“Dublin centres” open in Hamburg and Eisenhüttenstadt
News 17 February 2025
Asylum applicants for whom another EU member state is responsible are to be transferred more quickly.
According to the EU’s Dublin Regulation, people who are not citizens of the EU or a country that has a relevant agreement with the EU (third-country nationals) seeking international protection must apply for it in the first EU member state they entered. Germany therefore sends the relevant persons back to the EU member states that are responsible for processing their applications for international protection. In order to expedite their transfers further, Germany now has two “Dublin centres”, one in Hamburg and one in Eisenhüttenstadt, in the federal state of Brandenburg on the border with Poland. On 17 February, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser and Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Katrin Lange signed an agreement to this effect in order to strengthen cooperation between the Federal Government and the federal state of Brandenburg. Last Wednesday, Federal Minister Faeser visited Germany’s first such centre, in Hamburg.
quote:
“When people come to Germany, even though their application for international protection is supposed to be processed in a different EU country, they must be transferred to that country faster.”
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser
Dublin centres for faster transfers to the responsible EU member states
Last December, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community proposed setting up “Dublin centres” in the federal states. The responsible authorities will work closely together in these centres in order to speed up transfers of those third-country nationals whose applications for international protection are supposed to be processed in an EU member state other than Germany.
The transfer process is to be significantly expedited with the help of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Federal Minister Faeser said, “When people come to Germany, even though their application for international protection is supposed to be processed in a different EU country, they must be transferred to that country faster. Our authorities will work closely together here to make the process fast and efficient. This will enable us to significantly increase the number of transfers to the responsible EU countries – and further reduce burdens on the federal states and local communities.”
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees checks whether third-country nationals who have applied for international protection in Germany have already applied in a different EU member state and whether that member state is willing and able to take them back. If so, the foreign nationals have two weeks to leave Germany voluntarily or be transferred. During this time, they no longer receive the regular benefits for asylum applicants, but only temporary in-kind benefits. This is intended to ensure that third-country nationals who are subject to the Dublin regulations do not receive regular benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz).
The centre in Eisenhüttenstadt will go into operation on 1 March 2025
The federal state of Brandenburg is setting up a Dublin centre in Eisenhüttenstadt on the premises of the state’s central foreigners authority. The centre will begin operating on 1 March 2025.
Because of Brandenburg’s good relations with the neighbouring provinces in the Republic of Poland, the centre in Eisenhüttenstadt will focus on transfers to Poland. To expedite the processing of transfers, Brandenburg’s central foreigners authority will be closely involved in coordinating the details of transfers with the responsible authorities in Poland. Transfers are to be completed within two weeks. “I am very pleased that Brandenburg, like Hamburg, is taking the lead in creating a Dublin centre. Brandenburg has our full support,”
Federal Minister Faeser said.
The first centre has opened in Hamburg
Federal Minister Faeser visited the Dublin centre in the Hamburg district of Rahlstedt on 12 February to find out more about the planned cooperation among the authorities there. The test operation has already brought about noticeable relief by increasing the number of Dublin transfers.