DUBLIN II. Regulation & Asylum. Guide for asylum seekers 2012

Transcription

1 DUBLIN II Regulation & Asylum In France Guide for asylum seekers 2012 You are now in France. The capital is Paris. The official language is French. France has 64.7 million inhabitants. France is a member of the European Union and is situated in Western Europe.

2 This guide provides practical information about the Dublin II procedure, asylum seekers rights, asylum proceedings and protection statuses. It is written directly for asylum seekers under a Dublin process. It will also be useful for people working in the asylum sector. The information guide is available in English and French. 2 Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France

3 The Dublin regulation European Union You cannot choose the country in which you wish to apply for asylum. According to the Dublin regulation, you can only apply for refugee status in one member state. Usually, this is the first member state which you reach. In practice this normally means that any subsequent country where you apply will return you to the appropriate state. This might happen when: - your fingerprints were taken in another country (and stored on a common European database called EURODAC) - you admit that you have been to, or travelled through, another country, even if you didn t give your fingerprints - it can be shown by some other source of evidence that you have been to, or travelled through another country - it can be shown that you were previously issued a visa for an EU country - you tell the authorities that you wish to join your spouse, who is an asylum seeker or a refugee in another country Alternatively, if your husband, wife or child is an asylum seeker or a recognised refugee in another member state, that country should be responsible for your asylum application only if you so desire. If you are an unaccompanied minor, the member state where your parent or parents reside is responsible for your asylum application. Article 3.4 Dublin regulation The asylum seeker shall be informed in writing in a language that he or she may reasonably be expected to understand regarding the application of this Regulation, its time limits and its effects. The Dublin Regulation applies in the following countries Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. The Regulation in Operation The Take Charge Procedure Where another member state is designated responsible under the criteria in the Regulation, that state is approached to take charge of you and to examine your application. The Take Back Procedure Where a member state has already examined or begun to examine your application, it may be requested to take you back, if you have left that member state. Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France 3

4 You are in country X Take charge procedure Take back procedure Transfer Request from country X 3 months No deadline Answer from country Y 2 months days Accept Refuse Accept Transfer Transfer within 6 months Transfer within 6 months No transfer Failure to transfer Failure to transfer Asylum application in country Y Asylum application in country X Asylum application in country Y 4 Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France

5 Implementation of the Dublin regulation in France How Dublin II is applied in France for outward transferees I am asking for asylum in France. Why am I in the Dublin procedure? Because the French authorities assume that another European state is responsible for your application according to the Dublin procedure (see page 1). When can it happen? It happens after your admissibility appointment at the prefecture, when you request a residence permit and the asylum application form. You will be interviewed about your identity and travel route and have your fingerprints taken. If the prefecture has elements to presume that another state may be responsible of your asylum claim, you will fall under the Dublin regulation. During your next appointment, the prefecture will inform you about the responsible country and the transfer procedure. You may be placed under a Dublin procedure even if you have received a temporary authorization to stay. In that case, your temporary authorization will be cancelled. However, the prefecture allows you to submit your observations if you consider it unjustified. The Dublin procedure may be implemented until a final decision at first instance if the prefecture has new evidence (i.e.: they take your fingerprints again when you renew your authorization to stay, or during your OFPRA s interview you tell to the officer that you crossed Poland first, for example). France doesn t apply the Dublin procedure to unaccompanied minors. How does the Dublin procedure work? The French authorities will ask the authorities of the responsible Dublin member state to take you back or take charge for your asylum application. If those authorities refuse, France will examine your asylum application and issue you a temporary permit to stay. Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France 5

