Are you aware of your rights?

Transcription

1 Inglese The Dublin Regulation and the asylum proedure in Italy Are you aware of your rights Guide for asylum seekers Progetto ofinanziato da UNIONE EUROPEA Fondo Europeo per i Rifugiati P.A Azione 1.A Gente di Dublino- Campagna di omuniazione e sensibilizzazione sul Sistema Dublino

2 Conos Glossary Cedolino: doument in the form of a strip of paper with the appliant s piture, whih is given to him/her when, after having been at the Questura to apply for asylum, he/she has been photographed and his/her fingerprints taken. On the same paper the future appointments with the Questura are also listed. Dereto di trasferimento: offiial letter of the Dublin Unit delivered from the Questura to the asylum seeker ommuniating the deision of the transfer to another European ountry on the basis of the Dublin Regulation. The letter also provides indiations regarding the possibility to lodge an appeal. EURODAC: database to whih all European States may have aess, where, with the aim of omparison, all asylum seekers and some ategories of irregular migrants fingerprints are registered. Fotosegnalamento: when a person goes to the Questura in order to apply for asylum, the Polie proeeds to identify the person. During suh a proedure the person has to provide his/her personal data, he/she is photographed and his/her fingerprints are taken. Person granted subsidiary protetion: a non European itizen, or a stateless person, who does not omply with the riteria to obtain the reognition of the status of refugee, but there are well-grounded reasons to believe that if he/she returns to his/her ountry of origin, or in the ountry where he/she usually lives, he/she might run the effetive risk of undergoing serious harm and he/she, beause of that risk, annot or does not want to benefit from the protetion of that ountry (Law Deree 19 November 2007, n. 251). Person granted humanitarian protetion: Questure may issue a permit of stay for humanitarian reasons any time the Territorial Commissions, not having reognized any form of protetion (refugee status or subsidiary protetion), onsider that there are the grounds for the reognition of a humanitarian protetion (Law Deree 28 January 2008, n. 25; art. 5.6 Law Deree 25 July 1998, n. 286 ). Dublin II Regulation: European Regulation establishing the State ompetent to examine asylum appliations. Refugee Status: status reognised to a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being perseuted for reasons of rae, religion, nationality, membership of a partiular soial group or politial opinion, is outside the ountry of his nationality and is unable or, owing to suh fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protetion of that ountry (Geneva Refugee Convention, Law Deree 19 November 2007, n. 251). Dublin Unit: offie of the Ministry of Interior responsible for the enforement of the Dublin Regulation. Verbalizzazione: phase of the asylum proedure when, at the Questura, the Modello C/3 is filled in (written questions on the appliant, his/her family, his/her journey to Italy). The ontents of the present information leaflet are addressed to asylum seekers. For this reason it has been intentionally used a more informal language. Consequently information sometimes may result simplified. Considering the omplexity of the Dublin II Regulation and the diffiulty in summarizing some speifi provisions often negligible in the praxis, some exeptions foreseen by the Regulation haven t been inluded. However, in order to allow asylum seekers to go into more detailed information, a list of assoiations is provided for their useful referene. The text has been edited by the Italian Counil for Refugees. The ontents are of the authors and they annot represent, under any irumstanes, the offiial positions of the European Commission and/or of the Italian Ministry of Interior. Printed in Marh 2012 onos Segli l a strada 2

