We refer to the countries that are part of the collaboration as Dublin countries.

What is the Dublin Regulation?

The Dublin Regulation determines which country is responsible for considering an application for protection. An asylum seeker can only have his or her application considered in one of the Dublin countries.

The main rule is that an application will be processed by the first Dublin country the asylum seeker comes to. If the asylum seeker applies for protection in another Dublin country, he or she will be sent back to the country that has already considered his/her application or that is responsible for considering the application.

Which asylum seekers are dealt with pursuant to the Dublin Regulation?

An application is processed as a Dublin case if the applicant seeking asylum in Norway:

• has already applied for protection in another Dublin country
• has been granted a visa or residence permit in another Dublin country
• has close family members in another Dublin country
• has entered or stayed illegally in another Dublin country. 

What happens in a Dublin case?

If someone applies for protection in Norway, and the case is processed as a Dublin case, UDI will not assess whether the asylum seeker needs protection. We will only assess which country is responsible for considering the case, whether it is Norway or another Dublin country.

If another Dublin country is responsible for the asylum seeker, the asylum seeker will be sent to that country.

Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers will only be sent to another Dublin country if they have family there, or if their application has been processed there already.

If Norway is responsible for the asylum seeker, UDI will process the application as an ordinary application for protection.