Do directives for the protection against violence have any impact on the asylum procedure? If so, which one?

As a general principle, directives for the protec-tion against violence do no have any direct influence on the asylum procedure. The asylum procedure is first and foremost about assessing the situation in the country of origin.

However, as already explained above, violence committed by the mar-riage partner can influence the asylum appli-cation of a woman affected by violence to the effect that it might constitute an additional obstacle to deportation. In this case, it will be assessed whether the violence committed by the partner or, for example,  the circumstance that the latter’s children (temporarily) have been or are being taken away might entail persecution upon assumed return to the country of origin. This might be the case, for example, if, according to the legislation of the country of origin, the children belong to the husband’s family after the divorce and if the wife, who together with the children has fled from her husband, is threatened by the husband.

Yet this question can only be answered for an individual case and does not allow for generali-sation.

It is indispensable to keep in mind that the asylum applications submitted by the marriage partners can be processed separately, not only in the case of a long-term divorce but also when it comes to directives for the protection against violence. It is very important to consult a lawyer on this issue.