Considering that a Member State should remain responsible for a person who has irregularly entered its territory, it is also necessary to provide for the situation where the person enters the territory following a search and rescue operation. A derogation from the responsibility criterion should be laid down for the situation where a Member State has relocated persons having crossed the external border of another Member State irregularly or following a search and rescue operation. In such a situation, the Member State of relocation should be responsible if the person applies for international protection.