EURODAC

The objective of Eurodac is to establish a system for comparing fingerprints of asylum seekers and some categories of illegal immigrants. It will facilitate the application of the Dublin III Regulation, which makes it possible to determine the member state responsible for examining an asylum application.

Legal instrument which established Eurodac is Regulation (EU) No 603/2013 of The European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the establishment of Eurodac for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person and on requests for the comparison with Eurodac data by Member States' law enforcement authorities and Europol for law enforcement purposes, and amending Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 establishing a European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (recast).

Migrants and asylum applicants have the right to get information about why their fingerprints are collected in Eurodac, EU’s IT system for asylum seekers and apprehended migrants. The leaflet offers guidance to authorities so they can comply with their obligation to clearly inform people about the purpose of storing digitalised pictures of their fingerprints and what happens to the data in Eurodac.

Right to information ― Guide for authorities when taking fingerprints for Eurodac