Euroopa Liidu Kohus
07.03.2017
Facts
The applicants X and X and their three minor children, nationals of Syria, applied for visas at the Belgian Embassy in Beirut. As the purpose of the visas they stated their intention to apply for asylum in Belgium. The Belgian Immigration Office rejected their applications, stating, that the applicants intended to stay more than 90 days in Belgium, and that Article 3 of the ECHR did not require States to admit into their territories ‘victims of a catastrophic situation’, and that Belgian Embassy is not the authority to which a foreign national could submit an application for asylum.
Questions referred to the CJEU by the national court
1. Do the “international obligations” referred to in the Visa Code cover the rights guaranteed by Article 4 (right to asylum) and Article 18 (prohibition of torture) of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights?
2. If yes, does that mean a Member State is required to issue a visa if there is a risk of infringement of Article 4 and/or Article 18 of the Charter?
Court’s ruling
The Court ruled that the situation does not fall within the scope of the Visa Code but solely within the scope of national law. The Court noted that the Visa Code was adopted with the objective to establish the procedures and conditions for issuing visas for transit through or intended stays on the territory of the Member States not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period. However, the applicants submitted applications for visas with a view to applying for asylum in Belgium. In accordance with Article 1 of the Visa Code, such applications fall outside the scope of that code. The Court also explained that to conclude otherwise would mean that Member States are required, on the basis of the Visa Code, to allow third-country nationals to submit asylum applications to the representations of Member States that are within the territory of a third country. The Court noted that it is apparent from the Asylum Procedures Directive (2013/32/EU) that it applies to applications for international protection made in the territory, including at the border, in the territorial waters or in the transit zones of the Member States, but not to requests for asylum submitted to the diplomatic representations of Member States.