The responsibility determination procedure

Sometimes, Austria is not responsible for your asylum application. Another EU+ country may have to decide your case.

This depends on your personal situation. For example, it may depend on where you first entered Europe or whether your family is in another country.

The authorities will inform you if your case is examined in the responsibility determination procedure. You can also find the type of procedure that applies to your case on the document you received after registration. 

On this page, you can learn what this procedure means for you.

What is the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation?

The EU+ countries have agreed upon a common law called the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR). This law helps to decide which country is responsible for examining an application for international protection. This law also allows EU+ countries to help each other if one country receives too many applications at the same time.

You are guaranteed that one of the EU+ countries will examine your application but you cannot choose which EU+ country will be responsible. The country that examines your application will be decided by the rules of the AMMR law.

The authorities will follow a procedure to decide which EU+ country is responsible for your application for international protection. This is called the responsibility determination procedure.

To this end, you will need to tell the authorities the following things:

• If you have a family member in another EU+ country.
• If another EU+ country has issued you a visa or a residence document in the past. (A visa gives you a permission to visit a country. This can be a stamp in your passport. A residence document is a document allowing you to stay in the country.)
• If you have previously entered another EU+ country.
• If you have already applied for international protection in another EU+ country.
• If another EU+ country has issued you with an educational diploma or qualification.

At this time, the EU+ countries are only deciding which of them is responsible for examining your application.

If it is decided that another EU+ country is responsible for examining your application, you will be transferred to that country.

What does this mean for you?

The authorities will check which country is responsible for your application. Below you can find more information about this procedure. Choose a topic to learn what it means for you.

What happens if Austria is responsible?

If the procedure shows that Austria is the responsible member state, your asylum application will be examined here. The authorities will inform you which procedure applies to your case after the responsibility determination procedure has ended.