3 The Asylum Proedure in Italy How to lodge an asylum appliation If you wish to lodge an asylum appliation in Italy you an do it as soon as you arrive at a border Polie point or, if you are already in the territory, at the Questura, the Immigration Offie of the Polie. In order to lodge an asylum appliation you are required to indiate a domiile, an address whih will be then quoted on your permit of stay. To this end it is important to know that there are assoiations/organisations whih may provide asylum seekers with a domiile delaration. When you lodge your asylum appliation, an identifiation proedure is ativated by the Polie. During this proedure you are photographed and your fingerprints are taken (this proedure is alled fotosegnalamento). In suh an oasion, you will be given a edolino, a strip of paper where your next appointments at the Questura are noted down. Later, during future appointments, you will be given a temporary permit of stay. The timeframe desribed above may hange and, in some ases, the temporary Non tutte permit le Questure of stay may operano be issued on at la the stessa first meeting tempistia with e, the in Questura. aluni asi, Similarly, il permesso the phases di soggiorno we are going temporaneo to desribe below può may essere result rilasiato different. fin In the dai praxis, primi though, appuntamenti. the proedure Allo always stesso remains modo the le fasi same! he tra poo desriveremo possono verifiarsi on delle leggere differenze. Nella pratia la pro Usually, together with the fotosegnalamento, the formalization (or verbalizzazione) of your appliation will also take plae. In this oasion the Modello per il rionosimento dello status di rifugiato ai sensi della Convenzione di Ginevra (alled Modello C/3 or simply verbale ) is filled in. The Modello C/3 is to be filled in with information regarding yourself, your family, the trip you have done to reah Italy and the reasons why you left your ountry of origin. During this phase of the proedure you have the right to be supported by an interpreter speaking your mother tongue. Before filling in the Modello C3 you will be requested to provide a written paper regarding your personal story. Please note that you an write this doument in your mother-tongue. In this oasion, if you have your National passport, you will be expeted to give it to the Questura. You will be left with a opy and the Questura will keep your passport till the end of the asylum proedure. In ase you have other douments related to your story (i.e. identity ard, party ards, medial reports ertifying the violenes undergone, university ards) you must provide the Polie with opies and present the originals at the interview with the Commissione Territoriale per il rionosimento della protezione internazionale. These douments may prove to be important in demonstrating what happened in your ountry of origin. With the filling in of the Modello C/3 the verbalizzazione of your asylum appliation is onluded. 3 onos Segli l a strada

4 In big ities the formalisation of your asylum appliation might our after your fotosegnalamento. In suh a irumstane the Questura will organise a future appointment. After this phase, the Polie ontats the Dublin Unit of the Ministry of Interior, whih will verify whether Italy, on the basis of the Dublin Regulation, is the State responsible for the examination of your asylum appliation. For this reason it is very important that at the moment of filling in the Modello C/3 you provide the Polie with all the information requested. In partiular, if you have relatives in other European ountries, if they are asylum seekers or refugees, if you have any speial link with another European ountry, and also information on your health onditions. All this information is important for the determination of the State responsible for the examination of your asylum appliation. If from the heks performed by the Dublin Unit, Italy results to be responsible for the examination of your asylum appliation, you will be invited to go again to the Questura in order reeive your permit of stay and to know the date of the interview with the Commissione. It is possible that between one phase and another your are invited to go to the Questura more than one, awaiting that the Dublin Unit deides on your ase or in ase they wish to perform further verifiations. Asylum seekers rights n Temporary Permit of stay: when you apply for asylum, the Polie gives you a strip of paper alled edolino where the dates of your future appointments with the Questura are listed. Later on a permit of stay for asylum seekers will be issued. In ase you are addressed to a CARA (Aommodation Centre for Asylum Seekers) or to a CIE (Identifiation and Expulsion Centre) you will not be given a temporary permit of stay. In ase you are addressed to a CARA you will be given an attestato nominativo (a paper where all your personal data and your status are registered). In ase you are addressed to a CIE, onsidering that during the proedure you will not be allowed to exit, you will not be given any authorization to stay in Italy. n Health are: one you obtain the permit of stay or the edolino (only in some regions) you have the right to reeive health are. In order to reeive it you have to require your fisal ode (odie fisale) to the Agenzia delle Entrate. Afterwards you have to require the issuane of the health ard (tessera sanitaria) to the ASL (Loal Health Servie) and hoose a dotor to refer to in ase of need. Please remeber that you always have the right to first aid medial are even before you are given a permit of stay or a edolino. onos Segli l a strada 4

5 n Aess to work: at the beginning of the asylum proedure you are not allowed to work. If the deision on your appliation is not taken within six months from the presentation and the delay is not due to your behaviour, the temporary permit of stay is renewed for additional six months and you are allowed to work until the end of the proedure. n Right to eduation: underage asylum seekers or asylum seekers hildren have the right to attend publi shools. Adult asylum seekers have the right to attend voational ourses. n Aommodation: when you apply for asylum at the Questura, inform the Polie if you do not have any aommodation. They will forward your request to the Prefettura. If no plaes are available in the aommodation system of the SPRAR (Protetion System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) you will be temporarily addressed to a CARA or to a entre for first aommodation (entres where aommodation is provided only for a limited period of time). Aommodation, both in CARA and in SPRAR, is normally foreseen for six months. In the praxis, this period may be extended until the end of the asylum proedure. The Italian law foresees the right to aommodation to all asylum seekers. Some private assoiations also provide aommodation failities. In spite of this, beause of the sare availability of plaes, the possibility to find aommodation is sometimes not immediate. It is thus possible that you have to wait for a long time or that, in order to be aommodated, you are transferred to a town different from the one where you lodged your asylum appliation. The law foresees that, in ase of lak of aommodation, the asylum seeker with no eonomial means has the right to an allowane. If you are in this ondition you have to require the allowane to the Questura where you lodge your asylum appliation. In some ases, established by the law, during the asylum proedure you will be obliged to stay in a CARA or in a CIE. ACCORDING TO THE LAW, WHEN WILL YOU BE ADDRESSED TO A CARA n n n If you have applied for asylum after having been arrested beause you have avoided or have tried to avoid the ontrols at the border (or immediately after). If you have applied for asylum after having been found to be irregularly in the territory or without your identity or travel douments. If you have used false or forged douments. In suh ases, during the asylum proedure, you will have to stay in the CARA indiated by the Questura and you will be obliged to go bak there every evening. 5 onos Segli l a strada

