a safe third country in accordance with this Regulation shall be based on a range of relevant and available sources of information, including information from Member States, the Asylum Agency, the European External Action Service, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Council of Europe and other relevant international organisations.
4. The concept of safe third country may be applied:
(a)
where a third country has been designated as safe third country at Union or national level in accordance with Article 60 or 64; or
(b)
in relation to a specific applicant where the country has not been designated as safe third country at Union or national level, provided that the conditions set out in paragraph 1 are met with regard to that applicant.
5. The concept of safe third country may only be applied provided that:
(a)
the applicant cannot provide elements justifying why the concept of safe third country is not applicable to him or her, in the framework of an individual assessment;
(b)
there is a connection between the applicant and the third country in question on the basis of which it would be reasonable for him or her to go to that country.
6. A third country may only be considered to be a safe third country for an unaccompanied minor where it is not contrary to his or her best interests and where the authorities of Member States have first received from the authorities of the third country in question the assurance that the unaccompanied minor will be taken in charge by those authorities and that he or she will immediately have access to effective protection as defined in Article 57.
7. Where the Union and a third country have jointly come to an agreement pursuant to Article 218 TFEU that migrants admitted under that agreement will be protected in accordance with the relevant international standards and in full respect of the principle of non-refoulement, the conditions of this Article regarding safe third-country status may be presumed fulfilled without prejudice to paragraphs 5 and 6.
8. Where an application is rejected as inadmissible as a result of the application of the concept of safe third country, the determining authority shall:
(a)
inform the applicant in accordance with Article 36; and
(b)
provide him or her with a document informing the authorities of the third country in question, in the language of that country, that the application has not been examined in substance as a consequence of the application of the concept of safe third country.
9. Where the third country in question does not admit or readmit the applicant to its territory, the applicant shall have access to the procedure in accordance with the basic principles and guarantees provided for in Chapter II and in Section I of Chapter III.
Designation of safe third countries at Union level
1. Third countries shall be designated as safe third countries at Union level in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 59(1).
2. The Commission shall review the situation in third countries that are designated as safe third countries with the assistance of the Asylum Agency and on the basis of the other sources of information referred to in Article 59(3).
3. The Asylum Agency shall, at the request of the Commission, provide it with information and analysis on specific third countries which could be considered for designation as safe third countries at Union level. The Commission shall promptly consider any request from a Member State to assess whether a third country could be designated as a safe third country at Union level.
4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 74 concerning the suspension of the designation of a third country as a safe third country at Union level subject to the conditions as set out in Article 63.
The concept of safe country of origin
1. A third country may only be designated as a safe country of origin in accordance with this Regulation where, on the basis of the legal situation, the application of the law within a democratic system and the general political circumstances, it can be shown that there is no persecution as defined in Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1347 and no real risk of serious harm as defined in Article 15 of that Regulation.
2. The designation of a third country as a safe country of origin both at Union and national level may be made with exceptions for specific parts of its territory or clearly identifiable categories of persons.
3. The assessment of whether a third country is a safe country of origin in accordance with this Regulation shall be based on a range of relevant and available sources of information, including information from Member States, the Asylum Agency, the European External Action Service, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and other relevant international organisations, and shall take into account where available the common analysis of the country of origin information referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303.
4. In making the assessment referred to in paragraph 3, account shall be taken, inter alia, of the extent to which protection is provided against persecution or serious harm by:
(a)
the relevant laws and regulations of the country and the manner in which they are applied;
(b)
observance of the rights and freedoms laid down in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms or the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights or the United Nations Convention against Torture, in particular the rights from which derogation cannot be made under Article 15(2) of the said European Convention;
(c)
the absence of expulsion, removal or extradition of own citizens to third countries where, inter alia, there is a serious risk that they would be subjected to the death penalty, torture, persecution or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, or from which there is a serious risk of an expulsion, removal or extradition to another third country;
(d)
the provision for a system of effective remedies against violations of those rights and freedoms.
5. The concept of a safe country of origin may only be applied provided that:
(a)
the applicant has the nationality of that country or he or she is a stateless person and was formerly habitually resident in that country;
(b)
the applicant does not belong to a category of persons for which an exception was made when designating the third country as a safe country of origin;
(c)
the applicant cannot provide elements justifying why the concept of safe country of origin is not applicable to him or her, in the framework of an individual assessment.
