The lodging of the application is the act that formalises the application for international protection. The applicant should be given the necessary information as to how and where to lodge his or her application and he or she should be given an effective opportunity to do so. At this stage he or she is required to submit as soon as possible all the elements and documents at his or her disposal needed to substantiate and complete the application, unless otherwise provided for in this Regulation. The time limit for the administrative procedure starts to run from the moment an application is lodged. Shortly after the application is lodged, the applicant should be given a document which includes his or her status as an applicant.