6 If those authorities agree or do not answer within the deadlines laid down in the Dublin regulation, you will receive a decision of transfer from the prefecture. As an asylum seeker under Dublin procedure you are allowed to remain on the French soil until the end of the procedure. The prefecture summons you regularly (about every 15 days) to inform you about the procedure s progress. You must attend. You are issued a document called convocation Dublin. It contains your personal data, photograph and the summons dates. It values authorization to remain on the French territory during the Dublin procedure. What can I do if I do not agree with the decision? Before a decision is rendered in your case, you may appeal the decision of the French authorities to apply the Dublin procedure. In this case, you can initiate a claim for equitable relief to the Prefecture. You will have to make a written request sent by delivery mail to appeal the decision to apply the procedure. If the prefecture notifies you a decision of transfer, you can make an appeal before the administrative court. You may seek legal representation and are entitled to legal aid. This appeal has no suspensive effect but compels the judge to rule in 48 hours. When will I be transferred? If the European state accepts France s request, it becomes responsible of your asylum application. You will be notified a readmission decision to this country by the prefecture. From this date on, you have a month to leave the French territory and reach voluntarily, by your means, the responsible country. You will be given a pass. After this month, you will no longer be allowed to remain in France. The prefecture will then organize your readmission under escort. If the transfer has not happened within the 6-month deadline as from the requested country s positive decision and you have not absconded (you did not attend summons for example), France must examine your asylum application and issue you a temporary permit to reside. If you abscond, the transfer time limit may be extended up to 18 months. If the transfer has not happened within this extended time limit, France has to examine your asylum application. Will I be detained? You cannot be placed in a detention center before the notification of the readmission decision. You will not either be placed in a detention center during the month following the readmission decision. 6 Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France

7 However, after this month, you can be arrested and placed in a detention center by the prefecture services. What are my social rights? Accommodation As an asylum seeker you have the right to receive decent material reception conditions and the authorities must cover your basic needs. If you do not have sufficient resources, the prefecture has to provide you with accommodation in an emergency center. If it does not provide it, you can make an emergency appeal to the administrative law courts. Healthcare In 2010, the right to medical healthcare is uncertain for asylum seekers under a Dublin process. Some healthcare centers (CPAM) accept to grant access to CMU (Couverture Maladie Universelle) health care cover, but some do not. If the center accepts, you are eligible as soon as you receive your convocation Dublin. You can get information on the local practice at the reception platform (pages 18-21). If the center does not accept to grant you access to CMU, you are not eligible to healthcare during the first three months. You can go to a hospital which has a PASS (Permanences d'accès aux Soins de Santé) healthcare center. If you have been in France for 3 months or more, you are eligible for AME health care (Aide Médicale d Etat) provided that you pay for a 30 stamp duty. This enables you to obtain treatment from hospitals and city doctors and get medication from pharmacies. Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France 7

8 What to do when transferred to France under Dublin II Why am I transferred to France? You are sent to France if this country is considered responsible for your asylum procedure. What happens when I arrive? You might be transferred to France by plane, boat or train and arrive at an international airport, port or train station. When you arrive, French border s police will take you in charge. They should be aware about your arrival, the reason for your transfer and should provide you with an 8-day safe-conduct in order to go the prefecture and apply for asylum. Sometimes they may not be informed about your arrival and situation. In this case it is absolutely essential to clearly express that: You want to apply for asylum in France. You have been transferred to France after a Dublin procedure which determined France as the responsible country for your asylum application. You shall show the transfer decision if you have it with you. If they place you in a waiting area (zone d attente) in order to examine your case, you have the right to be assisted by an interpreter, see a doctor and to contact a lawyer or somebody else. If you go to France by your own means, it is very important to take any documents showing that France is responsible for your case or stating your transfer to France under a Dublin procedure. Where should I seek help? Once on French soil, it is advisable to go as soon as possible to the nearest asylum seeker s reception platform (see the list pages 18-21). You can get information and advice about the asylum system in France. Then, you must contact the prefecture without delay to apply for asylum and to ask for a temporary residence permit. 8 Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France

