A person who has fled to Europe must, according to the Dublin Regulation, seek protection in the first safe country to which the person arrives.
The point is to ensure that people in need of protection can be tried quickly, and to make the asylum process more efficient and reduce the costs for the Member States.
The asylum seeker must not be able to have their application tested in one EU country and then try again in another EU country.
When a person applies for asylum in Sweden, for example, the Swedish Migration Agency must therefore ensure which country is responsible for the asylum application.
If the asylum seeker has obtained a visa to another EU country, or has certain types of residence permit in, or has applied for asylum in another EU country on the way to Sweden, the result may be that the person is allowed to go back there.
If an asylum case falls within the framework of the Dublin Regulation, Sweden therefore does not make its own assessment of the case.
Source: Swedish Migration Agency