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Who is Who in International Protection in the EU+: Authorities Involved in Access to the Asylum Procedure
​​​According to the recast Asylum Procedures Directive (recast APD​​), any third-country national or stateless person who expresses the wish to apply for international protection should be registered as soon as possible by a Member State as an applicant for international protection. 

Article 6 of the recast APD sets out the legal standards which ensure access to the asylum procedure on the basis of a three-step approach consisting of the making, registering and lodging of an application.

Article 8 of the recast APD states that Member States must provide information to a third-country national or stateless person who is held in detention or present at a border crossing, including transit zones, if they express the wish to make an application for international protection. 

Depending on the structure of the national authority, the registration and the lodging of an application may be conducted concurrently or separately. When these two steps are conducted separately, basic background data are collected at the registration stage, which allows for the practical organisation of initial reception. Additional detailed data are gathered during the lodging stage.​
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The information has been validated by each country, with the exception of Bulgaria, Iceland and Switzerland.

The overview of authorities involved in access to the asylum procedure​ was updated on 06 July 2023

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Overview of authorities involved in access to the asylum procedure​


The data visualisation presents the authorities that are involved in the three steps involving access to international protection:

  • Making an application: Reference is made to authorities which are likely to receive an application for international protection according to the recast APD, Article 6(1).
  • Registering an application: Reference is made to authorities which are competent under national law for registering an application for international protection according to the recast APD, Article 6(1.1).
  • Lodging an application: Reference is made to authorities which are competent for the lodging of an application for international protection according to the recast APD, Article 6(2-4).​

The overview supplements the mapping of Asylum Authorities in the EU+ which are responsible for the examination of an application for international protection in each EU+ country.

Hover over a country and “click for more" to view information on each authority.


Key findings
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  • In 23 EU+ countries, the authorities in charge of the registration and the lodging of an asylum application are the same. In France and Iceland, different authorities are engaged in these steps of the procedure. In five countries, additional authorities are involved in registration (in Croatia, Demark, Germany and Slovenia) or lodging (in Belgium). 
  • The lodging of an application overlaps with registration in six EU+ countries (namely Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden).
  • In Luxembourg, authorities involved in making, registering and lodging an application generally overlap. In Switzerland, the legislation does not make a distinction between making, registering and lodging an asylum application.
  • In all countries, police or border authorities are likely to receive an application for international protection.
  • Multiple national authorities may be engaged in the making of an application. Differentiations are encountered for applications made at the border, on the territory and in detention.​​
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