6 If you fail to do so you will loose the aommodation. All further ommuniations and information related to your ase will be sent to you at the CARA. The situation of an asylum seeker obliged to stay in a CARA beause of the reasons explained above is different from the situation of an asylum seeker hosted in a CARA beause no plaes are available in the SPRAR system! In the first ase, in fat, the proedure is modified (as it will be explained later on), in the seond one the proedure is the standard one. ACCORDING TO THE LAW, WHEN WILL YOU BE ADDRESSED TO A CIE n If you have applied for asylum after having been notified an expulsion order. n If you have ommitted a rime or you have been ondemned for having ommitted a serious rime in Italy. In suh ases, during the proedure, you will not be allowed to exit the CIE. Furthermore, in ase your appliation reeives a negative deision, the appeal does not automatially suspend the effets of suh a deision and you might be repatriated. The interview with the Territorial Commission On the date indiated by the Questura you will have to go to the Territorial Commission for the Reognition of International protetion (Commissione), whih is the authority ompetent for taking a deision on your asylum appliation. In Italy there are 10 Commissions. Eah of them is omposed of 4 members: 2 representatives of the Ministry of Interior, 1 representative of the muniipality (or provine or region) and 1 representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The interview will be assisted by an interpreter of your mother-tongue. During the interview, the Commissione will ask you questions on yourself, your relatives, the travel you made to reah Italy, your douments, the reasons why you left your ountry of origin and the reasons why you annot return. The law foresees that the interview takes plae within 30 days from the appliation and that the Commissione deides in the three days following it. In the praxis these terms are muh longer. 6 onos Segli l a strada

7 WHAT DECISION CAN THE COMMISSIONE TAKE The Commissione, after hearing you, may take the following deisions: n Reognizing refugee status. n Non-reognizing refugee status and providing subsidiary protetion. n Non-reognizing any form of protetion (either refugee status nor subsidiary protetion) but onsider that returning to your ountry is temporarily to be avoided beause of serious humanitarian reasons (humanitarian protetion). n Reognizing neither any form of protetion, nor the existene of serious humanitarian reasons and providing you with an order to leave Italy. In suh a ase, together with the deision of the Commissione you will reeive a paper (alled foglio di via ) informing you that you have to leave Italy within fifteen days. WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE DECISION It is possible to lodge an appeal within 15 or 30 days (aording to the law, 15 days in ase during the proedure you were required to stay in a CIE or in a CARA. You have 30 days in all other ases or if you are hosted in a CARA beause of aommodation reasons) from the date when the deision was ommuniated to you. In order to lodge an appeal you need the assistane of a lawyer. If you annot afford the legal expenses, you have the right to require the gratuito patroinio, meaning that the expenses for your lawyer will be paid by the State. Lodging an appeal within the terms is of utmost importane! After the expiration of the terms the deision on your ase will beome definitive and you will not have any possibility to ask for revision. For this reason we advise you ontat a lawyer and/or a NGO as soon as you know the deision of the Commissione! In the majority of ases lodging an appeal automatially suspends the order to leave Italy, whih means that while the appeal proeeds you are allowed to live in the ountry. The suspension of the order to leave the ountry is not automatial and you have to present a speifi request to the judge in the following situations: n During the proedure you have been kept in a CIE. onos Segli l a strada 7

