HANDBOOK Handbook on European law relating to asylum, borders and immigration Edition 2020 The manuscript for the third edition of this handbook was completed in July 2020. It was originally published in five languages in December 2020. This third edition incorporates the changes to the EU acquis in the field of asylum, borders and immigration, as well as developments in European case law since 2014. The first edition was published in four languages in 2013, followed by the second edition in 2014. Future updates of this handbook will become available on the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) webpage at: http://fra.europa.eu/en/theme/asylum- migration-borders and on the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) webpage at: www.echr.coe.int under ‘Publications’. Reproduction is authorised, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. Photo credit (cover & inside): © iStockphoto © European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and Council of Europe, 2020 For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights/Council of Europe copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders. Neither the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights/Council of Europe nor any person acting on behalf of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights/Council of Europe is responsible for the use that might be made of the following information. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020 Council of Europe: ISBN 978-92-871-9800-6 FRA – print: ISBN 978-92-9474-985-7 doi:10.2811/56248 TK-02-20-493-EN-C FRA – web: ISBN 978-92-9474-977-2 doi:10.2811/431051 TK-02-20-493-EN-N This handbook was drafted in English. The ECtHR takes no responsibility for the quality of the translations into other languages. The views expressed in this handbook do not bind the ECtHR. The handbook refers to a selection of commentaries and manuals. The ECtHR takes no responsibility for their content, nor does their inclusion on this list amount to any form of endorsement of these publications. Further publications are listed on the internet pages of the ECtHR library at: echr.coe.int. Handbook on European law relating to asylum, borders and immigration Edition 2020 Foreword Since 2011, the European Union (EU) Agency for Fundamental Rights, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, have published handbooks on various fields of European law. This handbook provides an overview of the European legal standards relevant to asylum, borders and immigration, explaining both appli- cable Council of Europe and EU measures. The handbook is intended for lawyers, judges, prosecutors, border guards, immigra- tion officials and others working with national authorities, as well as national human rights institutions, non-governmental organisations and other bodies that may be confronted with legal questions in the areas covered. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU became legally binding when the Lis- bon Treaty entered into force in December 2009. It has the same legal value as the founding EU Treaties. The Lisbon Treaty also provides for EU accession to the Euro- pean Convention on Human Rights, which is legally binding on all Member States of the EU and the Council of Europe. Since we published the second edition of this handbook in 2014, there have been significant developments in European law relating to asylum, borders and immigra- tion. For example, a number of adopted EU instruments upgrade or establish new large-scale EU information technology systems to manage migration. There have also been smaller legislative changes – for instance, in the Schengen acquis on bor- ders, irregular migration and visas. Similarly, the Court of Justice of the EU has clarified several legal questions emerging from the implementation of EU migration and asylum law in its ever-expanding case law. The European Court of Human Rights has also delivered a number of important judgments, notably in the area of reception conditions of asylum seekers. In light of such changes, the handbook required an update to ensure that its legal guidance remains accurate. 3 Handbook on European law relating to asylum, borders and immigration Improving the understanding of common principles developed in the case law of the two European courts, and in EU regulations and directives, is essential. Such under- standing helps ensure that relevant European standards and safeguards are properly implemented and fundamental rights fully respected at national level. We hope this handbook will help to promote this important objective. Marialena Tsirli Michael O’Flaherty Registrar of the European Court Director of the European Union Agency of Human Rights for Fundamental Rights 4 Contents FOREWORD .....................................................................................................................................................................................3 ABBREVIATIONS .....................................................................................................................................................................11 HOW TO USE THIS HANDBOOK ...............................................................................................................................14 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................................19 The Council of Europe .............................................................................................................................................19 The European Union .................................................................................................................................................21 The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union ............................................25 European Union accession to the European Convention on Human Rights .....26 Key points ...........................................................................................................................................................................27 1 ACCESS TO THE TERRITORY AND TO PROCEDURES ............................................................. 29 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................30 1.1. The Schengen visa regime ............................................................................................................32 1.2. Preventing unauthorised entry .................................................................................................35 1.3. Entry bans and Schengen alerts ...............................................................................................36 1.4. Checks at border-crossing points ............................................................................................39 1.5. Internal borders within the Schengen area ...................................................................40 1.6. Local border traffic .................................................................................................................................41 1.7. Transit zones ................................................................................................................................................43 1.8. Access to asylum .....................................................................................................................................44 1.9. Push-backs and pull-backs at sea ..........................................................................................46 Key points ...........................................................................................................................................................................48 2 LARGE-SCALE EU INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS AND INTEROPERABILITY ............................................................................................................................... 49 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................51 2.1. Large-scale EU information systems ...................................................................................52 2.1.1. European Asylum Dactyloscopy (Eurodac) .................................................................53 2.1.2. Visa Information System (VIS) .............................................................................................53 2.1.3. Schengen Information System (SIS) .................................................................................54 2.1.4. Entry/Exit System (EES) .............................................................................................................55 2.1.5. European Travel Authorisation and Information System (ETIAS) ................56 2.1.6. European Criminal Records Information System on Third-Country Nationals (ECRIS-TCN) .................................................................................................................56 2.1.7. Europol Information System (EIS) ......................................................................................57 5 Handbook on European law relating to asylum, borders and immigration 2.2. Interoperability ..........................................................................................................................................59