Today the Immigration Appeals Board handed down its ruling in favor of our client. The Directorate of Immigration had previously rejected our client’s application for her case to be examined in Iceland. Our client, a citizen of Belarus sought international protection in Iceland based on political persecution in her home country. The Icelandic immigration authorities rejected her application and concluded Poland was responsible for her case pursuant to the Dublin Regulation. The Dublin Regulation determines which country is responsible for examining an asylum application – normally the country where the applicant for international protection first entered Europe.
Albert Björn Lúðvígsson, an associate at CPLS requested that our client’s case be re-examined, inter alia, that the war in Ukraine has drastically affected the Polish asylum system and that due to our client’s origin she may be subject to discrimination.
The Board overturned the previous ruling and ordered that the case be sent back to the Directorate of Immigration for substantive processing.
Our client’s case has been the subject of widespread media attention, including visir.is.