8 n n n n During the proedure you were obliged to stay in a CARA sine you were arrested beause you have avoided or have tried to avoid the ontrols at the border (or immediately after). Your request has reeived a negative deision beause your laim was onsidered manifestly unfounded. You left the CARA without any justified reason. Your request has been delared non-admissible. WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS DURING THE APPEAL In ase you are allowed to remain in Italy you have the same rights as an asylum seeker. The only exeption is related to aommodation. If, at the moment of lodging your appeal, you were staying in a SPRAR or in a CARA for aommodation reasons, you may remain there until you are provided with a permit of stay whih allows you to work. If, on the ontrary, you were staying in a CARA for one of the reasons listed above, you will have to leave the entre after having lodged your appeal. Your rights YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE STATUS OF REFUGEE Who is a refugee A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being perseuted for reasons of rae, religion, nationality, membership of a partiular soial group or politial opinion, is outside the ountry of his nationality and is unable or, owing to suh fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protetion of that ountry (Geneva Refugee Convention; Law Deree 19 November 2007, n. 251). n Permit of stay: a permit valid for five years will be issued. It an be renewed at expiration. In order to obtain the first permit of stay for politial asylum you will have to go to the Questura. In order to renew it you will have to go to the post offie to fill in the so alled kit postale or to a Patronato to be assisted in filling it in, and then to the Post offie to send it to the Questura. The Questura will renew the permit of stay, exept in ases of revoation and essation of the status. In order to omplete the kit postale you are requested to make a 8 onos Segli l a strada

9 payment of about 70 euros. The renewal may be done as from one month before expiration of the permit and until two months later. Pending the renewal, if requested within the foreseen terms, all your rights will be maintained. n Enrolment in the register of residents: you will have the possibility to be enrolled in the muniipal register of residents in order to be able to exert some fundamental rights (for example: medial and soial are and assistane). n Aess to work: you will be able to aess the job market at the same onditions as Italian itizens, inluding the possibility to apply for publi ompetitive examinations if you satisfy the required riteria. n Right to family reunifiation: it is possible to rejoin with some members of your family (spouse/underage and adult hildren/dependent parents), with no obligation to demonstrate to have an inome and a house. n Marriage: you are allowed to get married in Italy without the neessity to require the nulla osta to the embassy of your ountry of origin. In suh a ase, the offie of UNHCR in Italy will issue the nulla osta, on the basis of an affidavit whih substitutes and inludes your birth ertifiate (for the affidavit you have to go to the ivil ourt of the town of your residene, aompanied by two witnesses). n Right to soial assistane: right to soial assistane (for example: soial heque for persons older than 65, disability pension, maternity heque, heque for families with three underage hildren) at the same onditions as Italian itizens. n Right to health are: you will enjoy the right to health are at the same onditions as Italian itizens. n Right to publi eduation: you will have the right to attend publi shools at the same onditions as Italian itizens. In ase you are older that 18 you have the right to aess to publi eduation at the onditions foreseen for foreigners regularly sojourning in Italy. n Travel doument: you will have the right to obtain a travel doument valid for five years. You have to require it to the Questura. It osts 40,29 euros plus additional 3,65 euros for the issuane of the doument. If you have the neessity to travel abroad, you will have to pay 40 euros per year. If you do not have the neessity to travel abroad you are not required to pay the yearly tax of 40 euros. Suh a doument substitutes your national passport and allows you to travel abroad at the onditions listed below ( Right to free movement ). n Right to free movement: you will have the right to travel within the Shengen area (all ountries of the European Union, exept Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus) only with the travel doument without any visa for a maximum period of three months and with no authorization to work. If you wish to move to a ountry of the European Union 9 onos Segli l a strada

10 to study or to work you have to apply for an entry visa before you leave Italy, as all other foreigners. In order to travel outside the European Union you have to respet the visa rules valid for all itizens from your ountry of origin. In May 2011 a European Diretive was approved (Diretive 2011/51/UE) whih foresees that refugees and subsidiary protetion holders who have sojourned in a ountry of the European Union for more than five years have the possibility to require a longterm residents permit, whih authorizes them to work and study in all the Countries of the Union. The Member States of the Union, inluding Italy, have two years time to transform suh a European law into a national law. So, within the end of 2013, refugees and subsidiary protetion holders who have been residing in Italy for more than five years should have the right to this speial permit of stay and will then be able to hoose the ountry of the European Union where they want to live. n Right to require the Italian itizenship: you may require the Italian itizenship after five years of regular and ontinuous residene in Italy if in the three previous years you have regularly submitted an inome tax delaration (demonstrating your eonomial self-suffiieny). n Right to partiipate in the publi housing alloation: right reognized at the same onditions as Italian itizens. YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE SUBSIDIARY PROTECTION Who is granted subsidiary protetion A non European itizen, or a stateless person, who does not omply with the riteria to obtain the reognition of the status of refugee, but there are well-grounded reasons to believe that if he/she returns to his/her ountry of origin, or in the ountry where he/she usually lives, he/she might run the effetive risk of undergoing serious harm and he/she, beause of that risk, annot or does not want to benefit from the protetion of that ountry (Legislative Deree 19 November 2007, n. 251) What does serious harm mean The risk that in your own ountry you might be ondemned to death or exeuted beause of a death warrant; the risk that you might undergo torture or inhuman or degrading treatment; the existene of a serious threat for your life beause of an internal or international armed onflit. n Permit of stay: a permit of stay valid for three years will be issued. It is renewable after a deision of the Commissione whih reognised you the protetion. In order to obtain the permit of stay you will have to go to the 10 onos Segli l a strada