9 What happens if I have never been in an asylum procedure in France before (take charge procedure)? Your asylum application will be treated as a first-time application. You should be placed in the normal procedure and issued a temporary residence permit ( Autorisation provisoire de séjour ) unless it is deemed that you are from a safe country of origin, that your presence is a threat to public order or that your application is fraudulent or abusive. What happens if I have been in an asylum procedure in France before (take back procedure)? If you have applied for asylum in France before but you have not already received a final decision: On return to France, you will rejoin the application determination procedure at the point where you left. If you have already received a negative decision in France: you can ask OFPRA to reconsider your application but only if you have new evidence (élément nouveau). You should go to the Prefecture and ask for a 15 days APS. Then you will have 8 days to submit your request to OFPRA for registration (see the brochure of asylum procedure in France page 10). Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France 9

10 Asylum procedure in France Forms of protection that you can get in France Refugee status Conventional asylum The Geneva Convention of July 28th 1951 on refugee status applies to: Any person...(having)... a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. Constitutional asylum According to the 4th paragraph of the preamble of the Constitution of 1946, the refugee status is also granted to anyone who "is persecuted for his or her action in pursuit of freedom". HCR mandate The UNHCR may recognize any person as a refugee according to articles 6 and 7 of its statutes (such as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 14th, 1950). Persecution usually means a serious human rights violation, such as for example torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, slavery, physical or sexual violence or very serious discrimination. Subsidiary protection Subsidiary protection is granted to ''any person who does not fulfill the conditions for the granting of refugee status (...) and who establishes that he/she is exposed to one of the following serious threats in his/her country: a) Death penalty; b) Torture or inhuman or degrading sentences or treatments; c) Serious, direct and individual threat to a civilian s life or person because of widespread violence resulting from a local or international armed conflict situation'' 10 Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France

11 Procedure for claiming asylum For all the administrative steps, remember: You must photocopy every document you submit to the administration; Keep the originals yourself except for identity papers and travel document such as passport If you have one you should give it to the Office Français de Protection des Réfugiés et Apatrides (OFPRA - the authority in charge of asylum claims); You must send all documents as recorded delivery letters and keep the evidence that it has been sent (blue and yellow paper slip) and received (pink paper slip). Your comments in the forms and the documents added to the procedure files must be in French, or if the original are in foreign languages, with a translation certified by an accredited translator. How to submit your asylum claim? You should contact the Prefecture as soon as possible. You must request a residence permit from your local Prefecture (''Préfecture de police'' if you reside in Paris) before you can apply for asylum. You can ask for asylum even if you have entered France illegally or if you are living illegally in France. You can also apply for asylum at the airport or while in detention (in jail). The prefecture will give you a form called a notice of asylum available in 18 languages to be filled in French and will give you an appointment to return. The admissibility procedure When you submit your file with the required documents attached, the prefecture will take your fingerprints to determine if France is the European Union state responsible for examining your asylum application according to the Regulation of the Council of the European Union of 18th of February 2003, called Dublin II regulation (See the Dublin procedure page 5-9).The Prefecture can refuse to issue a temporary residence permit Autorisation Provisoire de Séjour (APS) if you fall within the Dublin Regulation category. During your second appointment at the prefecture, you will: - either receive a temporary authorization to remain in France - or will be refused leave to remain. Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France 11

