On Thursday 29 February, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that the Qualification Directive - which deals with the standards to be met by third-country nationals or stateless persons in order to qualify for international protection, a uniform status for refugees or persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and the content of that protection - did not allow a presumption to be made that any subsequent application based on circumstances created by the applicant himself since leaving the country of origin was the result of an intention to abuse and manipulate the procedure for granting international protection.
An Iranian whose first application for international protection was rejected by the Austrian authorities has submitted a new application after converting to Christianity, fearing persecution in his country of origin. He was granted subsidiary protection and the right of temporary residence, but not refugee status, as Austrian law makes recognition of this status following a subsequent application subject to the condition that the new circumstance created by the person concerned of his own making constitutes the expression and continuation of a conviction already held in the country of origin. The Austrian Administrative Court asked the Court of Justice of the EU whether such a condition was compatible with the Qualification Directive.
The European judges say no. They ruled that, if the person concerned had credibly demonstrated that he had converted out of inner conviction and that he actively practised this religion, this ruled out the existence of an abusive intention and instrumentalisation of the proceedings. If the person concerned fulfils the conditions laid down in the Directive to qualify as a refugee, they must be granted refugee status.
On the other hand, if there is evidence of improper intent and abuse of the procedure, recognition of status may be refused, even if the person concerned has a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin as a result of circumstances of their own making.
See the Court’s decision: https://aeur.eu/f/b3d (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)