11 Questura. You will have to do the same at the renewal. In this ase, the Questura sends your request to the Commissione, whih will deide whether to onfirm your status. The renewal may be done as from one month before expiration and until two months after expiration at latest. In the period pending the renewal, if it was required within the terms, your rights will be maintained. You may also deide to hange your permit of stay into a permit for work reasons. You may do suh a hange only if you have a job ontrat and if you have or an obtain a National passport, whih is neessary for the renewal of the permit. Being suh a deision of utmost importane, we advise you to refer to an assoiation/ngo in order to evaluate your hoie. n Enrolment in the register of residents: it is your right to be enrolled in the muniipal register of residents in order to be able to exert some fundamental rights (for example, health are and soial assistane). n Aess to work: you will be able to work at the same onditions as Italian itizens (exept for publi employment). n Right to health are: you will enjoy the right to health are at the same onditions as Italian itizens. n Right to family reunifiation: it is possible to rejoin with some members of your family (spouse/underage and adult hildren/dependent parents) if you are able to demonstrate that you have an inome and a house. n Right to soial assistane: you will enjoy the right to soial assistane (for example: soial heque for persons older than 65, disability pension, maternity heque, heque for families with three underage hildren) at the same onditions as Italian itizens. n Travel doument for foreigners: the issuane of a travel doument for foreigners is foreseen in ase you do not hold your national passport and you are unable to require/obtain it from your Embassy. You have to require it to the Questura. It osts 40,29 euros plus additional 3,65 euros for the issuane of the doument. If you have the neessity to travel abroad, you will have to pay 40 euros per year. If you have not the neessity to travel abroad you are not required to pay the yearly tax of 40 euros. Suh a doument substitutes your national passport and allows you to travel abroad at the onditions listed below ( Right to free movement ). n Right to free movement: you will have the right to travel within the Shengen area (all ountries of the European Union, exept Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus) only with the travel doument with no visa for a period of maximum three months and with no authorization to work. If you wish to move to a ountry of the European Union to study or to work you have to apply for an entry visa before you leave Italy, as all other foreigners. In order to travel outside the European Union you have to respet the visa rules valid for all itizens from your ountry of origin. n Right to publi eduation: you will have the right to attend publi shools at the same onditions as Italian itizens. In ase you are older that 18 you have 11 onos Segli l a strada

12 the right to aess publi eduation at the onditions foreseen for foreigners regularly sojourning in Italy. n Right to partiipate in the publi housing alloation: right reognized at the same onditions foreseen for Italian itizens. n Right to require the Italian itizenship: you may require the itizenship after 10 years of regular and ontinuous residene in Italy if in the three previous years, you have regularly presented an inome tax delaration (to demonstrate your eonomial self-suffiieny). YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE HUMANITARIAN PROTECTION Who is granted the humanitarian protetion The Questure may issue a permit of stay for humanitarian reasons any time the Commissione, not reognizing any form of protetion (refugee status or subsidiary protetion), onsider that there are the onditions for the reognition of a humanitarian protetion (Law Deree 28 January 2008, n. 25; art. 5.6 Law Deree 25 July 1998, n. 286 ). n Permit of stay: you will be issued a permit of stay that, in the praxis, is valid for one year. It is renewable at expiration, after the deision of the Commissione whih examined your ase. In order to obtain the permit of stay you will have to address to the Questura. You will have to do the same at the renewal (the Questura sends your request to the Commissione, whih will deide whether to renew it). The renewal may be done as from one month before expiration and until two months after expiration at latest. In the period pending the renewal, if it was required in the terms foreseen, your rights will be maintained. Considering the limited duration of suh a permit we advise you to hange it into a permit of stay for work reasons before it expires and as soon as you have a regular work ontrat! Please remember that in ase of hange you need to have a work ontrat and your national passport will be neessary. In suh a ase, please be aware that one you have obtained the hange it will be diffiult for you to obtain a humanitarian protetion again! n Enrolment in the register of residents n Aess to work n Right to health are n Limited rights to soial assistane (for example: exlusion from some assistane provisions). 12 onos Segli l a strada

