Dublin Regulation

The Dublin Regulation (Regulation No. 604/2013; sometimes the Dublin III Regulation; previously the Dublin II Regulation and Dublin Convention) was a regulation of the European Union that determined which EU member state was responsible for the examination of an application for asylum, submitted by persons seeking international protection under the Geneva Convention and the Qualification Directive, within the European Union. The Dublin Regulation formed a key part of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). Together with the Eurodac Regulation, which establishes a Europe-wide fingerprinting database for unauthorised entrants to the EU, the Dublin Regulation formed the Dublin System. The Dublin Regulation aimed to "determine rapidly the Member State responsible [for an asylum claim]" and provides for the transfer of an asylum seeker to that Member State. One of the principal aims of the Dublin Regulation was to prevent an applicant from submitting applications in multiple member states. Another aim was to reduce the number of "orbiting" asylum seekers, who are shuttled from member state to member state. The country in which the asylum seeker first applies for asylum is responsible for either accepting or rejecting the claim, and the seeker may not restart the process in another jurisdiction. Thus, all signatory member states to the Dublin Regulation are considered safe third countries. As part of the third phase of CEAS, the Dublin III Regulation has been replaced by the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR), which came into effect on 12 June 2026.