12 If you are granted permission to stay - The prefecture will register your asylum application and will issue you, within 15 days, a temporary residence permit (APS) with a validity of one month with the indication in order to apply to OFPRA - The prefecture will also give you an application form for seeking asylum that you need to supply to OFPRA. How your application will be processed? Once the entire file has been submitted, your application will be examined by the OFPRA. Depending on your situation, it will be examined either as a normal procedure when the prefecture has issued a temporary residence permit APS or as a priority procedure if the prefecture has not issued you an APS. Priority procedure According to article L of CESEDA, there are 4 cases where priority procedure is applied and authorization to stay is not granted: You are a national of a country designated as safe : Albania, Armenia, Bangladesh, Benin, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cape Verde islands, Croatia, Georgia, Ghana, India, Macedonia, Mali (only for men), Mauritius, Moldavia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Mongolia, Senegal, Serbia, Tanzania, Turkey and Ukraine; France considers that your presence is a threat to public order or security of the state; Your request for asylum is unjustified, based on fraud or submitted only to prevent carrying out expulsion measures. You have the nationality of a country in the European Union or of a country for which the OFPRA considers that there is no risk of persecution (Chile). You can still refer your case to OFPRA via the Prefecture, which will provide you with an asylum application form. You will have 15 days to submit your asylum application to the prefecture. As soon as the Prefecture receives your asylum application, it passes it on to OFPRA, stating that it is a fast-track application. OFPRA will make a decision within 15 days. If OFPRA rejects your application, you may appeal to the Cour Nationale du Droit d Asile (CNDA-appeal Court for asylum). However, this appeal will have no suspense effect on any decision taken by the Prefecture to send you back to your country. If you are in a detention center, you have 5 days after your arrival in the detention center to submit your application for asylum. OFPRA has only 4 days to take its decision. Regular procedure The OFPRA should receive your asylum application form no later than 21 days from the date you received it from the prefecture. 12 Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France

13 The 21-day period starts on the date written on your APS. If your request is not received by the OFPRA within the period of 21 days, it will not be processed and you will not be allowed to stay in France. Send the completed form to OFPRA which acknowledge receipt of your application by mail. You should keep the original acknowledgement of your application. You may also submit it at the OFPRA reception desk where you will be delivered a receipt for your request. With this letter you will get the prefecture to replace your one-month APS (green card) by a three-month récépissé. OFPRA takes its decision on your application after you have been invited for an interview or sometimes without an interview. If you are summoned before OFPRA, you will be heard by a protection officer at the OFPRA headquarter office in Paris. Feel free to express yourself! Protection officers are subject to confidentiality and the OFPRA files are confidential. The OFPRA must rule within 6 months. But in practice, it takes 145 days on an average, i.e. 5 months (2010). What to do if your asylum claim is rejected or you do not agree with the status granted? You can lodge an appeal to the Cour Nationale du Droit d Asile. You must do it within one month of the date of the negative decision. In this case, appealing a decision does suspend deportation! If the CNDA deems your appeal to be receivable, you will be summoned to attend a hearing. Your presence at the hearing is strongly recommended! The average length of the procedure for a CNDA ruling is of 15 months. A negative decision made by the CNDA can be appealed to the Council of State (Conseil d'etat), but only based on procedural conditions. This appeal does not suspend deportation! After rejection of your asylum application by the CNDA, you can ask the OFPRA to reconsider your application only if you have new evidence (élément nouveau) What is the procedure if you are an unaccompanied minor or a vulnerable person? The conditions for examining asylum applications of minors are roughly the same as those of adults. Remember that an unaccompanied foreigner deemed by the authorities to be a minor may not be removed. A responsible adult ( Administrateur ad hoc ) will be appointed in order to assist the minor during the asylum procedure. Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France 13

14 Unaccompanied foreign minors also have the opportunity to make a request to the juvenile Court in order to ask to be taken into care by child care services. No specific provisions protect vulnerable persons. Your rights as an asylum seeker Your legal rights in the administrative procedure Legal assistance You may avail of legal assistance in order to prepare your asylum application to the OFPRA. You can pay for the services of a lawyer or ask for free legal counsel from an NGO (list of support organization page 20-21). You cannot be assisted or represented during the interview before the OFPRA. You can get free legal assistance from a lawyer in order to prepare your appeal to the CNDA. You will have to apply for it during the month following the notification of the negative decision by OFPRA. The lawyer shall also represent you before the CNDA. At the Council of State, you will require a lawyer. You may apply for legal aid but it is a long and expensive procedure. Interpreter You may use your mother tongue or another language that you speak well. However, the Ofpra file and the CNDA appeal must be drawn up in French. Information You have the right to be informed of the content of the decisions considering the result of your asylum procedure in your mother tongue or another language that you understand well Procedural documentary You may get a written copy of all decisions taken in your asylum procedure in French. 14 Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France