13 n Travel doument: In ase you do not hold your passport and you are unable to require/obtain it from your embassy, it is possible to require a travel doument for foreigners to the Questura. It osts about 40 euros. n Right to publi eduation n Right to require the Italian itizenship: you may require the itizenship after 10 years of regular and ontinuous residene in Italy if in the three previous years, you have regularly presented an inome tax delaration (to demonstrate your eonomial self-suffiieny). With suh a permit of stay you are not allowed to family re-unifiation. WHAT ARE THE POSSIBILITIES TO USE ACCOMMODATION CENTRES AFTER HAVING OBTAINED THE RECOGNITION OF THE STATUS OF REFUGEE, SUBSIDIARY OR HUMANITARIAN PROTECTION After the end of the asylum proedure, in ase you are in a SPRAR entre it is possible to remain there for a period of six months, extendable under extraordinary irumstanes. If you have never been in a SPRAR entre in the past you might be hosted there now. Sine in the aommodation system there are not enough plaes, many people, one the asylum proedure is ended, have to find an aommodation autonomously. In ase you fae diffiulties in searhing an aommodation we advise to refer to NGOs/assoiations working in the field of asylum, to offies of the muniipality or to humanitarian assoiations. Even if suh bodies annot grant aommodation themselves, they may help you with your searh. 13 onos Segli l a strada

14 Applying for asylum in a European ountry If you are in a European ountry and you wish to apply for asylum there is an important thing you have to know: there are rules establishing whih ountry will examine your appliation. Unfortunately it is not possible to hoose the ountry. In Europe there is a law, alled Dublin II Regulation, establishing preise rules indiating the State whih is responsible for the examination of your asylum appliation. Suh rules are enfored very stritly. For this reason it is very important to understand whih is the State ompetent for the examination of your asylum appliation and what are your rights aording to this Regulation. To that end, in addition to reading the information in this leaflet, we advise you to refer to a NGO/assoiation working in the field of asylum in Italy to reeive all the indiations you need. The Dublin Regulation WHICH IS THE STATE COMPETENT TO EXAMINE YOUR ASYLUM APPLICATION The Dublin Regulation ontains preise rules establishing whih ountry an examine your asylum appliation: n Criterion n. 1 If you are an unaompanied hild and one of your relatives is legally present in a State of the European Union, this State is ompetent for the examination of your asylum appliation. If no relatives of yours are in Europe, the State where you have applied for asylum is ompetent for examining your request. Who is an unaompanied hild A person younger than 18, unmarried, in a European ountry without an adult formally responsible for him/her. The unaompanied hild has the right to be partiularly proteted by law. The asylum appliations of unaompanied hildren are to be examined by the State where they have lodged them, not by the State of their first arrival or by the State where they were photographed and their fingerprints taken. It is always important to delare the real age, sine unaompanied hildren are entitled to other forms of protetion different from international protetion. They may in fat obtain a permit of stay for underage whih may grant them a legal residene in Italy until they beome 18. Suh a form of protetion does not exlude the possibility to apply for asylum! 14 onos Segli l a strada

15 n Criteria n. 2 and n. 3 If one of your relatives has already been reognized the refugee status or is an asylum seeker in another European ountry, if you wish, that State is responsible for examining your asylum appliation. Who is a relative The term relative indiates your spouse or partner (the partner is not onsidered a relative in all ountries); your underage dependant hildren who are not married. If you are underage and you are not married also your father, mother or guardian are onsidered relatives whom you are allowed to reah. As far as riteria n. 2 and n. 3 are onerned, it is important that you have douments proving the family link (marriage ertifiate, birth ertifiate, et.). If you apply for asylum in Italy, at the moment of formalizing your request (verbalizzazione), it is important that you speify whether you have relatives in another European ountry! n Criterion n. 4 If you are holding any permit of stay, the State ompetent for examining your asylum appliation is the one whih issued it. For example, if you have a permit of stay for work, tourism or any other reason, the State whih will examine your asylum appliation is the same whih issued the permit of stay you are holding. n Criteria n. 5 and n. 6 If you have a valid visa, the State ompetent for examining your asylum appliation is the same whih issued or authorised the visa. If you have more than one visa and/or more than one permit of stay there is a riterion to be followed: the State ompetent for examining your asylum appliation is determined on the basis of the duration and the expiration of your visas or of your permits of stay. n Criterion n. 7 If you have one or more permit/s of stay expired less than two years before or one or more visas expired less than 6 months before the same rules indiated under riteria n. 4, 5, 6 are applied. n Criterion n. 8 If you have entered a State illegally, that State is responsible for examining your asylum appliation. It is important to underline that suh a responsibility ends 12 months after the date of the illegal rossing of the borders. In ase, before applying for asylum you have sojourned for 5 months ontinuously in another State, that State will be responsible for examining your asylum appliation. n Criterion n. 9 If you entered legally a Member State for whih a visa was not needed, the examination of your asylum appliation is under the responsibility of suh a State. 15 onos Segli l a strada

