The applicant refused to undergo a COVID-19 PCR test prior to the Dublin transfer to Sweden and the Administrative Tribunal of Paris ordered the registration of his application for international protection. According to article 29 of the Dublin III Regulation, the six-month time limit for transferring an asylum applicant to the Member State responsible for examining the application can be extended to 18 months if the applicant intentionally opposes his or her transfer. After the 18-month period has passed, the requesting Member State must itself examine the asylum application.
The Ministry of Interior submitted an application to the Council of State for their annulment of the order from the Administrative Tribunal of Paris to register the asylum application.

The Council of State noted that the applicant had not been informed in a language that he could understand that his refusal to do a PCR test would prevent his transfer to Sweden. Therefore, he could not be considered to have intentionally and systematically opposed his transfer and put himself in a situation of absconding in the sense of the article 29 of the Dublin III Regulation and France was deemed responsible for examining his application.

Consequently, the determining authority has seriously breached the applicant right to asylum and acted illegaly, thus the situation has to end having in mind the significant consequences of prolonging the transfer deadline with 12 months.