Asylum seeker’s transfer to Sweden upheld despite initial application in Belgium

Court of Appeal upholds a decision to transfer an asylum seeker to Sweden for examination of his international protection application, despite the individual's initial application being lodged in Belgium. The appellant, an Iranian national, had sought asylum in Belgium, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Ireland, in that order. The Irish authorities requested Sweden and the UK to take back the appellant under the Dublin III Regulation, which Sweden accepted. The appellant challenged the decision, arguing that a take back request should have been made to Belgium as the first Member State where he applied. However, the court found that the conditions for a take back request were satisfied by Sweden's previous examination of the application, even if responsibility was assumed through default provisions or time limits within the Regulation.