Safe country of origin

The 2015 International Protection Act allows the state to designate a country as safe where it finds that there is generally no persecution, torture or threat of violence from an armed conflict. Under the current legislation, Ireland has designated a number of safe countries of origin. More information on the current system can be found on our blog post here.

While member states are still entitled to designate countries at national level, under the Pact, the following countries must be deemed safe countries of origin:

• Bangladesh
• Colombia
• Egypt
• Kosovo
• India
• Morocco
• Tunisia

Furthermore, the Parliament agreed that EU candidate countries will also be recognised as safe countries of origin. As of April 2026, the following countries are recognised as candidates:

• Albania
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Georgia
• Moldova
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia
• Serbia
• Türkiye
• Ukraine

Protection applicants from the above-mentioned countries will be subject to the accelerated procedure unless there is a situation of widespread armed violence, EU-wide recognition rates for nations of the country rises above 20 per cent or economic sanctions are imposed based on the country’s treatment of fundamental rights.

Safe third country

The safe third country concept allows an EU member state to reject an application for international protection as inadmissible. This means the merit of the applicant’s case is not examined and the applicant may be removed to the safe third country in question. A country may be designated in one of the three following situations:

• The applicant has a link to the country (e.g. family members, previous presence in the country, or linguistic/cultural links);
• The applicant went through that country on the way to the EU and could have claimed asylum there;
• Or, a member state has entered into agreement for the admission of asylum seekers. This means that a member state can arrange for applicants to be sent to a third country. The agreement must include a provision that the third country examines the merit of the applicant’s case, and an exception applies for unaccompanied minors.

The designation of a safe third country may include an exception for a certain part of a country or for ‘clearly identifiable categories of persons’ for which the country may not be safe.

The Pact expands the safe third country concept. Currently, an applicant has the automatic right to remain in the EU while they appeal an admissibility decision. Under the Pact an applicant can apply to a court to request a right to remain but may be removed pending a final decision.

Impact

From June 12, 2026, certain applicants will be processed under the accelerated procedure. This places a burden on the applicant to disprove the assumption that their country is safe for them. Applicants will also be subject to a tighter timeframe for lodging an appeal. Given these additional burdens and the three-month statutory turnaround, it is of utmost importance that applicants from designated countries gain legal representation at the earliest opportunity.