Article 18

1. The requested Member State shall make the necessary checks, and shall give a decision on the request to take charge of an applicant within two months of the date on which the request was received. 2. In the procedure for determining the Member State responsible for examining the application for asylum established in this Regulation, elements of proof and circumstantial evidence shall be used. 3. In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2) two lists shall be established and periodically reviewed, indicating the elements of proof and circumstantial evidence in accordance with the following criteria: Proof: This refers to formal proof which determines responsibility pursuant to this Regulation, as long as it is not refuted by proof to the contrary. The Member States shall provide the Committee provided for in Article 27 with models of the different types of administrative documents, in accordance with the typology established in the list of formal proofs. Circumstantial evidence: This refers to indicative elements which while being refutable may be sufficient, in certain cases, according to the evidentiary value attributed to them. Their evidentiary value, in relation to the responsibility for examining the application for asylum shall be assessed on a case-by-case basis. 4. The requirement of proof should not exceed what is necessary for the proper application of this Regulation. 5. If there is no formal proof, the requested Member State shall acknowledge its responsibility if the circumstantial evidence is coherent, verifiable and sufficiently detailed to establish responsibility. 6. Where the requesting Member State has pleaded urgency, in accordance with the provisions of Article 17(2), the requested Member State shall make every effort to conform to the time limit requested. In exceptional cases, where it can be demonstrated that the examination of a request for taking charge of an applicant is particularly complex, the requested Member State may give the reply after the time limit requested, but in any case within one month. In such situations the requested Member State must communicate its decision to postpone a reply to the requesting Member State within the time limit originally requested. 7. Failure to act within the two-month period mentioned in paragraph 1 and the one-month period mentioned in paragraph 6 shall be tantamount to accepting the request, and entail the obligation to take charge of the person, including the provisions for proper arrangements for arrival.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-15 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.