1. Applications shall be examined and decided on by consulates.
1a. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide that applications are examined and decided on by central authorities. Member States shall ensure that those authorities have sufficient knowledge of local circumstances of the country where the application is lodged in order to assess the migratory and security risk, as well as sufficient knowledge of the language to analyse documents, and that consulates are involved, where necessary, to conduct additional examination and interviews.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, applications may be examined and decided on at the external borders of the Member States by the authorities responsible for checks on persons, in accordance with Articles 35 and 36.
3. In the non-European overseas territories of Member States, applications may be examined and decided on by the authorities designated by the Member State concerned.
4. A Member State may require the involvement of authorities other than the ones designated in paragraphs 1 and 2 in the examination of and decision on applications.
5. A Member State may require to be consulted or informed by another Member State in accordance with Articles 22 and 31.