Responsibility and admissibility cases

Danish Refugee Council offers legal aid in responsibility and admissibility cases.

Danish Refugee Council helps asylum seekers in responsibility and admissibility cases

All newly arrived asylum seekers must be registered with the Danish authorities before the asylum case can start. The Danish Immigration Service then conducts a first interview with the asylum seeker and decides whether the asylum application should be processed in Denmark.

If you have previously been registered in another European country or have been granted refugee status in another European country, the Danish Immigration Service may decide that you should be transferred to that country to have your asylum case examined. You have the right to appeal against the Danish Immigration Service's decision. The appeal will be processed by the Refugee Appeals Board.

Danish Refugee Council can help write the complaint to the Refugee Appeals Board, as we have the role of legal aid in both responsibility and admissibility cases.

Danish Refugee Council helps with appeals in responsibility cases (AM procedure)

If the Danish Immigration Service decides that they want to transfer an asylum seeker to another European country, you can appeal the decision (responsibility procedure).

You can either inform the Danish Immigration Service during the interview that you want to complain, or you can send a signed complaint form to them afterwards.

The deadline for lodging an appeal is seven days, so you must send the complaint form to the Danish Immigration Service as soon as possible and preferably by e-mail.

When you lodge an appeal, you can also ask to be represented by Danish Refugee Council (Dansk Flygtningehjælp) during the appeals procedure. The Danish Immigration Service will automatically forward the case to us.

Danish Refugee Council will invite you to an interview with a legal advisor, who will help write the appeal against the Danish Immigration Service's decision.

Danish Refugee Council will send the appeal to the Refugee Appeals Board that decides whether the asylum application should be examined in Denmark or in another European country. The Refugee Appeals Board is the highest instance in asylum cases in Denmark, and you cannot appeal the Board's decision.

Legal counselling and representation by the Danish Refugee Council is independent and free of charge.

Unaccompanied children in the Dublin procedure

There is also a special procedure for unaccompanied children, who wish to be brought together with family or relatives in Denmark.

You can read more here: Unaccompanied children in the Dublin procedure

About the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR)

From June 2026 the Dublin system will be replaced by the new responsibility rules under the the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR).

The responsibility rules are used to decide the country responsible for examining an asylum case. As a main rule, an asylum seeker should have the asylum application examined in the European country where the person first has been registered by the authorities or has been issued a visa.

However, the responsibility rules have some exceptions, and a country can for example become responsible if the asylum seeker has a spouse who has applied for asylum in the country or has been granted a residence permit as a refugee.

A country can also decide to take responsibility for an asylum application, if the asylum seeker is at risk of serious rights violations, or there are other humanitarian reasons.

The responsibility rules apply to the EU countries as well as Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.

Read more about the reform of the EU asylum system: EU Pact on migration and asylum

Danish Refugee Council helps with appeals in admissibility cases (so-called 29b cases)

If you have been granted a residence permit as a refugee in another EU country as well as Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Lichtenstein, the Danish authorities may decide to reject your asylum application as not being admissible. This follows from section 29(b) of the Danish Aliens Act.

If the Danish Immigration Service rejects the asylum application as not admissible, you can lodge an appeal. You can either inform the Danish Immigration Service during the interview that you want to appeal the decision, or you can send a signed complaint form to them afterwards. The deadline for lodging an appeal is seven days, so you must send the complaint form to the Danish Immigration Service as soon as possible and preferably by email.

If you lodge an appeal, you also have the right to be represented by Danish Refugee Council (Dansk Flygtningehjælp) during the case. You can fill out all boxes of on the appeal form to allow for DRC to represent you in the case.

Hereafter, the Danish Immigration Service will automatically forward the case to Danish Refugee Council, and we will invite you for an interview with a legal advisor. Danish Refugee Council will write an appeal against the Danish Immigration Service's decision.

The appeal is sent to the Refugee Appeals Board, which decides whether you can stay in Denmark and have your asylum application examined here, or whether you should be transferred to the European country where you have a residence permit as a refugee. The Refugee Appeals Board is the highest instance in asylum cases in Denmark, and you cannot appeal the Board's decision.

Legal aid and representation by Danish Refugee Council is free of charge.