16 n Criterion n. 10 If you lodged your asylum appliation at an airport international transit area in a State, that State has the responsibility to examine your appliation. n Criterion n. 11 If none of the above riteria omply with your ase the State ompetent for examining your asylum appliation is the first State where you have applied for asylum. n Criterion n. 12 If various members of a family lodge an asylum appliation in the same State, in ase there is a risk that they are separated, on the basis of the Regulation, the riteria to safeguard family unity are enfored. Please pay attention: It is important for you to know that in ase you apply for asylum in a ountry whih, on the basis of the riteria above, is not responsible for examining your appliation, suh a State may but it is not obliged anyway deide to examine your asylum appliation. This may happen if: n Some of your relatives are in suh a State or for humanitarian reasons (i.e.: in ase there are ultural links between yourself and the ountry onerned). Suh a possibility is known as lausola umanitaria (humanitarian lause). In suh a ase the word relatives refers to any dependant relative. n In the same way, if you applied for asylum in a ountry, whih, on the basis of the riteria desribed above, is not responsible for examining the asylum appliation, this ountry, may anyway deide to examine your asylum appliation. Suh a possibility is known as lausola di sovranità (sovereignty lause). For suh reasons, when you apply for asylum, at the moment of formalising your appliation (verbalizzazione), it is important that you speify whether you have relatives living in another European ountry, as well as whether you have any links with another European ountry! HOW CAN THE STATE WHERE YOU HAVE APPLIED FOR ASYLUM KNOW IF ANOTHER STATE IS COMPETENT TO EXAMINE YOUR APPLICATION n n When you entered a European ountry your fingerprints were taken. They are registered in a database, alled EURODAC, whih is available to all European States. You delare and are able to demonstrate to have been or to have rossed another European State (even if your fingerprints were not taken). Please remember that the ountry where you are has the right to verify your situation, regardless of your delarations! 16 onos Segli l a strada

17 n n It an be proven that a visa/permit of stay for another European ountry was issued. You delare you have relatives in another European ountry. Suh riteria apply not only in ase you have applied for asylum in a European State, but also in ase you have transited or spent there a period of time without applying for asylum! Please pay attention!! Provide all information on your situation (for example if you have already applied for asylum or if any deision has already been taken, what ountries you transited during your journey, if you have been notified an expulsion or if you have been photographed and your fingerprints taken). Do not provide false information: States ooperate with one another, they exhange evidenes of your passage and they have the means to verify your delarations. Hiding information related to you, hanging your age, providing false names or tearing douments do not have any other onsequene than delaying the proedure. Very often staying in a ountry without knowing what will happen to you is most diffiult to stand, sine beginning a new life is made impossible. On the ontrary, it is very important to provide additional information: the presene of relatives in Europe, your age, the existene of strong links with a European ountry and your health onditions (if you have medial ertifiates stating your health onditions, showing them is very important). WHAT STATES DO ENFORCE THE DUBLIN REGULATION The Dublin Regulation is enfored in all Countries of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czeh Republi, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Frane, Germany, Greee, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lihtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Great Britain,) and Ieland, Norway and Switzerland. In eah of those ountries, in ase you apply for asylum, the rules explained above would be enfored. 17 onos Segli l a strada

