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Definitions For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘third-country national’ means a person who is not a citizen of the Union within the meaning of Article 20(1) TFEU and who is not a person enjoying the right to free movement under Union law as defined in Article 2, point (5), of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council ;

(2) ‘stateless person’ means a person who is not considered to be a national by any State under the operation of its law;

(3) ‘application for international protection’ or ‘application’ means a request for protection from a Member State made by a third-country national or a stateless person, who can be understood to be seeking refugee status or subsidiary protection status;

(4) ‘applicant’ means a third-country national or a stateless person who has made an application for international protection in respect of which a final decision has not yet been taken;

(5) ‘examination of an application for international protection’ means examination of the admissibility or the merits of an application for international protection in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2024/1348 and (EU) 2024/1347, excluding procedures for determining the Member State responsible in accordance with this Regulation;

(6) ‘withdrawal of an application for international protection’ means either the explicit or implicit withdrawal of an application for international protection in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1347;

(7) ‘beneficiary of international protection’ means a third-country national or a stateless person who has been granted international protection as defined in Article 3, point (4), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1347;

(8) ‘family member’ means, insofar as the family already existed before the applicant or the family member arrived on the territory of the Member States, the following members of the applicant’s family who are present on the territory of a Member State:

(a) the spouse of the applicant or the applicant’s unmarried partner in a stable relationship, where the law or practice of the Member State concerned treats unmarried couples in a way comparable to married couples under its law relating to third-country nationals;

(b) a minor child of couples referred to in point (a) or of the applicant, provided that that child is unmarried and regardless of whether that child was born in or out of wedlock or adopted as defined under national law;

(c) where the applicant is a minor and unmarried, the father, mother or another adult responsible for the applicant, whether by law or by the practice of the Member State where the adult is present;

(d) where the beneficiary of international protection is a minor and unmarried, the father, mother or another adult responsible for that beneficiary, whether by law or by the practice of the Member State where the beneficiary is present;

(9) ‘relative’ means the applicant’s adult aunt or uncle or grandparent who is present in the territory of a Member State, regardless of whether the applicant was born in or out of wedlock or adopted as defined under national law;

(10) ‘minor’ means a third-country national or a stateless person below the age of 18 years;

(11) ‘unaccompanied minor’ means a minor who arrives on the territory of the Member States unaccompanied by an adult responsible for him or her, whether by law or practice of the Member State concerned, and for as long as that minor is not effectively taken into the care of such an adult, including a minor who is left unaccompanied after he or she has entered the territory of the Member States;

(12) ‘representative’ means a person or an organisation appointed by the competent bodies in order to assist and represent an unaccompanied minor in procedures provided for in this Regulation with a view to ensuring the best interests of the child and exercising legal capacity for the minor where necessary;

(13) ‘residence document’ means an authorisation issued by the authorities of a Member State authorising a third-country national or a stateless person to stay on its territory, including the documents substantiating the authorisation to remain on the territory under temporary protection arrangements or until the circumstances preventing a removal order from being carried out no longer apply, with the exception of visas and residence authorisations issued during the period required to determine the Member State responsible according to this Regulation or during the examination of an application for international protection or an application for a residence permit;

(14) ‘visa’ means the authorisation or decision of a Member State required for transit or entry for an intended stay in that Member State or in several Member States, including:

(a) an authorisation or decision issued in accordance with Union law or national law required for entry for an intended stay in that Member State of more than 90 days;

(b) an authorisation or decision issued in accordance with Union law or national law required for entry for transit through or an intended stay in that Member State not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period;

(c) an authorisation or decision valid for transit through the international transit areas of one or more airports of the Member States;

(15) ‘diploma or qualification’ means a diploma or qualification which is obtained and attested in a Member State after a period of at least one academic year of study on the territory of a Member State in a recognised state or regional programme of education or vocational training at least equivalent to level 2 of the International Standard Classification of Education, operated by an education establishment pursuant to the legislative, regulatory or administrative provisions of that Member State and excluding online training or other forms of distance learning;

(16) ‘education establishment’ means a public or private education or vocational training establishment established in and recognised by a Member State in accordance with its national law or administrative practice on the basis of transparent criteria;

(17) ‘absconding’ means the action by which a person concerned does not remain available to the competent administrative or judicial authorities such as by:

(a) leaving the territory of a Member State without permission from the competent authorities for reasons which are not beyond the person's control;

(b) failing to notify absence from a particular accommodation centre, or assigned area of residence, where so required by a Member State; or (c) failing to present him- or herself to the competent authorities, where so required by those authorities;

(18) ‘risk of absconding’ means the existence of specific reasons and circumstances in an individual case, which are based on objective criteria defined by national law, to believe that a person concerned who is subject to procedures set out in this Regulation might abscond;

(19) ‘benefitting Member State’ means a Member State benefitting from solidarity contributions as set out in Part IV of this Regulation;

(20) ‘contributing Member State’ means a Member State that provides or is obliged to provide solidarity contributions to a benefitting Member State as set out in Part IV of this Regulation;

(21) ‘transfer’ means the implementation of a decision taken pursuant to Article 42;

(22) ‘relocation’ means the transfer of an applicant or a beneficiary of international protection from the territory of a benefitting Member State to the territory of a contributing Member State;

(23) ‘search and rescue operations’ means operations of search and rescue as referred to in the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue adopted in Hamburg on 27 April 1979;

(24) ‘migratory pressure’ means a situation brought about by arrivals by land, sea or air or applications of third-country nationals or stateless persons, that are of such a scale that they create disproportionate obligations on a Member State, taking into account the overall situation in the Union, even on a well-prepared asylum, reception and migration system and require immediate action, in particular solidarity contributions pursuant to Part IV of this Regulation; taking into account the specificities of the geographical location of a Member State, ‘migratory pressure’ covers situations where there is a large number of arrivals of third-country nationals or stateless persons or a risk of such arrivals, including where such arrivals stem from recurring disembarkations following search and rescue operations, or from unauthorised movements of third-country nationals or stateless persons between the Member States;