Designation of safe countries of origin at Union level
1. Third countries shall be designated as safe countries of origin at Union level, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 61.
2. The Commission shall review the situation in third countries that are designated as safe countries of origin, with the assistance of the Asylum Agency and on the basis of the other sources of information referred to in Article 61(3).
3. The Asylum Agency shall, at the request of the Commission, provide it with information and analysis on specific third countries which could be considered for designation as safe countries of origin at Union level. The Commission shall promptly consider any request from a Member State to assess whether a third country could be designated as safe country of origin at Union level.
4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 74 concerning the suspension of the designation of a third country as a safe country of origin at Union level subject to the conditions as set out in Article 63.
Suspension and removal of the designation of a third country as a safe third country or as a safe country of origin at Union level
1. In the event of significant changes in the situation of a third country which is designated as a safe third country or as a safe country of origin at Union level, the Commission shall conduct a substantiated assessment of the fulfilment by that third country of the conditions set out in Article 59 or 61 and, where the Commission considers that those conditions are no longer met, it shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 74 to suspend the designation of that third country as a safe third country or as a safe country of origin at Union level for a period of six months.
2. The Commission shall continuously review the situation in the third country referred to in paragraph 1 taking into account, inter alia, information provided by the Member States and the Asylum Agency regarding subsequent changes in the situation of that third country.
3. Where the Commission has adopted a delegated act in accordance with paragraph 1 suspending the designation of a third country as a safe third country or as a safe country of origin at Union level, it shall, within three months of the date of adoption of that delegated act, submit a proposal, in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, for amending this Regulation to remove that third country’s designation as a safe third country or of safe country of origin at Union level.
4. Where the Commission has not submitted a proposal as referred to in paragraph 3 within three months of the adoption of the delegated act as referred to in paragraph 1, the delegated act suspending the third country from its designation as a safe third country or as a safe country of origin at Union level shall cease to have effect. Where the Commission submits such a proposal within three months of the adoption of the delegated act as referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall be empowered, on the basis of a substantiated assessment, to extend the validity of that delegated act for a period of six months, with a possibility to renew that extension once.
5. Without prejudice to paragraph 4, where the proposal submitted by the Commission to remove the designation of a third country as a safe third country or a safe country of origin at Union level is not adopted within 15 months from when the proposal was submitted by the Commission, the suspension of the designation of the third country as a safe third country or as a safe country of origin at Union level shall cease to have effect.
Designation of third countries as safe third country or safe country of origin at national level
1. Member States may retain or introduce legislation that allows for the national designation of safe third countries or safe countries of origin other than those designated at Union level for the purpose of examining applications for international protection.
2. Where the designation of a third country as a safe third country or as a safe country of origin at Union level has been suspended pursuant to Article 63(1), Member States shall not designate that country as a safe third country or a safe country of origin at national level.
3. Where the designation of a third country as a safe third country or as a safe country of origin at Union level has been suspended in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, a Member State may notify the Commission that it considers that, following changes in the situation of that country, it again fulfils the conditions set out in Article 59(1) and Article 61.
The notification shall include a substantiated assessment of the fulfilment by that country of the conditions set out in Article 59(1) and Article 61, including an explanation of the specific changes in the situation of the third country which make that country fulfil those conditions again.
Following the notification, the Commission shall request the Asylum Agency to provide it with information and analysis on the situation in the third country.
The notifying Member State may only designate that third country as a safe third country or as a safe country of origin at national level provided that the Commission does not object to that designation.
The Commission’s right of objection shall be limited to a period of two years after the date on which that third country’s designation as a safe third country or a safe country of origin at Union level has been removed. Any objection by the Commission shall be issued within a period of three months after the date of each notification by the Member State and after due review of the situation in that third country, having regard to the conditions set out in Articles 59(1) and 61 of this Regulation.
Where it considers that those conditions are fulfilled, the Commission may submit a proposal, in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, for amending this Regulation to designate that third country as a safe third country or as a safe country of origin at Union level.
4. Member States shall notify the Commission and the Asylum Agency of the third countries that are designated as safe third countries or safe countries of origin at national level by 12 June 2026 and immediately after each designation or change to designations. Member States shall inform the Commission and the Asylum Agency once a year of the other safe third countries to which the concept is applied in relation to specific applicants as referred to in Article 59(4), point (b).
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
