EMN inform: ‘Currently applicable asylum procedures at the border in view of implementing the Pact on Migration and Asylum’

EMN Inform on how EU Member States implement asylum procedures at the borders.

Study period – Until May 2025
Participating EU Member States – Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), Cyprus (CY), Czech Republic (CZ), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), Finland (FI), France (FR), Croatia (HR), Hungary (HU), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Latvia (LV), Malta (MT), Netherlands (NL), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Sweden (SE), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK)

Background and scope

• The European Asylum Procedures Directive (2013/32/EU) allows EU Member States, under certain conditions, to process asylum applications at the border or in transit zones. These asylum procedures differ as they take place at the border, and applicants are not permitted to enter the territory.
• The provision in the directive concerning the establishment of border procedures is Article 43. This is a so-called "may clause". In other words, the provision is optional and not mandatory.
• Currently, not all EU Member States have incorporated this provision into their national legislation. The countries that have done so apply different border asylum procedures.
• Under the new migration pact, there will be a single EU procedure for individuals applying for asylum. The requirement to have a border procedure becomes mandatory under EU Regulation 2024/1348. By June 2026 at the latest, EU Member States must establish the procedure and ensure sufficient capacity to process asylum applications at the borders.
• In this context, it is important to understand which asylum procedures at the border Member States are currently applying. The research will map:
  • Whether countries currently have a border procedure;
  • If so, what it looks like;
  • The similarities and differences between the existing procedures.

EMN publication

• EMN inform, ‘Currently applicable asylum procedures at the border in view of implementing the Pact on Migration and Asylum’, January 2026

EMN Netherlands publications

• News item EMN Netherlands, 'Migration pact requires border procedures: half of EU Member States have them, but differences remain significant', 12 February 2026
• Two-pager EMN Netherlands, 'Asielprocedure aan de grens (grensprocedure)', februari 2026