15 Your social rights during the processing of the asylum application Priority procedure: Emergency accommodation (reception centers, hotel) is available for access at night only. Allowance is guaranteed only to asylum seekers coming from safe countries of origin (Official list published by the OFPRA). Health care cover, AME (Aide Médicale d Etat) is available, provided you have been in France for 3 months. Normal Procedure: Accommodation in a transit center or a reception center for asylum seekers (CADA), where you can access administrative and social assistance and a monthly allowance. If there are no rooms left in reception centres, you may access emergency accommodation. Allowance, so called ATA (Allocation temporaire d attente). The amount is 324,90 Euros per month (depending on the composition of the family). Health care cover, CMU (Couverture Maladie Universelle) provided your income does not exceed a defined amount. Temporary access to the labour market is available if you are granted temporary residency and if your asylum application has been in the OFPRA process for over a year or if a CNDA appeal is in progress. Procedure outcomes and consequences If you are granted asylum, you are under the protection of the French authorities. OFPRA is now the administrative authority that issues the civil status certificates. You can claim various benefits and services: Residency in France As a refugee, you will be given a ten-year residence card, which is legally renewable. As a beneficiary of subsidiary protection, you are entitled to a temporary oneyear residence permit, which can be renewed if you continue to meet the conditions that allowed you to get such protection Travelling abroad As a refugee, you can request a two-year travel document. As a beneficiary of subsidiary protection, you can request a one-year travel document Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France 15

16 Residency and protection for close family members - If you are a refugee, your spouse (if the wedding took place before you were granted refugee status) and your children are legally entitled to 10-year residence cards. - As a beneficiary of subsidiary protection, your spouse ((if the wedding took place before you were granted temporary protection) and your children are legally entitled to a temporary one-year residence permit. If you started a family after receiving protection, your family can join you in France under the family reunification (regroupement familial) scheme. Access to the labour market If you are granted refugee status or subsidiary protection, you have free access to the labour market. Access to housing If you have been living in a reception center for asylum seekers (CADA - Centre d Accueil pour Demandeurs d Asile), you may remain in the center for three months (renewable once) after obtaining protection. You can ask for a place in a CPH (temporary accommodation centre). Furthermore, you can request private or public sector accommodation. Health You are granted the CMU cover (Couverture Maladie Universelle). If you take up paid employment, you fall within the employees basic insurance scheme. Social and family benefits If you meet the conditions, you can claim RSA (Revenu de Solidarité Active low income top-up), family allowance, housing benefit or disabled adult allowance. Naturalisation As a refugee, you can request French nationality. If you are a beneficiary of subsidiary protection, you must be able to prove five years of legal residence in France before applying for naturalisation. If the asylum application is definitively rejected, you must leave the French territory. The prefecture will notify you of a decision to refuse residence together with an obligation to leave the French territory (OQTF Ordre de Quitter le Territoire Français). You will then have one month to leave France voluntarily. 16 Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France

17 At the end of the one month period, if you have not left the territory, nor asked the Office Français de l Immigration et de l Intégration (OFII) for repatriation assistance, nor appealed against the OQTF, your situation in France will no longer be legal. You will be issued an obligation to leave the French territory with or without a deadline for your voluntary departure. The order to leave the French territory with or without deadline for voluntary departure are both decisions that can be opposed at the Administrative Court. Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France 17

18 Contact information Forum réfugiés 28 rue de la Baïsse, BP 71054, Villeurbanne cedex, Tel : , Fax : , mngalikpima@forumrefugies.org France Terre d Asile (FTDA) 24, rue Marc Seguin, PARIS, Tél : , Fax : , Region Administrator Adress Phone numbers Aquitaine COS 48 rue des Treuils Bordeaux Alsace Association du Foyer Notre Dame ACCES 7 rue St Michel Strasbourg 1a rue Ste Claire Mulhouse Auvergne OFII 1 rue d Assas Clermont-Ferrand Basse Normandie FTDA 7 rue du Dr Roux Caen Bourgogne AFTAM SCODA 9 rue de la Houblonnière Dijon Bretagne AFTAM 33 B rue A. Pavie Rennes Centre OFII 43, ave de Paris Orléans Champagne Ardennes Croix Rouge 15, rue J. Servas Châlons-en-Champagne Franche Comté AHSD 13, rue Gambetta Besançon Haute Normandie FTDA 4, rue Fontenelle Rouen Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France

