My asylum claim got rejected, what happens now?

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In case your application is rejected, or in case you are granted a subsidiary protection status and you consider that you are entitled to the refugee status, you have the right to appeal before the Appeals Authority (2nd instance). You must submit your appeal to the competent Regional Asylum Office or to the Asylum Unit which issued the rejection, within the deadline mentioned on the decision that you received.

In case you are staying in a Facility that is located far from the Regional Asylum Office (or Asylum Unit) that issued your decision, you may submit your appeal at the nearest Asylum Service Office. In that case, the appeal is sent through e-mail to the Asylum Office or Asylum Unit that issued the decision on the same day. To submit your appeal, you need to come in person to the competent office of the Asylum Service and bring the relevant document (appeal), signed by you or your lawyer. In case you are detained, you need to submit you appeal to the Supervisor of your detention facility or center, and he will sent your appeal by fax or other digital medium to the Regional Asylum Office or Asylum Unit that issued the decision.

You are going to be given a new International Protection Applicant’s Card upon submitting your appeal.

Your appeal will be examined by an Independent Appeals Committee. The Independent Appeals Committee usually examines appeals based on the documents in your file and does not call you for an interview. However, you will be informed regarding the date of examination of your appeal, as well as any deadlines if you wish to submit additional evidence in order to be taken into account by the Independent Appeals Committee.

In case the Appeals Committee decides to call you for an interview, you will be notified accordingly ten (10) business days before the date of the interview, at the latest. You have the right to go to the Appeals Committee escorted by a lawyer or other counselor.

The Appeals Committee will decide to either grant you refugee status, subsidiary protection status, or reject your appeal.

In case your appeal is rejected, or in case the decision grants you a status of subsidiary protection and you believe that you are entitled to a refugee status, you may submit an application of  annulment () to the competent local Administrative First Instance Court within thirty (30) days starting on the next day after the decision was served to you. The application for annulment does not have an automatic suspensive effect, meaning that your removal from the country is possible in case your appeal was rejected.