International Protection Act 2026

• Permanent Page URL

Chapter 2

Examination procedure

Examination of applications

149. (1) The Determining Authority shall examine and take decisions on applications for international protection in accordance with the basic principles and guarantees set out in Chapter II of the Asylum Procedures Regulation.

(2) The Determining Authority shall take decisions on applications after an appropriate examination as to the admissibility of an application or the merits of an application as the case may be.

(3) The Determining Authority shall examine applications objectively, impartially and on an individual basis.

(4) For the purpose of examining an application, the Determining Authority shall take the following into account:

(a) the relevant statements and documentation presented by the applicant in accordance with Article 4(1) and (2) of the Qualification Regulation and section 41 ;

(b) relevant, precise and up-to-date information relating to the situation prevailing in the country of origin of the applicant at the time of taking a decision on the application, including laws and regulations of the country of origin and the manner in which they are applied, obtained from relevant and available national, European Union and international sources, including children’s rights organisations and, where available, the common analysis on the situation in specific countries of origin and the guidance notes referred to in Article 11 of the European Union Agency for Asylum Regulation;

(c) where applying the concepts of first country of asylum or safe third country, relevant, precise and up-to-date information relating to the situation prevailing in the third country being considered as a first country of asylum or a safe third country at the time of taking a decision on the application, including information and analysis on safe third countries referred to in Article 12 of the European Union Agency for Asylum Regulation;

(d) where applying the concept of safe country of origin, in accordance with section 13 , any serious grounds submitted by the applicant for considering the country not to be a safe country of origin in his or her particular circumstances;

(e) the individual position and personal circumstances of the applicant, including factors such as the applicant’s background, age, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation, so as to assess whether, on the basis of the applicant’s personal circumstances, the acts to which the applicant has been or could be exposed would amount to persecution or serious harm;

(f) whether the activities that the applicant was engaged in since leaving the country of origin were carried out by the applicant for the sole or main purpose of creating the necessary conditions for applying for international protection, so as to assess whether those activities would expose the applicant to persecution or serious harm, as referred to in Article 5 of the Qualification Regulation, if returned to that country;

(g) whether the applicant could reasonably be expected to avail himself or herself of the protection of another country where he or she could assert citizenship;

(h) provided that the state, being the country of origin or, in the case of stateless persons, of habitual residence, or agents of the state are not the actors of persecution or serious harm, whether the internal protection alternative referred to in Article 8 of the Qualification Regulation applies.

(5) In examining an application, the Determining Authority shall consider any observations made by the High Commissioner.

(6) For the purposes of Article 12(5) and Article 17(5) of the Qualification Regulation, the Determining Authority and the Tribunal shall take into account a minor’s capacity to be considered responsible under criminal law in accordance with section 52 of the Children Act 2001 as if the minor had committed the crime concerned in the State.

(7) The staff of the Determining Authority examining applications and taking decisions shall—

(a) have the appropriate knowledge and have received training, including the relevant training under Article 8 of the European Union Agency for Asylum Regulation, in the relevant standards applicable in the field of asylum and refugee law,

(b) have the possibility to seek advice, whenever necessary, from experts on particular issues, such as medical, cultural, religious, mental health, and child related or gender issues, and

(c) be able, where necessary, to submit queries to the Asylum Agency in accordance with Article 10(2), point (b), of the European Union Agency for Asylum Regulation.

(8) Documents assessed by the Determining Authority as relevant for the examination of applications shall be translated, where necessary, for such examination.

(9) The applicant may, at his or her own cost, ensure the translation of documents to which subsection (8) does not apply.

(10) For subsequent applications, the Determining Authority may make the applicant responsible for the translation of documents.