18 How does the Dublin Regulation work in pratie CASE 1: YOU HAVE APPLIED FOR ASYLUM IN ITALY BUT THE STATE COMPETENT TO EXAMINE YOUR REQUEST IS ANOTHER ONE When you went to the Questura to lodge your asylum appliation the polie photographed you and took your fingerprints (fosegnalamento). The Polie has thus heked, through the database EURODAC, whether your fingerprints had already been registered in another European ountry. In suh a ase and also in ase you have delared to have been in/transited through another European ountry or you have some relatives there, your ase will be reported to the Dublin Unit, a Department of the Italian Ministry of Interior responsible for the enforement of the Dublin Regulation. From now on you might hear people desribing your situation with the sentene you are a Dublin ase. The words Dublin ase indiate a person who lodges an asylum appliation in Italy after having already been in another European ountry or a person who, after applying for asylum in another European ountry, was sent bak to Italy to omplete his/her asylum proedure. Your permit of stay will read reason for the permit: Dublin (motivo del soggiorno: Dublino). In suh a phase if you want to understand what the proedure and your rights are, and whether there are riteria to enfore the Clausola Umanitaria or the Clausola di Sovranità, we advise you to ontat a lawyer or a NGO/Assoiation immediately. One the transfer has been deided, as it will be explained later on, the only possibility will be represented by a legal appeal! The Italian Dublin Unit will get in touh with the Dublin Unit of the State where you were before arriving in Italy. At this point two different ways are open: n If you have never applied for asylum in that ountry, Italy will verify whether that ountry aepts to take harge of your asylum appliation. n If you had already applied for asylum in that ountry and the proedure is still open, or your request had been rejeted (denial or non admissibility; et), Italy will require that ountry to take bak your asylum appliation. It is a very important differene sine the two proedures foresee different time frames! 18 onos Segli l a strada

19 The time frames of the two proedures are: Time limits to be respeted by the State presenting the request (i.e. Italy requesting Germany) Time limits to be respeted by the State providing the answer (i.e. Germany answering to Italy) Taking harge proedure Taking bak proedure 3 months from the formalisation of the asylum appliation (in Italy verbalization or Modello C3) as soon as possible 2 months from reeption of the request 1 month or 2 weeks (if information is obtained through the EURODAC System) One the ompetene has been deided and it is lear whih State is ompetent to examine your asylum appliation, you will be offiially transferred to that State. The time frames for the transfer are: Time frame within whih the transfer has to take plae, otherwise the responsibility of the States eases Maximum duration of the entire Dublin proedure (ommuniation between States and transfers) Simple transfer 6 months 11 months Detained asylum seeker 12 months 17 months Untraeable asylum seeker 18 months 23 months In ase of the taking bak proedure, the Regulation foresees longer terms than the ones indiated above. Failing to adhere to those terms, the State whih has not omplied with the terms established by the Dublin Regulation (i.e. Italy or Germany), is responsible for the examination of your asylum appliation! In some ases, when - for example the States are unable to reah an agreement on their jurisdition (i.e.: some evidenes or medial ertifiates are not aepted) the proedure may be delayed. 19 onos Segli l a strada

20 HOW WILL THE TRANSFER BE CARRIED OUT The Dublin Unit sends a deree of transfer (dereto di trasferimento) to the Questura. It is a paper whih you will be given explaining that, on the basis of the Dublin Regulation, you will be transferred to another ountry in order to omplete your asylum proedure. The deree is normally written in Italian and English, but also in Frenh and German. Within the following months you will be transferred to the State ompetent to examine your asylum request. In suh a period you will remain in the aommodation entre where you were addressed when you applied for asylum. Pending your transfer you will not be detained. WHAT CAN YOU DO IN CASE YOU DISAGREE WITH THE DECISION TO TRANSFER YOU FROM ITALY TO ANOTHER COUNTRY Within sixty days from the date when you were notified the deree of transfer you may lodge an appeal to the Regional Administrative Court (TAR). You will need a lawyer to do so. For this a reason it is important that during this phase you ontat a NGO working in the field of asylum, or a lawyer to reeive assistane. The possibility to lodge an appeal to the President of the Republi within 120 days from the notifiation of the deree is also foreseen. You may lodge the appeal without the help of a lawyer. In ase you annot afford to pay a lawyer, the possibility to require the State to pay for the expenses ( gratuito patroinio ) is foreseen. It is neessary to prove that you have no inome or any other finanial soures. Lodging an appeal does not automatially suspend the transfer. The judge, on the basis of your personal situation, will evaluate if you an stay in Italy, while he takes a deision on your appeal. In ase the deision on your appeal is positive your asylum proedure will be ontinued in Italy. Otherwise you will be transferred to the ountry ompetent to examine your asylum request. What are your rights during this period The same rights as an asylum seeker for whom the Dublin Regulation is not enfored. In ase you are transferred as soon as you reeive the deree of transfer (dereto di trasferimento) remember that you still have the right to present an appeal! 20 onos Segli l a strada