The concept of first country of asylum is defined in Article 26 of the APD:
A country can be considered to be a first country of asylum for a particular applicant for asylum if:
(a) s/he has been recognised in that country as a refugee and s/he can still avail him/herself of that protection; or
(b) s/he otherwise enjoys sufficient protection in that country, including benefiting from the principle of non-refoulement;
provided that s/he will be re-admitted to that country.
In applying the concept of first country of asylum to the particular circumstances of an applicant for asylum Member States may take into account Article 27 (1).
It should be noted that Member States are not required to apply the concept of first country of asylum, as Article 26 is a permissive provision.1 However, in accordance with the APD, those Member States which apply the concept are not required to examine whether an applicant qualifies as a refugee or for subsidiary protection status, where a country which not a Member State is considered as a first country of asylum for the applicant pursuant to Article 26.2 In other words, the Member State may consider such applications as inadmissible.