19 Ile-de-France FTDA (for isolated asylum seeker only) CASP (for family only) FTDA 4, rue Doudeauville Paris 44, rue Planchat Paris 22, rue Viet Créteil AFTAM 16, rue Timbaud La Courneuve OFII 29, bvd L. Blanc Montpellier Languedoc Rousillon OFII 19, rue G. Brutus Perpignan OFII 54, rue de l'hostellerie Nîmes Limousin OFII 5, ave Garibaldi Limoges Lorraine AIEM 6, rue Pont Moreau Metz Midi-Pyrénées OFII AMAR 7 rue A. Rimbaud Toulouse 24 rue Caussat Montauban Nord-Pas-de- Calais AIR rue P. Legrand Lille PACA HPF Forum réfugiés 27 bld Athènes Marseille 75 bd François Grosso Nice ou 31 Pays de la Loire Association Saint Benoit Labre Domiciliation: 12 bis rue Fouré Nantes Suivi social et juridique: 68 bd des Poilus Nantes Association Abri de la Providence 33 rue Béclard Angers Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France 19

20 Picardie ADARS 12 rue Racine Beauvais Poitou-Charentes OFII 86 ave 8 mai Poitiers La Relève 8 rue de l'octant Echirolles Rhône-Alpes Forum réfugiés Entraide Valdo Pierre 326 rue Garibaldi Lyon BP bis rue Roubaix Saint- Etienne Other support organizations: UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) rue Lauriston / PARIS, Tel.: , Fax: Public administrations (in Paris and the Ile-de- France region) : Préfecture de police 92 Boulevard Ney, Paris OFPRA (French office for the protection of refugees and stateless persons) 201, rue Carnot FONTENAY SOUS BOIS Cedex, Tel.: , Fax: CNDA (Refugee appeals board) 35, rue Cuvier, MONTREUIL SOUS BOIS Cedex, Tel.: , Fax: OFII (French office for immigration and integration) 44, rue Bargue, PARIS, Tel.: , Fax: Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France

21 Public administrations (in Lyon) : Préfecture du Rhône Asylum Service 12, rue des Cuirassiers Lyon, Tel.: ou Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France 21

22 Transnational Dublin Project European network for technical cooperation on the application of the Dublin II regulation In order to overcome the shortcomings of the Dublin II Regulation, the French association Forum Réfugiés coordinates a 18-month project which aims to develop tools for comprehensive information and training on the procedure of the Dublin Regulation and the asylum national systems and monitoring tools for asylum seekers placed under the Dublin procedure. The main objective of this project is to create a European network of associations providing follow-up and assistance to asylum seekers in their charge, finding themselves under the Dublin procedure. Dublin II Regulation : Council Regulation No.343/2003 of 18 February 2003 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member States responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the Member States by a thirdcountry national. European partner organizations: Asyl in Not (Austria), Italian Council for refugees (Italy), Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (Spain), Danish Refugee Council (Denmark), Dutch Council for Refugees (Netherlands), Forum Réfugiés (France), France terre d asile (France), Hungarian Helsinki Commitee (Hungary), Jesuit Refugee Service (Romania), Organisation Suisse d Aide aux Réfugiés (Switzerland), Refugee Council Hessen (Hessischer Flüchtlingsrat, Germany), AITIMA (Greece), The Human Rights League (Liga za ľudské práva, Slovakia), Legal Clinic For Refugees and Immigrants (Bulgaria), ECRE (European Council on Refugees and Exiles) Dublin Regulation & Asylum in France